Mojito Ganache - Test One

The basic white ganache recipe is made using the rum/mint/lime infusion.

First, as always, we do our mise on place.

Stand mixer, check, kitchen scale, check, white chocolate buttons, check, silicon spatula, check, egg yolks (6), check, rum infusion, check, lime oil flavoring, check, dried lime zest, check, butter, check, vanilla beans (3), 4 loaf pans, check, plastic wrap, check, large pot of water at a gentle boil, check.

INGREDIENTS:

3lbs white chocolate
12 oz unsalted butter
6 egg yolks
3 vanilla beans, halved, and split
1/3 cup rum infusion

To Add Later:
1/8 teaspoon lime oil flavoring
1 teaspoon dried lime zest

Three pounds white chocolate buttons, (I use Guittard), 12 oz unsalted butter, and the vanilla beans go into the bowl of the stand mixer and over the gently boiling water.

Stir often, to facilitate a smooth melting of all the chocolate and all the butter.

Move to the stand mixer, and at lowest stir setting begin mixing.

Add in the egg yolks, one at a time, still at lowest setting.

Add in the 1/3 cup of the rum infusion, and gradually, to avoid slopping out, increase the stir speed to highest setting. The goal here is to mix all the ingredients into a tight liason, but also to introduce air into the ganache and speed the cooling (it's pretty damned hot right now, I have about an inch burn on my wrist from it. cooking's dangerous, behave accordingly)

That's what we want. Smooth, silky, luscious ganache, and yes, I tasted at this point and yes, it's pretty wonderful, thanks for asking. At this point I take out the vanilla beans, wipe off the excess ganache, and drop them into the rum infusion bottle, which then gets topped off with fresh rum. Taking the excess ganache off the bean is how it gets on my fingers, those fingers naturally went to my mouth before I washed them.

Divide the ganache into four pans, lined with plastic wrap. I know there's a lot of overhang here. I did that on purpose. We will need to cover closely, and once the ganache sets, it's much easier to remove completely from the pan if it's wrapped.

Here's a rule for my truffle kitchen.

Rule: Plastic is cheap. Chocolate is expensive.

Take this to your hearts, learn it, love it, live it and we'll all get along.

Say it with me. "Plastic is cheap. Chocolate is expensive." There, I feel better now.

Pan one is the ganache and the infusion. That gets covered and labeled now.
Pan two is with a teaspoon of added lime zest.
Pan three is lime zest and 1/8 teaspoon of the lime oil flavoring
Pan four is 1/8 tsp of the lime oil flavoring alone.

There they are, covered closely, and labled. I - Z - ZL - L. Into the refrigerator to set.

Now we wait until tomorrow for SCIENCE! to tell us where we stand.