Please help! WHY can I not make a decent white chocolate ganache to save my life??? I make semi-sweet and dark chocolate ganache as a matter of routine for almost all of my cakes, but have never made a successful batch of white.

In the past, I tried white chips - not doing that again. This time, I used Ghirardelli white chocolate bars: 40 ounces, and added 10 ounces of hot cream. (I went with a higher ratio of chocolate to cream because in the past I've had trouble getting it to set up at 3:1.) I blended it together yesterday and stuck it in the vacant microwave for safekeeping overnight.

This morning I opened the door to find a puddle of oil across the entire top of what started out looking like a beautiful batch of ganache.

What did I do to cause all the oil to separate out? Can it be rescued, or should I just run and whip up some SMBC ? I'm so sad. This was supposed to be for my own birthday cake. (The cake itself that I tried to bake yesterday was a disaster too, but that's a different story...)

WHite chocolate has a higher ratio of fat and a great tendency to separate. Try putting the whole batch in the Kitchen Aid and beating it back into a smooth emulsion. That usually works.

Thank you, luddroth - I will try that. As soon as my new batch of cake batter is cleared out of the mixer, that is. You're in Westchester, I see? LOL I don't suppose you want a cake order due tomorrow morning, do you? This cake mess that I've been trying to make will be going to Chappaqua tomorrow for 4 family birthdays (mine, my MIL's, my SIL's, and my DH's aunt).

Poor Sherri! I wish I could help. Came down with a messy cold yesterday and I'm afraid I would wipe out the entire family if I participated in the caking for them. Good luck!

Cathy

Don't throw it out, separated white ganache can be saved by placing in the fridge for a while - maybe 30 minutes and stirring - repeat and eventually it will come back together.

Aww, I'm sorry to hear that. Summer colds are the worst! I hope you feel better soon. I was just kidding, though - I wouldn't dream of seriously asking for a cake on less than a day's notice!

And just in case anyone's interested... I ended up pouring off all the oil that had separated from my ganache, thinking I would pour it back in while I whipped it. I stirred what was left, then forgot about it for a couple of hours while I did some other things. When I came back to it, I found the most beautiful white chocolate ganache I've ever made. It's perfectly smooth, creamy, and set up like a dream. It seems more stable than any I've ever made. It's also the whitest - the oil I poured off is very yellow.

I'm probably going to put it on the cake as-is. And if it holds up well, I might just consider the oil separation step a new part of my recipe.

Thank you all for your help! I'm sure I'll try those methods on another cake that doesn't have quite so many strikes against it already.

Interesting! I'm glad it worked out for you. Maybe you've just discovered low-fat ganache!