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This milk chocolate whipped ganache recipe is a game changer for any dessert lover. Simple steps, two ways—pick your favorite!

Bowl of milk chocolate whipped ganache frosting
"Bowl of milk chocolate whipped ganache frosting

Recipe At a Glance

This article covers two methods for making milk chocolate whipped ganache.

The first method uses a simple mixture of milk chocolate and heavy cream in a 1 to 2 ratio by weight. This creates a delicious ganache but results in a fairly soft texture that isn’t ideal for piping intricate designs or supporting decorations on top of the frosting.

You could adjust the ratio to include more milk chocolate relative to the heavy cream, which would thicken and stabilize the ganache but also make it much richer. And I don’t know about you, but having a dessert topping almost as rich as milk chocolate isn’t particularly appealing to me.

The good news is that we can address the stability issue with a small addition: gelatin. The second method involves using even more heavy cream but stabilizing the ganache with gelatin. This adjustment allows the ganache to pipe beautifully, keep its shape well, and taste great without being overly rich.

Choose the version that best suits the dessert you’re looking to top.

Making milk chocolate whipped ganache for the first time? Please read the ingredients notes, step-by-step instructions, and tips. If you’re familiar with the recipe, feel free to jump to the recipe card.

Ingredients Notes and Substitutes

Simple Option

Milk chocolate. Couverture chocolate or baking chocolate both work great, but your favorite milk chocolate should work just as well.
Heavy cream. Go with the brand you use for whipping.

Stabilized Option

Stabilized milk chocolate whipped ganache ingredients

Milk chocolate. The same as above applies.
Heavy cream.
Gelatin. I use powdered gelatin, but you can use an equivalent in gelatin leaves if that’s what you prefer.

How to Make Milk Chocolate Whipped Ganache

Simple Option

Prepare the chocolate. Finely chop the milk chocolate and transfer it to a large heatproof bowl. Chopping the chocolate helps it melt more easily, but there’s no need to be perfect because we’ll blend it with heavy cream anyway.

Chopped chocolates — Finely chop the milk chocolate

Heat the cream. Heat half of the heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it just begins to simmer. Watch for small bubbles forming near the edges of the pot and a bit of steam, but avoid letting it boil over.

Heating the heavy cream — Heat half the cream until it simmers without boiling

Combine chocolate and cream. Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate and let it sit for about a minute to allow the chocolate to warm and start melting. Then, whisk the mixture until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth.

Pour the hot cream
Let it sit briefly for chocolate to melt
Whisk until the mixture is smooth

Blend. Use an immersion blender to blend the mixture thoroughly for 1-2 minutes, moving the blender around to ensure all the chocolate and cream are fully incorporated. This is our insurance policy against any lumps of unmelted chocolate.
Add remaining cream. Add the remaining cream (the portion that wasn’t heated) to the mixture and blend for another minute. This helps cool down the ganache quickly, preparing it for refrigeration.

Add the remaining cream
Blend with immersion blender
until the mixture is smooth

Cover and refrigerate. Cover the ganache with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface to prevent any skin from forming. Refrigerate the bowl for at least 6 hours, ideally overnight.

Whip. Using a hand or stand mixer with a whisk attachment, whip the ganache on medium speed until it becomes light and fluffy, with clearly visible trails from the whisks. This should take about 3-5 minutes. Stop immediately if the ganache begins to look grainy.

Whip the ganache at a medium speed
until it looks light and fluffy

Use. Immediately pipe the ganache after whipping.

Milk chocolate ganache frosting on eclairs

Stabilized Option

The stabilized version of the recipe isn’t that much different from the base one. There are only a couple of extra steps, which take about 3 minutes in total.

Bloom the gelatin. Pour the water over the gelatin in a tiny bowl and stir it. It takes about 5 to 10 minutes to bloom, which is about how long the steps before we need the gelatin will take.

Gelatin for stabilized whipped cream — Bloom gelatin in water for 5-10 minutes

Prepare the chocolate. Finely chop the milk chocolate and place it into a large heatproof bowl. The finer the chocolate is chopped, the easier it will melt, but there’s no need to be perfect here because we will blend the chocolate with heavy cream anyway.

Heat the cream. Heat half the heavy cream over medium heat in a small saucepan until it just begins to simmer. Do not let it boil over; you’re looking for small bubbles near the edges of the pot and a bit of steam. Take the cream off the heat.

Heating the cream — Heat half the cream until it simmers without boiling

Add gelatin. Add gelatin to the hot cream and whisk until it dissolves.

Adding the bloomed gelatin to the cream — Add the gelatin

Combine chocolate and cream. Pour the hot cream and gelatin mixture over the chopped chocolate. Let it sit for about 1 minute for the chocolate to warm and start melting. After a minute, whisk the mixture until the chocolate fully melts and the mixture is smooth.
Blend. Use an immersion blender to carefully blend the mixture for about 1-2 minutes. Ensure you move the blender around to incorporate all the chocolate and cream thoroughly. This is our insurance policy against any lumps of unmelted chocolate.

Pour the cream and gelatin
Whisk until chocolate melts
Blend for 1-2 minutes

Add remaining cream. Pour the remaining cream (the portion that wasn’t heated) into the mixture and blend for another minute or so. This quickly lowers the temperature of the ganache, making it ready for refrigeration.

Add the remaining cream
Blend with immersion blender
until the mixture is smooth

Cover and refrigerate. Cover the ganache with plastic wrap, making sure the wrap is in direct contact with the surface of the ganache. This prevents a skin from forming. Put the bowl in the fridge for 6+ hours, ideally overnight.

Whip. After those 6 hours in the fridge, the ganache will look set and pretty stiff. That’s expected, so don’t panic. Grab a hand or stand mixer with the whisk attachment and whip the ganache on medium speed until the whisks leave a clearly visible trail and the ganache looks light and fluffy. This should take 3 to 5 minutes. Stop immediately if you notice the ganache starts looking grainy.

Chilled milk chocolate ganache
Stiff ganache texture after chilling

Whip the ganache
until the whisks leave a clearly visible trail
and the ganache looks light and fluffy

Use. Pipe the ganache immediately after whipping.

Chocolate financiers with whipped ganache frosting

Tips

Here are a few things to keep in mind when making this whipped ganache recipe:

Chill the equipment. If you want to use a different bowl for whipping, transfer the ganache to it at least 30 minutes before whipping so it cools to a low temperature. Freezing the whisks for 30 minutes before whipping is also a great idea. Read my guide to whipped cream for more tips on whipping cream.

Milk chocolate ganache whipped using an electric hand mixer

Add flavor. You can add 1 to 2 teaspoons of a liqueur (say brandy or rum) or extract (like vanilla extract) to add more flavor to the ganache. Add the extra flavoring after incorporating the cold cream when the ganache is already fairly cold, so the high temperature won’t mess with the flavor notes. Also, make sure what you add makes sense for the dessert the ganache will top.

Whisk covered in ganache — Whisk covered in white chocolate ganache

Storage

You can store the whipped ganache in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. The simple version should keep its shape for a day or so after piping, while the stabilized one should keep for the whole 3 to 4 days without much change. Make sure the container is sealed tightly so the ganache doesn’t absorb any smells.