I like to use chocolate ganache to decorate cakes and pastries. It gives desserts a glossy and smooth finish. Plus, chocolate just tastes good.
Chocolate Ganache is very simply to make, and although it can be customized with a wide variety of flavors, it really only requires 2 ingredients: heavy cream and good quality chocolate. Furthermore, ganache doesn’t really require a recipe as it is a simple formula of equal parts cream and chocolate, or a 1:1 ratio.
But if you do a search for Chocolate Ganache recipes on the Internet, you’ll find many variations in the types of ingredients called for, the quantities called for, and the process for making it.
Reading all of these various recipes can make it more complicated than it really needs to be to understand how to make chocolate ganache.
So I share with you now my Pastry Chef knowledge and experience that I learned by making chocolate ganache in professional bakeries….not the kind of thing you can get in a typical recipe. Once you understand this basic process, then you can get creative and try adding different ingredients to the ganache to change the flavor profile.
Chocolate Ganache
Chef’s note: This recipe will make a thicker ganache suitable for piping decorations on cakes. To make a thinner ganache suitable for a pourable glaze, use equal parts of cream and chocolate (16 ounces of cream + 16 ounces of chocolate chips).
Ingredients
12 ounces of heavy whipping cream (1 1/2 cups)
16 ounces of chocolate chips (2 2/3 cups)
Directions:
1. Place the chocolate chips in a medium stainless steel bowl.
2. Scald the cream in a small saucepan – heat over medium heat, bringing it just below a boil.
3. Pour the scalded cream over the chocolate chips. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to sit for 5 minutes so the chocolate can soften and melt.
4. Stir the chocolate and cream with a wire whisk until completely blended. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit for another 5 minutes.
5. Remove plastic wrap and give the ganache a final stir.
NOTES: If for some reason the chocolate does not completely melt or there are still little lumps left in the ganache, place the bowl over a double boiler and stir with the wire whisk until completely melted. And/or pour the ganache through a fine mesh strainer.
Pour the ganache into a shallow dish and cover the surface directly with plastic wrap to keep it from forming a tough film on the top.
Ganache can be stored at room temp for 2 days, in the frige for up to 5 days, and in the freezer for even longer storage (up to 6 months).
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