Just Ask Rosie. And I Thank Ken For Asking Rosie.

Ken posted a comment yesterday in response to one of my posts:

Ken said...

While those suggestions are hilarious, on a serious note perhaps you'd like to try Ina Garten's frozen berries with white chocolate ganache? I'd be interested to know if yours turns out the same way that mine did...

And Ken posted a link to her blog and her attempt at making
Ina's white chocolate ganache with blueberries:

The Adventures of Ken and McKenna.

Well, Ken, I tried to look up Ina's recipe for the white choc ganache and the blueberries, but it's one of those recipes that doesn't stay up for long.
In other words, it ain't there.

Hah! My dear friend Orchidgirl just emailed me the recipe.
Here it is:

Marilyn has Vagina Garden's book.
She scanned the recipe and sent it to me.


Ken, Ina specifically says NOT to use chips and to use "the good stuff."
This might have been part of your problem.




And I checked your blog, but you don't exactly have measurements there.
So, I'm on my own here.
Now, Ken, when I looked at your pictures of blueberries and white chocolate, something resonated with me. Something that needed fixin'.
You needed MORE.
More flavors and more textures.
So, I'm trying to do that and come up with a
better combination of flavors, textures, and visual appeal.

And, as luck would have it, I had all the ingredients on hand
and didn't need to go to the store.


So I googled blueberries and white chocolate ganache and got this:
Blueberry and White Chocolate Ganache on a Profiterole.

First up, my mise en place for Profiteroles.

I have :
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk and cream combo
1 cup flour
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 eggs

I poured the water, milk/cream mixture in a pan and added the butter.

Heat to a simmer.

Then add the flour all at once.

Stir vigorously until the dough comes up into a ball.

Nice dough.

Add the eggs one at a time.

Beating the entire time.

After 4 eggs, I decided the dough needed one more egg to make it a bit more loose.

Now, If I see ANYBODY get a Ziploc bag and scissors out
you are Dead.To.Me.

Spoon the pate a choux, while still warm, into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch plain tip and pipe onto a parchment lined baking pan.

Ooh. I'm excited.
My first piping being extruded.

Oooh Kaaaay.

All right.
I guess Ace of Cakes ain't gonna be knockin' on my door anytime soon.

I baked these in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 15 minutes, then turned the temp down to 350 degrees, and baked for 25 minutes more.

Isn't this profiterole pretty?

You can see the butter oozing out.

And of course, you can see all the flavors, and,
if you're like my daughter, you can smell all the colors.

Cool on a rack.

Now for my white chocolate ganache and strawberry addition.

I have my mise en place:

For the ganache:
4 oz. white chocolate
1 cup heavy cream

(Edited to add: I had to make a correction in the amount of chocolate since I misread the recipe. Should have been 1/3 cup of cream.
My bad.

And for the strawberry glaze:
1 cup strawberries
1/4 cup sugar

Let's make the ganache.

Add cream in a double boiler.
Now, Ken, one reason your ganache didn't turn out like you wanted it,
texture-wise or taste-wise,
might be due to the type of white chocolate you used.
Technically, white chocolate is not chocolate at all, since it doesn't contain chocolate liquor.
A good white "chocolate" contains cocoa butter, milk solids, vanilla, and lecithin.
Inferior brands contain vegetable fat and no cocoa butter.

After reading all this, I immediately went to check the ingredients in my Nestles white chocolate.
No cocoa butter.
Palm oils. Always a plus. NOT.
Artificial flavors.
No vanilla.

I need to go to another store to find a better brand of white chocolate.
Obviously, Nestles ain't it.

So here, I've heated the 1 cup of cream to a simmer over top of a double boiler and I'm dropping a piece of white chocolate into the cream.

I gradually added the white chocolate.

I have it at a low simmer, stirring, and seeing that it's still not all dissolved.
And, my ganache is very, very thin and liquidy.

I go back to the recipe and realize that the recipe called for 1/3 cup of cream not 1 cup.
So I just tripled my white chocolate input.

Note to self:
"Self, read the damn recipe closer!"

At least I have extra ganache leftover, which freezes well
and I'll be able to try out more recipes.

Next up, my strawberries.

I had frozen strawberries on hand from when Mr. H. and I went to Currituck to pick them.

Add in the sugar.

Cook over a very low heat.

The smells are delicious.

Strawberry glaze is ready.

On to my profiteroles with ice cream, white chocolate ganache, and strawberry glaze.

I sliced apart a profiterole.
Added a scoop of ice cream.

Now, Ken, I did have to go out and buy the ice cream. That's just something I don't keep on hand. We have a convenience store 1/2 mile away, so I hopped in my son's little sports car - the first time I'd driven it. Wow, talk about fun.
(Now, Middle Hawthorne has had my truck for 2 weeks since his car was in the shop due to a
hit-and-run. Plus, he's been out of town. And we just got the car out the other day.)
Anyways, I zoom up to TJ's to find some vanilla ice cream - the whole time wishing this convenience store wasn't so convenient because I'm LOVIN' this car.
I haven't driven a straight gear in years.

So, I get there, and there's no such thing as vanilla ice cream.
It's all Ben & Jerry's.
I picked out Creme Brulee.
An excellent pick if I do say so myself.

This was beautiful.
Ice cream on top of the bottom half of profiterole.
Put the top half back on.
Pour the white ganache over top and add the strawberries.

I just had to keep shooting pictures from every angle.

Is this not beautiful?
Look at the strawberry glaze making a little river
in the melting ice cream and surrounding ganache.

Oh Ken, you must try this.
It was delicious.

Now, I noticed you put the white chocolate chips in the hot pan first and then added the cream.
I heated up the cream first, then added the chocolate.
Don't know if that has anything to do with it.

I think we both need to deal with premium white chocolates.

And I think you needed more flavors and textures.

Hope this helps, dear.

'nuf said?