Ever since I shared this recipe and tutorial for semi-sweet chocolate ganache drip cakes, I’ve gotten so many questions about making white chocolate ganache drip cakes. I’m so excited to share these tips with you because I know how finicky white chocolate ganache can be if you don’t get the ratio and timing just right. In fact, the first time I made it (using a super popular recipe that won’t be named) the ganache was so thin and runny that the drips just ran down the side of the cake and pooled at the bottom, even after cooling it to below room temperature! I have since experimented with white chocolate ganache to find the perfect ratio of chocolate to heavy whipping cream, and have found some handy tips for making it extra white and beautiful.
The first thing you need to know about white chocolate is that it’s not a true chocolate, meaning there’s a lack of chocolate solids and therefore doesn’t behave the same as semi-sweet, milk, or dark chocolate. Instead, it’s made from a mixture of sugar, cocoa butter, milk products, vanilla, and some sort of fatty substance called lecithin. Although I’ve never tried making white chocolate ganache with anything fancier than Hershey’s white chocolate chips, you can feel free to go as branded or non-branded as you want. Generic white chocolate chips or a white chocolate bar chopped into small pieces will work just fine.
With the absence of chocolate solids, the ratio of heavy whipping cream to white chocolate chips is going to be different than other ganache recipes. I’ve found a 3:1 ratio to be absolutely perfect (exact recipe below), meaning three parts chocolate to one part heavy whipping cream. Just bring the cream to an almost-boil, pour it over the white chocolate chips, whisk it together until it’s uniform, and you’re good.
Here’s a detailed video of the recipe, and you can continue reading below for all of my tips on working with white chocolate ganache:
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White Chocolate Ganache For Drip Cakes
Ingredients
- 1 Cup (190g) white chocolate chips or bar, chopped into bits
- 1/3 Cup (80ml) heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 tsp food color gel or whitening gel (optional)
Instructions
- Chop the white chocolate chips or bar as finely as you can and place it into a heat resistant bowl (glass or metal).
- In a saucepan over medium-high heat, warm heavy whipping cream until it just starts to simmer, whisking constantly. I always look for small bubbles forming around the edge and a soft boil starting in the middle. When it reaches this stage, pour the cream over the white chocolate.
- Whisk together until the ganache is uniform in consistency and there are no bits of chocolate left on your whisk. It can help to hold the bowl over the residual heat from the burner (once it's turned off) if you're having a hard time whisking everything together.
- Whiten or color the ganache (optional), then cool ganache at room temperature for anywhere from 5-20 minutes (depending on your kitchen environment), or until the ganache itself is slightly above room temperature. See the instructions for dripping a cake with white chocolate ganache + troubleshooting tips in the rest of this blog post below.
Notes
Tip 1: Whiten Your Ganache If It’s Too Yellow
The thing about white chocolate chips is that they aren’t exactly as white in color as they seem to be. To whiten the ganache, I swear by Americolor Bright White food color gel. It works like a dream every time, and you only need about half a teaspoon per batch of white chocolate ganache to get a perfectly bright white.
Some bakers like to use white candy melts in place of white chocolate chips to make white ganache, but I don’t like the taste of candy melts. So the whitening method is my favorite option.
Tip 2: Be Patient With The Cooling Process
Once you’ve whisked the ganache together, it’s crucial to let it cool on your countertop until it’s room temperature, about 20-30 minutes depending on how cold your environment is. Trying to speed up this process by placing ganache in the refrigerator doesn’t usually end well – I’ve found that it cools unevenly, leading to thick, globby drips.
Cooling in the fridge also leads to the urge to stir it too often. Ganache (especially white chocolate!) does not like to be stirred too often, and the end result can mean that your whipping cream starts to separate from the chocolate. You’ll know that this has happened because the ganache will look grainy and dull, or even separated like oil and water. To fix situations like these, you’ll need to reheat the ganache to 92ºF to melt the fat crystals and re-whisk to bring it back together.
Tip 3: Chill Your Buttercream
There’s a science to this tip. Since molecules move more slowly at cooler temperatures (and warp speed at higher temperatures), it makes a lot of sense that you can better control how far the white chocolate ganache drips when the buttercream is chilled. Make sure that after you do your final coat of buttercream, you chill the cake in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
Tip 4: Start With A Test Drip
When your buttercream is nice and chilled, do a test drip by letting the ganache run down the side of your cake. If it travels rapidly and pools at the bottom, your ganache is too warm. Continue to cool the ganache for another 5-10 minutes and try your test drip again. If it’s globby or doesn’t travel very far down the side of the cake, it’s too cold. Reheat the ganache in the microwave for about 10 seconds, stir, and try again. Repeat the reheating process as needed until you get the perfect consistency.
The good thing about a test drip is you’re able to see how the ganache will behave. That way you don’t have to commit until you like what you’re seeing.
Tip 5: Drip The Sides Before Filling In The Top
Whether you’re using a spoon to create drips (like I am!) or you’re into the squeeze bottle method, it’s best to drip the sides of the cake before filling in the top. Although it might be tempting to just dump all of the ganache on the top of the cake and let the drips fall where they may, you’ll have more control over the length of each drip by starting with the sides (after a successful test drip of course).
Try not to add too much ganache to the top when filling it in, because if you add any more to the drips you’ve created, it will make them travel farther than you’d like. Instead, try to use just a little ganache and spread it so that it just touches where your drips begin. The ganache on the top should self-level a bit, so don’t worry too much about getting it super smooth.
And there you have it – everything I know about dripping cakes with white chocolate ganache. It’s a really good skill to have in your cake decorating repertoire, especially with how versatile white chocolate ganache can be color-wise. Adding a little food color gel can turn it any vibrant color of the rainbow! And whether you keep it white or color it up, I promise it’ll taste a million times better than candy melts.
Is there anything else you’d like to know about drip cakes? I’m certainly not an expert per se, but if you have more questions, let me know in the comments below and I’ll do my best to answer!
Hi would you be able to tell me exactly what white chocolate I can get and the heavy whipping cream . I know it says it has to be over a certain gram but I’m not finding that. Please let me know thank you.
Hi Jen, any brand of white chocolate and heavy whipping cream will do. I use Nestle or Hershey’s white chocolate chips and generic store brand heavy whipping cream. The gram measurements are listed in the recipe. Hope that helps!
I am struggling with making my ganache on the white side! I used some “Bright White”. I was going to paint it Rose Gold. Horrible!! Any other way to get ‘Rose Gold’ ganache?
This is for my son’s bride’s wedding cake!
Hi Sandy! I’ve never done it before, but the only way I’ve heard of making a metallic drip work is to use melted white chocolate or candy melts for the drip instead of ganache. The white chocolate ganache ends up being too sticky to paint. After dripping the cake with melted white chocolate, let it set firm and then paint it with a luster dust/alcohol mixture or Edible Art Paint. Hope that helps!
Hi! Can you use this recipe to frost the whole cake with?
Hi Tanya! You can make this ganache and put it in the refrigerator to let it set up a bit more, then whip it with your stand mixer to turn into frosting consistency!
Is this recipe enough to cover a 10″ cake? Will i have to double the recipe?
Hi Adrienne! This makes more than enough to drip a 10″ cake. If you want to make whipped ganache from this recipe and frost the cake with it I would double it.
Hallo.
Was heißt ,,Schwere Schlagsahne”? Es ist mir unbekannt.
Danke.
Hi Tatjana! “Heavy Whipping Cream” is whipping cream with a milk fat content between 36 and 40%. I think it is also called “heavy cream” or “double cream” in other parts of the world.
Thank you for this recipe, white chocolate drips were my dreaded enemy for a while haha! I used this recipe a few weeks ago for a drip cake and it works out beautifully- even in the Caribbean heat!
Quick question- I only have Wilton’s White-White and Chefmaster White on hand- could either of these colours work?
Yay, I’m so happy to hear that Nickola! I think those white color gel brands should work just fine. I have only tried this with Americolor Bright White so I can’t say for sure, but they seem similar ingredients-wise so I’d say go for it!
Hi can you use red food color gel to color it
Hi Alana, you can certainly use red food color gel (or any color) to tint ganache!
Can I use milky bar chocolate because I’ve made a white chocolate drip before Using supermarket branded chocolate and the drips were really thick and lumpy at the bottom so would the brand milky bar work?
Hi Haleema! I have never tried the brand Milky Bar before. Feel free to try it and let me know if it makes a difference! Otherwise, if the drips end up too thick, the best way to troubleshoot is to see if gently warming it for 5-10 second spurts in the microwave makes the consistency better for dripping (it might be too thick at room temperature and you may have better success if it’s slightly above room temp). Or you may need to reheat the ganache fully and incorporate a tsp or two more boiled heavy whipping cream before bringing it back down to room temp.
Im making a drip cake for my daughter In laws sister, can it be left out of the fridge for a few hours and can I use white cooking chocolate drops
Regards Gail
Hi Gail! Although I recommend storing a drip cake in the refrigerator until about an hour or two before serving to best preserve the decoration, it can be left outside of the fridge for days at a time as long as your environment isn’t too humid or warm enough to melt the buttercream. A few hours will be totally fine. I have never tried making this recipe with white cooking chocolate drops, but after a quick google search it looks like those will work. Just be sure to chop them up nice and fine so that when you add the boiling heavy whipping cream everything comes together smoothly.
I love your dark chocolate ganache so though I would try this. But it was too thick and elastic and I have to keep microwaving it to think it down. What went wrong?!
That’s happened To me too I was thinking It could be the brand of the chocolate
I followed the recipe but unfortunately it was a mess for me. The drip went down the cake and wouldnt set at all. 🙁
Hi Tess! Sorry that the drip was too runny. It’s really important that you try a test drip before committing to dripping the entire cake. If the drip is too runny, it either means it’s too warm or that too much liquid was added (if runny at room temp). Next time, if it’s runny at room temperature you can troubleshoot by gently reheating the ganache in a saucepan, adding more white chocolate (about 1 Tbsp or so) to the mixture, and whisking until uniform. You’ll want to keep an eye on it as it cools to test whether or not it’s cool enough to drip. Hope that helps!
I tasted great but was way to thick
Hi Abi! Thanks for the feedback. If it’s too thick, it either means that the ganache is too set or you haven’t added enough liquid. To troubleshoot, either add a little more heavy whipping cream next time or keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t set too much before using as a drip. You can always heat it up in the microwave in 5-10 second increments to gently thin it out.
Hi Whitney!
Thanks for your recipe & tips!
I wanted to know what kind of heavy whipping cream you recommend using for this dripping? I live in a country where there are not too many options of heavy cream. For example, a plant-based (non-dairy) heavy cream used for chantilly cream would work? For a better reference, you can see it at this link https://articulo.mercadolibre.com.ar/MLA-630763405-chantypak-x-1-lt-_JM
Thanks in advance!!
Hi Natalie! I’ve never tried non-dairy heavy cream before, so I’m not sure how it will work. I use this heavy whipping cream: https://bit.ly/3ecBczO but I think it’s also called “double cream” outside of the US. Hope that helps!
Hello I’m planning to make an 8″ inch cake and I was wondering if this recipe is enough or should I double it?
Hi Juliana! This recipe is definitely enough for an 8″ cake as is. Excited for you to try it!
Hi! I haven’t tried this recipe yet but can this be turned into a whipped ganache to use instead of buttercream?
Hi Dannah! It totally can. After combining the white chocolate and heavy whipping cream, allow the ganache to chill until it reaches the consistency of peanut butter, either at room temp or in the refrigerator. Then, whip with your stand mixer for a few minutes to create a whipped ganache. Enjoy!