How to make Chocolate ganache recipe

How to make the chocolate ganache, a very easy recipe to have this beautiful homemade chocolate ganache, so silky and smooth.

A creamy texture with a rich taste in this easy and quick recipe that you can use to garnish or decorate your cakes.

Are you looking for a very simple ganache recipe without complicated preparation to decorate a layer cake or cupcakes?

This recipe is simple but effective, with this homemade ganache you can easily fill and decorate all your birthday cakes.

What's a chocolate ganache :

A chocolate ganache is simply a mixture of chocolate + heavy cream. From the emulsion of these 2 ingredients we obtain a delicious silky and smooth mixture.

It is certainly the most known recipe, it has so many uses in pastry making: you use it to cover, to garnish, to decorate...

Why choose the chocolate ganache

This recipe is perfect for :

• Filled a cake, layer cake, cupcakes
• Simple with an easy to remember 1:1 ratio (amount of chocolate = amount of cream).
• Smooth the outside of a cake, it cools and hardens after a cold passage.

Also, it's the perfect ganache frosting alternative to my recipe for cake design cover ganache.

 

Useful tools for this recipe

• Hand blender
• Spatula
  
• Saucepan
• Stand mixer
• Electric mixer
• Wooden spoon

Ingredients notes

• Semi-sweet chocolate is the base, cut into pieces or even chopped with a knife! Take it with 40 - 54% cocoa butter, preferably of the quality of the brand Valhrona or Callebaut.
• Heavy cream or heavy whipping cream, whole, at least 30% fat, not necessarily cold, at room temperature it's perfect.

How to make chocolate ganache

1. Cut out the dark chocolate : Start by cutting the chocolate with a large knife and cutting board and place it in a container.
2. Heat the heavy cream: And pour the heavy cream into a saucepan and bring to a boil over a medium heat. As soon as it starts to boil, remove from the heat.
   Stir in the liquid cream: Then immediately pour the liquid cream into the chocolate in one go. (if you prepare a larger quantity, pour the cream in 2-3 times). And mix with the spatula until you get a smooth and shiny cream.
3. Blend to smooth: use a hand blender to smooth the cream perfectly.
4. Let it chill: Then let it rest for a few moments and mix with a wooden spoon or a soft spatula.
5. Smooth the chocolate ganache: Finally, mix until there are no more pieces of chocolate left, the ganache must be quite liquid and smooth.
6. Leave to cool: Finish, covering with cling film and place in the fridge until cool, overnight.

How to store chocolate ganache

This cream will keep for about 1 week in the fridge and up to 3 months in the freezer.

Alternative to ganache

• Swiss Meringue Buttercream
• Italian meringue buttercream
• Mascarpone whipped cream
• Vanilla Buttercream frosting recipe
  

How to use the Chocolate Ganache frosting

Start by taking your ganache out of the fridge and let it set at room temperature, it should have the consistency of butter cream.

(Or if you're in a hurry, put your dark chocolate ganache in the microwave on low power in 10-second increments).

To simply cover a cake, apply the ganache directly to the outside of the cake with a angled spatula.

For a smoother effect, use a cake icing smoother and a turntable cake decorating stand to smooth the ganache on your cake.

How to make whipped chocolate ganache

With this same recipe you can make a more airy and creamy ganache, perfect for garnishing and decorating your cupcakes.

1. Place the cold ganache in the bowl of your stand mixer or in a glass or stainless steel container with your electric mixer.
2. Beat at medium speed for about 3-4 minutes, until you have a nice smooth chocolate ganache.
3. Use it immediately to decorate your cupcakes with a piping bag or to garnish your cakes.

FAQS about ganache

My chocolate frosting is grainy?

Why: the fat has separated from the liquid, certainly due to a too fast mixing of the cream (with a whisk).

• Try adding a small amount of heavy cream and mixing with a hand blender.

• Lightly heat the cream in a double boiler or microwave and blend again with a hand blender.

Can I use it underneath the sugar paste ?

• Yes, it is possible, but I advise you to use the cake design cover ganache instead.

Can I make this recipe with milk chocolate?

• Yes, it is the same ratio for milk chocolate.

Is this ganache stable at room temperature.

• Yes and no, in its simple unassembled version, if the cream is heated to boiling, then it is stable in a cake that is not kept in a chill place for about 48 hours (store in a cool place).
• For the whipped cream version, it must be kept in a chill place.

Tips for a successful ganache

• Cut your chocolate as finely as possible, chop it if possible so that it melts faster.
• Remove the liquid cream as soon as it starts to boil, the more you heat it, the more its moisture evaporates.
• Pour the liquid cream several times over the chocolate and mix between each addition. (especially for large quantities)
• Do not overheat your chocolate.
• Do not use a whisk to mix chocolate and cream, the whisk incorporates air into the preparation, which makes your cream less smooth.
• For the whipped ganache, whip at medium speed for the time indicated.

Others ganache recipes

• Ganache with kinder
• Cake design Cover Ganache

Don't forget to tag me @sweetlycakes on Instagram if you make my Dark Chocolate Ganache recipe and to add a link to my recipe if you share it on your blog 😉