Recipe: Seedless Raspberry Chocolate Ganache

This dark chocolate ganache is bursting with raspberry flavour and can be enjoyed two ways:

1. Pour it on a cake as a topping to replace a sugary icing.
2. Make balls or squares of ganache and roll it in cocoa powder for a blast of chocolate truffle bursting with raspberry flavour. Or, if you have the skills, you can dip it in tempered chocolate and make your own chocolate truffles.

Recipe: Seedless Raspberry Dark Chocolate Ganache

You need:

• 1/2 cup of raspberry jam (seedless is great, but if you just have the regular, you can sift out the seeds [see below])
• 6 ounces of semi-sweet dark chocolate (I used Camino 56% Organic and Fair Trade couverture, but you can use a Lindt 300g semi-sweet dark chocolate bar, or dark chocolate Callebaut chips or another brand from a bulk food store, or even the large Belgian dark chocolate baking bar from Walmart)

Instructions:

1. Chop your chocolate into 1" cubes and place in a heat-proof bowl.
2. If your raspberry jam has seeds in it, warm it in the microwave for 45 seconds. Then pour it through a sifter over the bowl of chocolate. Stir the jam in the sifter and press it down with spoon to squeeze as much jam through as possible.  Discard the seeds.
3. Stir the mixture a few times and then place in the microwave for 1 minute on half power, and then stir until smooth.  Alternately place over a double boiler and melt, stirring constantly until smooth. Then immediately do one of the following...

To ice a chocolate cake:

1. Immediately pour the mixture over the cake and spread it to the edges.  Let it drip down the sides a bit, if you wish.  Chill the cake until it sets (thickens).

To make raspberry truffles:

1. If you are making truffles, prepare a small 8" loaf pan or  small 5" square plastic container by lining it with plastic wrap to cover the bottom and up the sides about 1". Pour the warm mixture into the pan, then immediately cover with plastic wrap.  Let set on counter overnight, or in the fridge for 4 hours.
2. Remove the truffle mix from the refrigerator and take the top plastic wrap off.  By holding the edges of the lower plastic wrap, lift it out of your loaf container and place on the counter. Using a sharp knife, cut 3/4" squares of the mixture. Separate and roll these in a small dish of cocoa powder or dip in tempered chocolate (for tempering instructions, click here).
3. To serve, place each truffle in a mini cupcake paper and cover with plastic wrap until ready to eat. Or layer on waxed paper and freeze to eat at a later date.

Tips:

• If you roll your truffles in cocoa powder, be sure to seal them in an airtight container right away or a crisp outer edge will develop. 

• If you are dipping the ganache in chocolate, be sure these are fairly cool, or they will be difficult to pick up with your dipping fork.  But with all ganaches that have been cooled in the refrigerator, you will have to be conscious of cracking (in other words, you may have to double dip these!).

• If you have a silicone ganache mould or silicone ice cube tray, pour your warm ganache into each mould and then freeze - you can then use a spatula or knife to help pop these out onto some waxed paper. That's how I did it - see the picture on the right for an example!

• I put this ganache on a delicious flourless chocolate cake (see the picture below). Check out where I got the cake recipe from in the next blog post.