How to make Chocolate Ganache

What is Chocolate Ganache?

At it’s most basic, a chocolate ganache recipe is simply equal parts chocolate and heavy cream. But you can vary the amount of cream and add additional ingredients to the basic ganache to change the flavor and texture.

The science of chocolate ganache

Though the ingredients are simple, ganache actually has a fairly complex structure. Ganache is both an emulsion and a suspension.

When warm cream is poured over chopped chocolate the water in the cream combines with the sugar in the chocolate to form a syrup. Suspended in that syrup are milk fat from the cream along with cocoa butter and cocoa solids from the chocolate.

Because there’s plenty of water to form the syrup that supports the structure of the ganache, the basic ganache recipe of equal parts cream and chocolate produces a very stable ganache.

Tips for Making Chocolate Ganache

• Depending on how you want to use the ganache the ratio can vary from 2x the amount of chocolate to cream to 2x the amount of cream to chocolate.
• To make a very soft ganache use twice the amount of cream to chocolate. Once the soft ganache has cooled, you can put it on a stand mixer or use a hand mixer to whip it up to make a light and airy cake filling.
• Ganache should be completely cooled at room temperature before chilling. Gradually cooling the ganache allows the cocoa butter to crystalize slowly. Chilling the ganache too quickly causes the cocoa butter to form fewer crystals and the ganache can become greasy as it warms back to room temperature.
• The corn syrup is optional, especially if you’re using the ganache for truffles or as a filling. If you plan to glaze a cake with the ganache, the corn syrup adds a beautiful shine to the finish.

The Best Chocolate for Chocolate Ganache

The best chocolate to for making chocolate ganache is semi-sweet. Look for between 55%-72% listed on the package. The percentage on a package of chocolate refers to the cocoa solids in the chocolate. The higher the cocoa solids, the lower the percentage of sugar. Higher percent chocolate is less sweet than lower percent chocolate.

Best cream for Chocolate Ganache

Many markets will carry both “heavy whipping cream” and “heavy cream”. Heavy cream has a higher fat percent than whipping cream. Heavy cream is the best choice for rich ganache. Heavy whipping cream can be used if that is the only cream available.

Do not light cream in your ganache as the water content is too high and it will throw off the texture of the ganache.

Uses for Chocolate Ganache

Of course ganache can be used to make homemade chocolate truffles. But ganache can also be used for icing cakes, glazing cakes and filling cakes. You can pipe ganache between two cookies to make a sandwich cookie. You can pour ganache into a tart shell and top it with fresh fruit or cream. Warm ganache can be poured over ice cream as a decadent sauce.

What is “broken ganache” and how to fix it

If you reduce the cream to half the volume of the chocolate or use a very high cocoa percentage chocolate the ganache emulsion will be less stable.

With less cream there is less water to form the syrup which holds the milk fat and cocoa butter in suspension. Because of this the fat can separate from the ganache. This is what we call a “broken ganache”.

Over-stirring the ganache or overheating the ganache can cause the ganache to break.

To fix a “broken” ganache first melt it slowly without overheating it. Try using 15 second increments in the microwave. Then warm 1/4 cup of cream until scalding. Slowly whisk the hot cream, a few teaspoons at a time, into the ganache until to comes back together. You may not need all the cream.