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Original post published March 22, 2021. Post last updated on May 1st, 2024.
Made with white chocolate and cream infused with Earl Grey tea, this Earl Grey and white chocolate ganache is the best Earl Grey ganache recipe for frosting cakes and cupcakes, filling bon bons, or sandwiching between macaron shells.
A Recipe for Earl Grey Ganache
Because of its versatility, I find myself returning to this Earl Grey ganache recipe over and over again. Smooth, creamy, and reminiscent of a hot cup of Earl Grey, I love this ganache for frosting cakes and cupcakes, as well as for filling macarons and sandwich biscuits.
Baking with Earl Grey Tea
I’ll admit that I’ve never been the biggest fan of Earl Grey tea, at least where beverages are concerned. For drinking, give me a classic English breakfast or a jasmine green tea any day of the week. I’ve also been known to enjoy a cup of Yorkshire’s Tea Toast & Jam Brew (which really does remind me of jam on toast!)
That said, I actually really enjoy using Earl Grey in my baked goods. The notes of citrus and bergamot pair nicely with sweet pastry elements (especially chocolate), spices such as cinnamon and cardamom, and citrus fruits like lemon and orange.
I first baked with Earl Grey tea during Superior Pâtisserie at Le Cordon Bleu London, where we made these Earl Grey and caramel éclairs. Since then, I’ve found a number of ways to utilize Earl Grey tea in my recipes, most often as a component in bon bons, rolled chocolate truffles, and chocolate ganaches.
Choosing Your White Chocolate
I strongly suggest making this ganache with a good-quality white chocolate, such as Guittard, Callebaut, or Valrhona, rather than cheap chocolate chips, which contain stabilizers and are therefore better suited to baking than chocolatework.
A high-quality chocolate will offer a superior finished product in terms of flavor, and is well worth the extra expense. I’ve tested this recipe using Callebaut W2 28% white chocolate, as well as chopped Belgian white chocolate.
Note that when working with white chocolate, the type of chocolate used will affect the consistency of the ganache. You might find that you need to adjust the cream-to-chocolate ratio slightly, depending on your intended application.
Uses for Earl Grey Ganache
- Frost a cake, cupcakes, or mini tea cakes
- Fill macarons or sandwich cookies, or frost shortbread biscuits
- Add a layer to a pan of brownies or blondies
- Fill mini tart shells or other pastries
Infusing Earl Grey Into Whipping Cream
To give this ganache its Earl Grey flavor, you’ll begin by infusing tea into the whipping cream. To do this, you’ll gently heat the cream, then remove from heat and allow the tea to infuse for at least 30 minutes, or up to 1 hour. The longer you allow the tea to infuse, the stronger the Earl Grey flavor in your ganache will be.
To remove the tea bags, pass the cream through a fine mesh strainer, then discard the tea.
You can make this ganache with Earl Grey tea bags, or with loose leaf tea. I’ve tested it both ways, and find it easier to use loose tea—while the tea bags work, you’ll “lose” quite a bit of cream because of the absorbency of the bags.
Either way, it’s good to have some extra whipping cream on hand to “top up” after straining. You’ll need125 milliliters (1/2 cup) to whisk into the melted white chocolate.
Tinting the Ganache
You may or may not want to add food coloring to your ganache. Without it, the ganache will be light brown-tan in color, so it looks more like peanut butter than chocolate:
I usually like to add a few drops of blue and/or purple, which produces a ganache similar in color to the one pictured here.
If you do choose to add food coloring, try to choose an oil-based color (often labeled “candy coloring”) to color your white chocolate, rather than gel or water-based food coloring. However, gel coloring will also work in a pinch.
Earl Grey Ganache Tips and Tricks
Depending on the type of white chocolate you’ve chosen, this ganache might take a bit of whisking time to come to the proper consistency. (The longer you whisk, the creamier and thicker the ganache will become—I prefer a thinner, more pipeable ganache for macarons, and something thicker if I’m frosting a cake.) To speed things along, you can place the bowl in the fridge, but do so very briefly and carefully, checking the consistency every minute or two.
Other ganache recipes you might enjoy:
Raspberry and Ruby Chocolate Ganache
Passionfruit Cookies with Dark Chocolate and Passionfruit Ganache
Oatmeal Lace Cookies with Chai Chocolate Ganache
And if you do make these, or any of my recipes, don’t forget to tag me @bastecutfold or use the hashtag #bastecutfold on Instagram. I always love to see what you’re making!
Earl Grey and White Chocolate Ganache
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 300 grams (approx. 1 1/4 cups) 1x
Description
An Earl Grey and white chocolate ganache recipe, ideal for frosting cakes and cupcakes, or for filling macarons.
Ingredients
150 milliliters whipping cream (2/3 cup), plus more for topping up
12 grams (3 tablespoons) loose leaf Earl Grey tea, or 5 Earl Grey tea bags
200 grams good-quality white chocolate (7 ounces, or 1 1/4 cups)
15 grams unsalted butter, softened (1 tablespoon)
Purple or blue oil based food coloring (optional)
Instructions
Combine the whipping cream and Earl Grey tea in a small saucepan.
Gently warm the cream over low heat. Do not boil.
Remove from heat and allow the tea to steep for at least 30 minutes, or up to 1 hour. (The longer the infusing time, the stronger the Earl Grey flavor will be.)
Pass the infused cream through a fine mesh strainer. Discard the tea bags and any loose bits of tea.
Weigh the infused cream into a clean saucepan. If necessary, “top up” with additional cream, re-weighing to 125 milliliters (1/2 cup).
Gently rewarm the infused cream until steaming.
Meanwhile, melt the chopped white chocolate over a bain marie, or double boiler.
Whisk the cream into the melted chocolate.
Whisk in the softened butter and the food coloring, if using.
Whisk ganache until smooth and creamy. Spread or pipe as desired.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Infusing Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Frostings and Fillings
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Sweets
