Pistachio Ganache (with White Chocolate and Pistachio Butter)

This ultra creamy, vibrant green pistachio ganache is made with white chocolate and naturally flavored with real pistachio butter for a sweet, nutty, and earthy pistachio flavor that’s perfect for a wide variety of fillings and frostings for cakes, cookies, and pastries.

With only three main ingredients and a mere 20 minutes of active time (plan on an hour or two for it to set, but it can also be made further ahead of time), this homemade pistachio ganache is a true showstopper, and easily adaptable depending on the exact consistency and flavor you desire.

My pistachio obsession is showing no signs of abating any time soon.

After making a truly otherworldly whipped pistachio ganache to top my exquisite raspberry pistachio frangipane tart, I decided that a standalone pistachio ganache recipe was probably a good idea, as it makes such an incredibly versatile frosting or filling.

This recipe is for a standard soft-set pistachio ganache (perfect for truffle filling or macarons), but it’s easy enough to turn it into a whipped ganache by just adding additional cream and then whipping it to silky smooth, airy perfection the next day.

What to do with it?

Other than eat it with a spoon, you mean? That’s a great question!

Ganache is truly one of the most flexible fillings in the pastry world, and you can use this pistachio one in just about any recipe that calls for chocolate ganache.

I used it to fill some gorgeously green truffles (seriously, the contrast of the rich, dark chocolate with the sweet pistachio is a revelation). If I have the time to make a batch of chocolate or pistachio macarons, I might use what’s left to fill those (did I mention I made multiple batches of this?)

But truffles and macarons are only the beginning.

I think it’d be a great cupcake topping or filling (stuffed inside my ultimate chocolate cupcakes, for example? Oh my.)

You could use it in place of the pistachio buttercream in a naked layer cake. Chocolate cake being the obvious pairing, but I also think it’d be lovely with lemon cake as well.

A slightly thinner ganache would be perfect drizzled over a nut-infused bundt like this almond bundt cake (almond + pistachio being very complimentary flavors). Or how about a lemon yogurt bundt cake. One of these days I’ll write a pistachio bundt cake recipe but for now, this one will have to do!

And for the lady, perhaps some pistachio-filled cream puffs or heavenly cream-filled eclairs? Which reminds me it’s been a while since I’ve made any choux-based pastries. I’m overchoux, I should say.

Oh I know! How about a dollop in the middle of a shortbread thumbprint cookie or a swirl between two brownie sandwich cookies for a particularly decadent treat, (in place of or in addition to the raspberry jam).

Now that the temperatures are getting warmer, maybe swirl it into a batch of homemade pistachio gelato, perhaps? Oh yes, I think that’ll do just fine.

So, now you see why this recipe has such potential. Don’t waste it! And if you do make it, please share as I’d love to know what you did with it!

I tested batches of ganache with both pistachio cream and pistachio butter, and while I had used pistachio cream for the whipped version, for this batch of ganache I preferred the pistachio butter as it produced a more intense, nutty and earthy pistachio flavor.

The color of your pistachio butter will dictate the color of your ganache. For example, the left spoon is made with store-bought pistachio butter, the middle is homemade pistachio butter using my fancy imported pistachios (so green!), and the right is a sweetened pistachio cream (which was also much looser in consistency, so just keep that in mind).

Consistency is Key

This recipe as written, with 80g of cream, will produce a medium-soft ganache, perfect for molded truffle filling, piping between macarons, or as a filling between cake layers or inside of cupcakes. It’s just shy of a 2:1 ratio (white chocolate to cream by weight).

If you want a firmer ganache that sets up firmly when chilled, or holds its shape better at warmer room temperatures, use a higher cacao percentage (33%-34%), and/or decrease the cream to a 3:1 ratio (50 grams of cream to 150 grams of white chocolate). This consistency would be more suitable for a crumb coat of a layer cake, for example, or for a rolled-and-dipped truffle instead of a molded one.

Need a pourable ganache? Use a 1:1 ratio of cream to white chocolate. This style of ganache would make a great pourable glaze for a bundt or loaf cake, or a perfect ice cream topping.

Whip it good: to adapt this recipe for a whipped ganache like in my raspberry pistachio tart, you need a significantly higher proportion of cream (the final ratio should be 1:3 white chocolate to cream). Follow the recipe as written, but add 220g cold whipping cream after mixing in the pistachio butter, then cover and chill overnight. The next day you’ll be able to whip it to a cloud-like consistency.

If you’re making a big batch of ganache for a specific purpose, I might recommend making a half or quarter batch first just to test consistency, as variances in the cacao % of your white chocolate as well as the specific pistachio product you use can affect the final consistency. Save yourself the hassle of a too thick or too thin ganache and test it beforehand!

That said, if your ganache turns out too thin even after fully chilling (which can happen if your white chocolate is significantly lower in cacao), it can always be whipped which will thicken it right up.

If your ganache is too thick, on the other hand, let it come back to room temperature first which makes it easier to shape and pipe. If it’s still thicker than you want, you can try rewarming it very very gently and incorporating a little bit of warm (never cold) heavy cream. Just keep in mind that too much heat may cause the ganache to break.

Here’s how to make it:

Pistachio ganache is really quite simple, with just a few steps and even fewer ingredients, but there are definitely some tricks and techniques I’ve learned over the years that will improve your chances for success.

My number 1 tip for successful ganache? Be patient. Rushing it, trying to melt it too fast or overheating the chocolate is the quickest way to ruin a batch of ganache. Trust me, I have plenty of experience mangling batch after batch of ganache over the years. (My second tip would be to splurge on good quality chocolate).

Place white chocolate in a bowl or heat-proof container, and gently melt. Pre-melting the white chocolate like this will help the ganache form a smooth emulsion. Heat cream until steamy and just barely bubbling, then pour over melted white chocolate. Using an immersion blender or a whisk, mix the ganache until the white chocolate and cream form a smooth emulsion. Add pistachio butter to warm white chocolate mixture. Blend until very smooth; you can do this with a whisk, but an immersion blender will give you a smoother ganache. The ganache is ready when it is smooth and emulsified and evenly green. Pour warm ganache into a shallow baking dish for faster cooling; you can also transfer it to a piping bag (don’t cut the tip yet) and let it cool in the bag until it’s ready to pipe. If chilling in a container, press a layer of plastic wrap onto the surface of the ganache to prevent a skin from forming.

Pre-melting the white chocolate will help the emulsification form more quickly and evenly. I’ve destroyed numerous batches of ganache over the years, and it’s usually because the hot cream wasn’t quite enough to fully melt the chocolate pieces. So then I would try to warm it up enough to melt those last little bits, wherein I inevitably end up overheating and breaking the ganache (tragic). This common blunder can be easily avoidedby pre-melting the chocolate (gently, please!)

Gently melt white chocolate using a double boiler or in the microwave on short, 10-20 second bursts at 50% power (or lower). Stir between bursts, and stop when the chocolate is mostly melted; the residual heat will be enough to melt it the rest of the way without overheating.

I like to use an immersion blender to emulsify my ganache, quickly combining the oil-based white chocolate with the water-based cream. If you’ve ever had a ganache split on you (leaving a slick of oil on top or a chunky, greasy appearance), that’s because the emulsification broke. The high powered immersion blender does a great job of forming a strong, stable emulsion that is less likely to break.

If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can use a whisk, just work in small concentric circles starting in the center (forming a small pocket of emulsion), then working your way out.

Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

Pistachio Butter: Pistachio butter is simply ground pistachios, sometimes with a little added oil, salt, and/or sugar. I tested this with both a homemade pistachio butter as well as a store bought version (unsweetened). Both tasted lovely, but the homemade version was noticeably greener. Pistachio butter is usually a bit speckled compared to pistachio cream which is more highly processed and therefore smoother.

Pistachio cream is like Nutella, but with pistachios and white chocolate. You can use pistachio cream in this recipe, and the results will be super smooth and luscious, with more of a pistachio gelato-like flavor than actual pistachios. Just know it’ll result in a sweeter and less intense pistachio flavor, and a slightly softer consistency, so you may want to reduce the cream to 1/2 cup (60g) or increase the white chocolate to accommodate. I’ve had varying experiences with different brands of pistachio cream (Pariani and Brontedolci are better brands than the giant jar of Pisti I found at Costco, as amazing a deal as it was). Pistachio cream really varies a lot in terms of intensity of pistachio flavor as well as consistency and color.

If your pistachio butter is unsalted, I recommend adding a pinch of fine sea salt. Additionally, if you want a bit more pistachio gelato-like flavor to your ganache (pistachio butter is more earthy), you can add a few drops of almond or pistachio extract.

White Chocolate: Don’t skimp on good quality white chocolate here, since it contributes a good amount of flavor. If you don’t like how the white chocolate tastes, you’re not going to like the taste of your ganache. I recommend sourcing a high quality white chocolate coverture with 31-33% cacao.

I used a mix of Callebaut Velvet White Chocolate 32% coverture and Republica de Cacao Ecuador White Chocolate 31% (which is my favorite white chocolate flavor-wise).

If your white chocolate has a lower cacao percentage, 28% is common, for example, I’d recommend using a little more white chocolate and a little less cream to ensure a proper set. Lower cacao percentages will result in a looser ganache. You can also add pure cacao butter to up the cacao percentage and produce a firmer ganache.

I do not recommend using white baking chips or white candy coating for this recipe. Not only will it not taste as good, but also baking chips simply aren’t designed to melt smoothly so you are not going to end up with a smooth final product. While white candy coating would work better in that sense, I am not a fan of the fake-vanilla flavor most brands tend to have.

Glucose syrup: Glucose syrup is the pastry chef’s secret for extra luscious ganaches. Adding glucose syrup helps stabilize the ganache, as well as make it silkier and shinier. It’s a special ingredient that I highly recommend having in your kitchen (I often use it for candy making in lieu of corn syrup as well).

Technically you can omit the glucose syrup, it’s not going to make or break the recipe, but you’ll definitely notice a difference if you do make the effort to track it down.

You can use also light corn syrup in a pinch, though it is sweeter and has a slightly higher water content than glucose so it’s not an exact match. I do not recommend honey or maple syrup as they will change the color and flavor of the ganache.