Ganache

Ganache (gä 'näsh) a sweet creamy chocolate mixture used especially as a filling or frosting. (Merriam-Webster online)

I'll be honest.  Ganache is one of my favorite things - I can easily eat it by the spoonful.  And I use it a lot - as filling for truffles; topping for cheesecake; filling and/or topping for cake; or ice cream topping.  

It sounds easy enough:  two ingredients, chocolate and cream, melded together into luscious decadence.  But ganache can be temperamental - it “breaks” (separates) easily, which ruins the look and the texture.  So here's a little tutorial for making some, along with some tips for preventing separation and an awesome technique for fixing it if it does break.

Basic Ganache Recipe:

this recipe makes a pourable ganache perfect for topping a cake - if you want to make truffles, see the notes and tips following the recipe.

1 cup heavy whipping cream

10 oz semisweet chocolate (or 8 oz bittersweet)

Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place in a heat-proof bowl.  Bring the cream to a boil.  

Pour over the chopped chocolate and let stand for 5 minutes.   

Using a whisk, stir the mixture.  Don't whisk too fast or too slowly - just keep your whisk moving in a steady rhythm until the cream and chocolate begin to emulsify.  It will look awful at first 

Don't panic!  Just keep stirring steadily and it should come together like this.

When the mixture is smooth and glossy and no lumps of chocolate remain, you're done!  You can pour this mixture over a cake or cheesecake right now, or you can wait a little to let it set up into a spreadable consistency.  

Tips:

The recipe above make a ganache that will be pretty soft at room temperature - if you want to make truffles, decrease the cream amount to 3/4 cup, and let the ganache sit (covered) overnight.

Use heavy whipping cream.  Don't try to cut back on calories by using half-and-half or even “plain” whipping cream.  Both of these options are more “liquid” than the heavy cream, so you'll need a higher chocolate ratio, which will raise your fat content any way.  And deviations from the basic recipe mean a higher likelihood that your ganache will break - and make more work for you.

Choose good chocolate.  Your ganache will taste like the chocolate you use, so if you're using bargain basement chocolate, expect that taste.

If possible, avoid using chocolate chips.  I know, that's the easiest form available for chocolate, especially if it needs to be measured (1 cup of chocolate chips is 6 oz), and there are certainly some high-quality chips out there, but chips contain ingredients to help them hold their shape when they're heated - and you want yours to melt!  If you use chips, expect that you will likely need to fix your ganache using the technique discussed below.

If you are using chocolate with a cocoa percentage of more than 70%, you will need to more cream (1 1/4 cup) and a slightly different (and more complicated) method of mixing the cream and chocolate:  Heat the cream to 115°. Gently melt the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl until it is also 115°.  Slowly pour the chocolate into the cream, whisking constantly.  When about half the chocolate is in the cream, stop and scrape the rest into the mixture.  Whisk until smooth.  If it breaks, this mixture can be fixed with the same method described below.

When whisking, whisk constantly in a circular pattern, keeping the whisk in contact with the bowl at all times.  This will minimize splashing, which will minimize air bubbles, and let your ganache emulsify more easily.

Don't Rush.  Take the time to chop your chocolate finely, to heat the cream to boiling, and to stir briskly but gently.  Rushing leads to breakage, and it takes a lot longer to fix the ganache than to make it right the first time through!

What to do if your ganache breaks:

If your ganache isn't smooth and glossy after you've whisked it for a while, or if it starts to look “oily”, even a little, it's “broken.”  The cream and the chocolate failed to emulsify properly - for so many possible reasons, that it's hard to place blame.  My ganache breaks most often when it's really cold in my house, or when I've used chocolate chips instead of bar chocolate.

Broken ganache still tastes great.  But the texture can be pretty grainy, and the solidified ganache may have white streaks all over it, both of which can be off-putting.  So here's a method for fixing it that works pretty much every time for me.  It's called the “mayonnaise method” and it comes from Alice Medrich's “Bittersweet”.  (Don't worry, no mayonnaise is involved!)

You'll need:

1-2 T heavy cream

the broken ganache

Make sure your ganache is in a heat-proof bowl.  Fill a skillet with water, and put it on a burner at medium-low.  Place the ganache in the water, and let it melt (or keep it warm).  Once the ganache is melted, heat the extra cream to boiling (I do this by pouring into a glass measuring cup and heating it for about 30 seconds in the microwave).  Pour the hot cream into a large bowl, and immediately add a small amount of ganache.  Gently whisk until smooth.  Add more ganache and whisk again.  Repeat until your ganache is all used up.  It is extremely important to be patient during this process.  Add too much broken ganache to your new mixture and it could easily break all over again!

Written By: Barbara