Christophe Michalak is one of France’s rockstar master pastry chefs. In addition to his beautiful shops in Paris, which I love visiting, he’s also an author and TV presenter.
In his gianduja chocolate ganache recipe, he uses a delicious blend of two chocolates to create a desired flavor and sweetness profile—and I love it! The star here, of course, is gianduja chocolate (sometimes spelled gianduia), which is a chocolate that has a prominent flavor of hazelnuts, as it incorporates ground toasted hazelnuts as one of its ingredients. Originating in Turin, gianduja is one of Italy’s great contributions to the world of chocolate, and I feel it isn’t appreciated enough in the United States.
Gianduja can be produced as dark or milk chocolate. Christophe’s recipe doesn’t specify what he uses, but I am certain he uses milk chocolate gianduja simply because he cleverly adds a little dark chocolate to help temper the sweetness and offer more flavor complexity. This is a simple technique I often use, too, when working with milk chocolate mixtures that I prefer to be less sweet or to change their flavor profile somewhat.
I did make one small addition to Christophe’s recipe: salt. I rarely make a ganache without adding salt, which enriches the flavor.
Makes 1½ cups
8½ oz (240 g) Gianduja milk chocolate (see Chef Zach’s Notes below)
1¼ oz (35 g) Premium dark chocolate, such as Valrhona Caraïbe 66% cacao or other dark chocolate near the same percentage cacao
1-2 large pinches Sea salt
½ cup + 1 tsp (120 g) Whipping cream (30–36% milk fat)
1 Tbsp + ¾ tsp (25 g) Honey, preferably a mild honey, such as acacia
If the chocolates are purchased in bar form, chop them into small pieces for easy melting. Place the chocolates together in a medium bowl or a 4-cup glass measure. Add a generous pinch of salt. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, add the cream and honey and stir to combine. Heat to scalding (just below the boil; small bubbles will just begin to form under the surface).
Pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate. Shake the bowl gently to settle all the chocolate into the hot liquid, then let sit for about 20 seconds without stirring. Using a whisk or a silicone spatula, begin vigorously stirring in the center, starting with small tight circles and gradually expanding out in larger circles to the edge of the bowl as the mixture blends. Continue stirring until the mixture is perfectly smooth. To perfect the consistency, blend using an immersion blender, keeping the head of the blender fully submerged to avoid pulling in air. The mixture should be perfectly smooth.
Set aside to cool slightly, then press plastic wrap against the surface and set aside at room temperature for several hours to fully set. The final texture will be glossy, thick, and lusciously spreadable. You’ll be able to scoop it with a spoon.
Chef Zach’s Notes:
A practical quantity of gianduja for use in the kitchen is not easy to come by in shops. Instead, it’s usually found as wrapped bonbons (and quite expensive). However, there are quality bulk options from some of the best chocolate brands, such as: Cacao Barry Gianduja Plaisir Lait (20% hazelnuts), available in a compact 5.5-lb tub, or Valrhona Azélia (13.6% hazelnuts), available in the large 6.6-lb bags or in the small 9-oz bags. I tested this recipe with both of these, and they each produce an equally amazing texture and flavor, so it will come down to personal taste. The hazelnut flavor is more prominent in the Cacao Barry product since its hazelnut percentage is higher than that of Azélia, but the Azélia does offer a nice hazelnut flavor.
If you are a fan of gianduja, it’s worth buying it in larger quantities, as you will find excuses to use it. For long-term storage (as with any chocolate) keep it in a consistently cool, dark environment, such as in a wine chiller,in its original container. Stored in this way, it will keep for months.
This mixture is very smooth, thick, and creamy at warmer room temperatures. It becomes very firm when refrigerated, so keep that in mind when using it. At room temperature, this ganache is thick enough to be spread or piped. Christophe’s recommended uses are as a macaron filling (which I think would be perfect), as a filling between shortbread cookies, as a filling in a rolled cake, or as a tart filling. The consistency also begs to be piped (Be careful when piping ganache, as the heat of your hands can cause it to eventually break down.)
You can experiment by working with the ratio of gianduja to dark chocolate, but keep in mind that the hazelnut flavor should stand out.
Christophe’s original recipe uses 30% milk fat cream (equivalent to a light whipping cream, and commonly used in professional ganache recipes by French chefs), but I tested with the more common American 36% heavy whipping cream (most all brands; 5 g fat per tablespoon), and it works great.