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As Valentine’s Day approaches, I’ll be offering a series of recipes to help inspire your creativity as you bake and share with loved ones (or treat yourself!) over the next couple of weeks. Today’s Valentine recipe features ruby chocolate.
(Side note: If you missed them, be sure to check out my recent posts for sweet watermelon lollipops and chocolate cherry cordials, both ideal for Valentine gifting!)
I first learned about ruby chocolate while earning my Professional Chocolatier’s Certificate at Ecole Chocolat back in 2017. Introduced that same year by Barry Callebaut, this new chocolate variety made a splash as “the fourth kind of chocolate.” Ruby chocolate comes from ruby cocoa beans. These beans lend the chocolate its signature shade of pink.
Why Ruby Chocolate?
If you haven’t tried ruby chocolate yet, I’d suggest ordering a bar and giving it a taste test. It tastes quite different from its dark, milk, and white chocolate counterparts. I’d describe ruby chocolate as somewhat tart, with berry-like undertones.
In fact, it’s the distinctive tartness of this chocolate that lends itself so nicely to pairing with berries, such as raspberries or strawberries. I enjoy using Callebaut’s ruby chocolate to make mendiants or chocolate bars, often with the addition of cranberries, freeze-dried raspberries or freeze-dried strawberries. Nuts such as almonds or pistachios also pair nicely with this chocolate.
For callets suitable for baking and chocolatemaking, I’d suggest going straight to the source and ordering a bag of Callebaut Ruby Couverture Chocolate Callets.
Ruby Chocolate Tips
If you’re new to ruby chocolate and are planning to temper it, build in some time to play around with your temperatures. My temperatures ended up being close to those used for tempering white chocolate. But, your mileage may vary. In my experience, a bit of practice is required to find out what works best for you!
If you aren’t sure how often you’ll use it and don’t want to commit to a 5.5 lb / 2.5 kg bag, many suppliers, such as World Wide Chocolate, sell the Callebaut callets repackaged in smaller amounts. It’s a fun chocolate to experiment with, even if you don’t plan to use it often.
Making the Ganache
The ruby chocolate ganache recipe below is ideal for filling macarons, bon bons, or sandwich-style biscuits. But, the same recipe can also be used for other applications including cupcakes, cakes, and tarts. Depending on how you plan to use it, you might prefer a thicker or thinner ganache. To change the consistency, adjust chocolate-to-cream ratio. Use more ruby chocolate for a thicker ganache, or less chocolate for a ganache with more fluidity.
This ganache is on the tarter side, which is why it works so nicely to balance the sweetness of a macaron shell. For a sweeter ganache, try substituting raspberry jam for the raspberry purée.
More Valentine recipes you might enjoy:
Strawberry Marshmallow Hearts
Chocolate Covered Cherry Cordials
Sparkling Rosé Truffles
And if you 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!
Print
ruby raspberry ganache
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 250 grams (approx. 1 cup) 1x
Description
This ganache is ideal for filling macarons, bon bons, or sandwich-style biscuits, but can also be used for other applications including cakes and tarts. The natural pink tone makes it a perfect fit for Valentine’s Day!
Ingredients
150 grams ruby chocolate* (3/4 cup)
75 grams whipping cream (1/3 cup)
55 grams raspberry purée** (1/4 cup)
25 grams unsalted butter, softened (2 tablespoons)
Instructions
In a small saucepan, combine cream and raspberry purée and warm until steaming (do not boil).
Meanwhile, melt chocolate over a bain marie or double boiler. (If preferred, you can also melt your chocolate in the microwave in 30-second increments, ideally on low or 50% power.) Whisk warm raspberry-cream mixture into the melted chocolate, followed by the butter.
Set ganache aside until ready to use.
When ready to use, whisk ganache until desired consistency is reached, transfer to a piping bag and pipe as desired.
Notes
*Depending on how you plan to use it, you might prefer a thicker or thinner ganache. To change the consistency, adjust chocolate-to-cream ratio. Use more ruby chocolate for a thicker ganache, or less chocolate for a ganache with more fluidity.
**You can purchase raspberry purée, but it tends to be expensive and is sold in large quantities, which isn’t always ideal if you just need a little bit. You can easily make your own by puréeing fresh or frozen raspberries in a blender or food processor. You can also substitute raspberry jam if you prefer a sweeter ganache.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Chocolate
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Sweets
