Chocolate Ganache is a Basic
Ganache is, at its most simple, a combination of chocolate and cream. The starting point for a basic ganache is a 1:1 ratio of the weight of the two ingredients, but recipes vary.
Increase the amount of chocolate and you get a thicker ganache; more cream and the ganache will be more fluid. A baker or confectioner will often use different formulations for different uses – a thicker ganache can form the center of chocolate truffles while a looser, more fluid ganache might be whisked into a cold coffee drink.
You can see this ganache in action as a glaze in our Spider Webs Cupcakes. You could even use it to dip fruit!
Quality Counts
Whenever you have a recipe with so few ingredients, it is vitally important that they are all of the highest quality as their flavors and textures will be readily apparent. Buy fresh cream and the flavor of the chocolate should be one that you enjoy eating all by itself.
Also, the percentage of cacao (the cacao mass) used will alter the ratio. This recipe is formulated for the cacao mass range listed below and I encourage you to follow this recommendation. More on this in Tips.
And read our article All About Dark Chocolate.
Here are some step by step photos:
At first the hot cream and chocolate might seem to resist combining, as seen below.
Juts keep gently stirring together; do not actively whisk as you aren’t trying to incorporate air. It will begin to come together as you can see in the next few images.
Some more stirring…
Almost done…
Ultimately you will be rewarded with silky smooth, rich and creamy dark chocolate ganache.
Dark Chocolate Ganache
Dark Chocolate Ganache is a versatile basic in the sweet kitchen and can work in a low FODMAP diet, if you pay attention to portion control.
Low FODMAP Serving Size Info: Makes about 2 ½ cups (600 ml); serving size 2 tablespoons
Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 cups (300 ml) heavy cream, plus extra
- 12- ounces (340 g) semisweet chocolate, finely chopped, preferably 50% to 55 cacao mass
Preparation:
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Place cream in a medium-size non-reactive saucepan and bring just to a boil over medium heat.
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Remove from heat and immediately sprinkle chocolate into cream. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes; the heat of the cream will melt the chocolate. Gently stir the ganache until smooth. You may also combine the ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl and heat at 50% power until chocolate is about three-quarters melted. Remove from the microwave and stir gently until chocolate is melted and mixture is combined and smooth.
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The ganache is now ready to use. Use in its liquid state as a glaze, poured over cakes or as a simple sauce for ice cream. It also makes a fine chocolate fondue. Or, allow to sit at room temperature for a few hours until it thickens slightly when it will be perfect for dipping cupcakes for a smooth look; see Spider Web Cupcakes. After several hours or overnight it will reach a spreadable consistency (between mayonnaise and peanut butter) and you can use it to frost cakes, cupcakes and bars.
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Refrigerate up to 1 week in an airtight container or freeze up to 1 month. You may re-warm ganache to its fluid state on low power in microwave or over very low heat in a heavy saucepan.
Notes:
Tips
- Make sure that your chocolate is finely chopped so that it melts readily with the hot cream. If the chocolate does not completely melt, place saucepan over very low heat, stirring often until chocolate is melted, taking care not to scorch.
- Your choice of chocolate will literally make or break this recipe. Chocolates with a high cocoa percentage will leave you with a “broken” product; this is the actual technical term. We don’t recommend anything higher than 55% for this chocolate ganache recipe. The mixture will refuse to come together into a smooth mass. It might look curdled and/or the cocoa butter will separate, float to the top and create an oily film. If this happens you can attempt to resuscitate it by whisking in some extra cold cream and/or buzzing it with an immersion blender. It should come together. It is simply a matter of chocolate/cream proportions, so don’t give up.
- When stirring the ganache, do so very gently. You are aiming to combine the ingredients but you do not want to whip air into the ganache. We use a rubber spatula, sometimes a whisk, but never a whisking action, which would aerate the ganache.
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more. For a more detailed explanation, please read our article Understanding The Nutrition Panel Within Our Recipes.
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