What Is Namelaka And What Makes It Different From Ganache?

Although namelaka’s name has Japanese origins (translating roughly to “smooth” or “creamy”), the sauce was actually created in a French pastry school called l’Ecole Valrhona. Today, the school has four locations – Tain l’Hermitage, Paris, Brooklyn, and Tokyo – but when namelaka came about in the 1990s, only its Tain l’Hermitage location had been established.

So, where did the Japanese-inspired name come from? As you can imagine, the school drew in students from all across the globe, including those from Japan. It was a Japanese chef who took Valrhona’s world-famous chocolate and transformed it into a dessert sauce more delicate than mousse, yet sturdier than ganache.

Since then, namelaka has been welcomed into countless cuisines, including classic French choux and puff pastries, Indian mango dishes, and Taiwanese yuzu-castellas. Namelaka has even made its way to the U.S., though it’s still a relatively unfamiliar name to most. Perhaps, given a little more time to be noticed by the general public, namelaka will find itself listed on more than just fine-dining menus. In the meantime, we can settle for making our own delicious namelaka at home, using it however we please.