Every pastry chef has their favorite ganache recipe. With unique flavor notes and secret ingredients, ganache is a fertile ground for culinary experiments. Today, however, we want to talk about a basic version that even a beginner can easily make. First, let's understand what this unusual word means. Ganache is a delicious chocolate cream. Depending on its purpose, it can have a more liquid or thick consistency.
The main ingredients for ganache are chocolate and heavy cream. Liquid ganache is used as a chocolate sauce, while a light, creamy mass is great for filling candies. A denser cream is ideal for coating and decorating cakes.
For smoothing a cake, we need a dense cream that holds its shape well. There are two ways to make it. You can take chocolate and cream in a 1:1 ratio, or replace part of the cream with butter. If you don't have cream on hand but need the frosting urgently, use butter in the same proportions instead. Such a ganache will turn out denser than a delicate cream-based one, but it will do its job perfectly.
Let's look at the most complex ganache to prepare, which uses all three ingredients simultaneously: chocolate, cream, and butter. You will need:
The proportions of butter and cream can be changed to your liking, but the main thing is that the ratio of chocolate to cream and/or butter remains 1:1.
Preparation. First, you need to melt the chocolate. The easiest way to do this is to heat it in a water bath. It is best to heat the chocolate together with the cream so that the mixture does not separate due to temperature differences. Put the chocolate pieces in a bowl and pour cold cream over them (right from the fridge). Take out the butter so it can warm up to room temperature. Bring the water in the saucepan to a boil, reduce to medium heat, and place the bowl with chocolate and cream on top. It must completely cover the saucepan so that steam does not escape. Chocolate and water are absolutely incompatible.
During melting, the chocolate must be constantly stirred with a silicone spatula. At first, it will resist a little, but eventually, it will melt beautifully and mix with the cream. The resulting mass should be smooth, glossy, and homogeneous. Remove it from the heat and wait until it cools down to 40°C. Now thoroughly mix the chocolate mass with the soft butter. Cover the finished cream with plastic wrap so that no air penetrates it, and put it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. If you are making ganache without butter—only with cream—leave it in the fridge overnight. Before use, the cream can be whipped—just a couple of minutes, no more. You will get an excellent truffle cream—light, delicate, and airy. The mass will increase in volume, and the color will become lighter (see photo).
How to Use Ganache
This cream is versatile. Cake ganache is used as a filling between cake layers or for smoothing its surface. It's also great for pastries like macarons, choux, and profiteroles as a filling. Using a piping bag, you can make chocolate swirls for cupcakes or other decorations. Whether to whip the cream beforehand or not is a personal choice for every pastry chef. Both options are basically interchangeable.
With this cream, you can cover a cake for decorative purposes or smooth a cake under rolled fondant. Ganache is simply the perfect cake frosting. You can safely cover the cake with fondant without fear that it will melt. Waffle and sugar edible images are also placed on ganache. Cakes are covered with ganache in hot weather or if long transportation is planned. If you are using light fondant and are afraid the dark cream will show through, make it from white chocolate.
Recipe: How to Make Ganache Under Fondant
The preparation technology remains the same, only the proportions change. White chocolate contains a high percentage of cocoa butter and milk fats, so you will need much less butter/cream. About three times less. If you want a denser cream, four times less. That is, to make white chocolate ganache, you need to take 75-100 ml of cream for 300 grams of chocolate. For milk chocolate, the ratio will be 2:1.
How to Choose Ingredients
The first thing you should pay attention to is the quality of the chocolate. It's no secret that many manufacturers use cheaper substitutes instead of cocoa butter. You cannot use such chocolate; otherwise, the ganache will not set. Study the composition of the chocolate bars very carefully. There should be no cocoa powder or foreign fats in it. It is best to use special professional baking chocolate. Small pieces (callets) melt quickly and evenly. Belgian chocolate is rightfully considered the best. Most pastry chefs use Callebaut brand chocolate in their work.
Now let's talk about cream. It doesn't matter if you take natural dairy or plant-based cream. The main thing is that its fat content is at least 30%. You will also need high-fat butter, around 82%. Never replace it with margarine, spreads, and similar products. It is better to use only chocolate and cream than to use low-quality butter substitutes. Ganache for covering a cake should form a strong, hard shell that will protect the dessert from damage. Whether you get exactly this kind of cream directly depends on the quality of the ingredients.
Where to Buy Baking Chocolate
You will easily find good butter and suitable heavy cream in any supermarket. With chocolate, things are more complicated. The most convenient option is to order online. This way, you get a large selection of different types of dark, milk, and white chocolate. It is sold in various packages starting from 100 grams. In the same online store, you can pick up non-dairy cream for a vegan cake. As well as cake boards, boxes, decorative beads, ready-made sugar flowers—a ton of goods for your inspiration. If you buy in bulk, you can save on shipping. And you will definitely find where to apply your purchased beauty. Good luck with your experiments!
How to Make Ganache for Cake Smoothing
Ganache Recipe Under Fondant:
Chocolate Ganache Under Fondant