What is Chocolate Ganache?
When its warm, its pourable.
When its cool, its spreadable.
Prevent screen from sleeping
And when its cold, its rollable.
And when you eat it, in any of those forms, its heavenly.
It literally melts in your mouth!
I mean, look at that list.
I did not exaggerate when I said it can literally be used foranything!
What goes in Chocolate Ganache
All you need is chocolate and cream to make chocolate ganache.
Cooking chocolate is made so it melts smoothly.
Blocksthat you chop up yourself melt better and more smoothly than chocolate chips or melts sold in packets.
In Australia, look for bags labelled melts (pictured below) which are specifically designed to melt well.
Made to be stable, and still yields excellent rich, smooth results!I use these regularly!
Chop chocolateinto small pieces.
If it boils, it is too hot and may split the chocolate.
Poke/push chocolate under the cream as best you’re able to.
I found this out the hard way!
Mixto combine the cream and chocolate until it becomes a smooth and glossy chocolate sauce.
At first, it may seem like it wont combine just keep mixing, it will happen!
Alsodont use a whisk it aerates the mixture too much and you end up with bubbles in the ganache.
Now its just about getting the right consistency for its intended purpose (heres some ideas).
On to the next section!
But typically, the more expensive the chocolate, the more prone to splitting it is!
So its better to be safe than sorry.
And heres a photo of the milk chocolate and white chocolate ganache after they have cooled down and thickened.
To make it thicker, you just need to cool it down.
The cooler it gets, the thicker it gets and it loses its shine.
Note: Once Chocolate Ganache cools down after pouring it on, it loses its shine.
It will look and spread likechocolate buttercream.
It can even be used for decorative piping around the edge of cakes.
You could do big swirls on cupcakes but I think youll find its too rich for that.
Its better to whip it first for that purpose see below for Whipped Chocolate Ganache.
Its just easier to work with when its that little bit firmer like this.
Just to be clear thesurfaceof the cake pictured below is chocolate ganache.
The glossy chocolate being poured over it isMirror Glaze!
It becomes matte when cooled (as pictured on the cake at the top).
Place ganache into your chilled bowl and whip it like cream.
It will lighten in colour and increase in volume.
Then just use as you wouldchocolate buttercream pipe or frost onto cakes and cupcakes!
Even with the Wilton 2D closed tip pictured below, I started getting raggedy edges as I continued piping.
Its best to use a basic wide, star tip.
Note however, while whipped ganache can be piped, it is not as stable as Chocolate Buttercream.
Depending on the quality of the chocolate you used, the piped frosting might split and look untidy.
In truth is generally better used for spreading rather than piping.
Here are my tips and tricks to help you sidestep or solve them!
Of course high couverture chocolate yields superior results but its costly and more fickle to work with.
It will make this phobia known to you by splitting or seizing or becoming grainy.
), this is not a big deal.
Its occurred because the cream was too hot.
;
Split ganache when you see streaks of oil, this means the ganache has split.
bowl wasnt dry).
But this too is fixable.
Heat up 2 tablespoons of milk until warm (NOT boiling!)
Melt some more chocolate separately and whisk it in until smooth.
Cool and re-use;
Ganache is too thick thin by whisking in warmed cream.
Its just not as nice eating cold chocolate!
Below is what ganache looks like when its too warm.
Prevent screen from sleeping
It doesnt hold its shape, it kind of oozes albeit slowly.
Its also sticky and doesnt crust over like glazes.
Not very suitable for frosting cakes.
How to store chocolate ganache
Room temperature for 3 days up to 23C/73C or so, inside.
Chocolate ganache is, after all, chocolate, so it will melt in hot temperatures.
Then cover with cling wrap, pressing down so it covers the surface.
Place in freezer for up to 3 months (probably even longer ok!).
To thaw, leave overnight in the fridge.
Dab off all condensation from the surface with a paper towel before mixing.
If it splits, fix it using the warmed milk method I described above in the troubleshooting section.
And with that, I have said my piece!
Who knew there was so much in my head that I had to share about a simple chocolate ganache!
Heres a quick link back to a longlist of ideas for things you might do with it!
