Chocolate ganache with coconut milk

Hello all,

I'm making dinner this weekend for several friends. One has a dairy allergy and another a gluten allergy. I'm making a variety of dishes, but would like to do a single dessert. I've found a recipe for a nut crust that looks pretty good and want to do a layer of chocolate ganache and then berries.

I've seen a few recipes for chocolate ganache made with coconut milk (or sometimes coconut cream). Has anyone tried this? I saw a report back on one recipe that the ganache was grainy, but I assume that was from overheating the chocolate and not the coconut. Has anyone had luck with this method? If so, any tips? And how much coconut flavor will come through? Should I run with it, or put an add in that will mask it?

If people have general advice on making ganache, favorite kinds of chocolate, best methods for heating it, excellent add in flavors that may complement the coconut, I would appreciate thoughts on that as well.

Thanks!

I'd love to hear how this comes out. Chocolate ganache made with coconut milk sounds delicious.

Tomorrow is going to be the second-to-the-last day of my chocolate candies unit at pastry school, and I'm curious enough about this that I'll ask our instructor for any info she can give me on doing a ganache with coconut milk.

Just thinking about it my concern would be that coconut milk, even the thick variety, has significantly less fat in it than the heavy cream that would typically be used for a ganache. I went through some chocolate recipe books that I own, and the only one that I could find with a coconut milk ganache was made from coconut milk, white chocolate, invert sugar, and unsweetened dried coconut. Not much help unless you have a dairy-free white chocolate, and if you did I don't think it would behave the same way as a more typical white chocolate anyway.

For the ganache method it would be hard to go wrong with the old standby of bringing your liquid and any sweetener up to a simmer, pouring it over chocolate that's been melted about halfway, letting it rest 30 seconds or so to melt further, and then whisking in a tight circle in the center of the bowl until you see a nice emulsified core and eventually expanding out to the rim of the bowl. A quick mix with a hand blender at the end would be nice for the consistency of the ganache, but not at all necessary.

As far as other flavors, I'm pretty fond of pairing cardamom with coconut milk. I would take the seeds from 2-3 green cardamom pods and toast them lightly over medium heat until fragrant and then grind them. Bring the coconut milk up to a simmer, remove it from the heat and stir in the ground cardamom, cover your pot with plastic wrap and infuse for maybe 15-30 minutes. Pass the coconut milk through a strainer and put the pot back on the heat, bring it back to a simmer, and then use the ganache method above. You could also add some vanilla, like 1/4 of a bean if you have any (and if so, scrape it out and add it when the cream first goes on the heat).

No, haven't tried this. But of course you have the luxury of trial and error here. What I mean is that you could incorporate some but not all of the coconut milk called for, let it set up, it will harden some, and if you feel it's still too dense for your liking, warm the two and then add more coconut milk. But I don't see why it wouldn't work as long as you make sure to stir them together well.

I haven't done ganache, but I use coconut oil and coconut milk for butter and milk in regular baking for my vegan friends, and it comes out wonderfully.

For future reference, here's an amazing chocolate cake that's gluten-free. I made it this week with coconut oil/milk and only 3 eggs, and it was incredibly rich and moist. Two thumbs up from me!

Chocolate quinoa cake recipe.

Good luck! Let us know how it comes out!

Thanks all-the chocolate cake looks amazing. I'll have to try it next time.

I would love to hear thoughts from pastry school. Coconut cream is about 25% fat so it is a little low compared to regular cream, but it is already congealed, so maybe it acts a little differently when cooled? I'd love any thoughts. I could try straining it or slowly cooking more of the water out. Or adding less as was suggested and adding more as necessary.

I'll keep watching for more thoughts and report back with the results.

Coconut milk will make a great ganache. I would add coconut oil (or grapeseed, for a more neutral flavor) to replace about 15-20% of the liquid. A ratio of 2 parts chocolate to 1 part liquid should work pretty well (and don't forget a pinch of salt, of course.) You're correct in that the only way this would be grainy is if it were improperly emulsified or the chocolate was burned.

If you want to get seriously science-y about it, I would gently melt chocolate to 90F, then mix the coconut milk & salt at 92F in 3 additions, stirring to not quite emulsify the first 2 times. Then stir in the oil. This is how we do our vegan ganaches (made with almond milk & grapeseed oil) and it works out quite nicely. We do more chocolate to liquid, because we need to roll the truffles, but 2 to 1 should work fine for a tart.

No need to add sweetener if you have a chocolate that's sweet enough for you - invert sugars are mainly added to bind the water molecules to extend the shelf life, though they will also improve texture if your technique is not perfecto.

Feel free to PM me if you have any more questions. Good luck!

Best,
Katherine

Thanks all for the help. The ganache came out really well. I used coconut cream instead of milk at the 2:1 ratio. If I do it again, I might use coconut milk just to compare to see if I liked a slightly softer ganache. I added a pinch of salt to the mix and also sprinkled a bit on top with pomegranate seeds. A very pretty result.

I warmed the cream gently on the stove and poured it over the chopped chocolate. When it was warm, it smelled like a mounds bar, but when it firmed up nearly none of the coconut came through. I used a fairly intense chocolate (72%) that may have masked the flavor. I think if someone wants that flavor, adding coconut flakes to the crust and a milder chocolate would help. If you are just trying to make it vegan, the strong chocolate and cream make a neutral and rich ganache.

I made a whipped coconut cream to go with it that was really tasty and pretty-sort of shiny. (Chill coconut cream in the fridge and beat it with a whisk.)

Unfortunately I paired it with a nut crust that was a little overwhelming. I would make either of them again, but not put them together.