How to Make this Simple Chocolate Ganache Recipe

posted by Lisa on August 28, 2018

Does baking from scratch scare you? When I was growing up I didn’t hear words like chocolate ganache, or modeling chocolate, or fondant. I had no idea what they were. If I saw something chocolate on a cake I assumed it would be delicious frosting. Now things are different. We live in a wonderful world that has the internet with all kinds of baking information at our fingertips.

Let’s take a look at the beautiful chocolate ganache. If you’re going to make it you’ll only need two ingredients. How great is that! Wait. It’s almost like magic because you can make different things depending on the amount of chocolate and cream you use. If you use more chocolate than cream you can make delicious truffles. If you use more cream then chocolate you can make a beautiful glaze you can pour over your desserts. Seriously, this is an easy way to make your desserts look gorgeous.

I know, you’re wondering how you can make a truffle and a glaze with the same two-ingredient recipe. It’s easy. Adjusting the amount of those two ingredients and how long you let them rest will determine how your ganache will behave. I know one thing, it’s simple and we’re going to make some today.

Chocolate Ganache Recipe

How to Make this Simple Chocolate Ganache Recipe

This chocolate ganache recipe is simple to make. It only contains two ingredients and you can make so many delicious desserts with it.

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Course: Recipes

Keyword: Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients

8 ounces of whipping cream
8 ounces of chocolate with at least 61% cocoa

Instructions

Coarsely chop the chocolate into little pieces with a serrated knife.
Place it in a heatproof bowl and set it aside.
Place the cream in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring it to a boil stirring it every as needed.
Once the cream boils remove it from the heat and pour it over the chocolate.
Give the bowl a little shake and let it sit for five minutes. I know it’s tempting but don’t stir the chocolate yet because doing so will cause the ganache to cool too quickly and it will be grainy. Let it sit for five minutes and then stir.
Stir it gently so you don’t create air bubbles.

Video

Notes

Store on the counter two days or freeze for up to one month.

2:1 ratio makes great truffles.

1:1 makes a great frosting.

1:2 makes a glaze for pouring over cakes.

2:1

If you want to make truffles, you’re going to need a 2:1 ratio of chocolate to cream.

Two parts chocolate and one part cream.

8 ounces of chocolate and 4 ounces of cream.

1:1

If you’re making a rich chocolate frosting to use in cakes you’ll need a 1:1 ratio of chocolate to cream.

One part chocolate and one part cream.

8 ounces of chocolate and 8 ounces of cream.

1:2

If you want to make a glaze to pour over your cakes, bunt cake, or a loaf you’ll need equal parts chocolate and cream.

One part chocolate to two parts of cream.

4 ounces of chocolate to 8 ounces of cream.

Chocolate ganache is like any other recipe. If you use good ingredients your ganache will taste all the better. Chocolate with a 61% cocoa content is what’s recommended for delicious results.

Coarsely chop the chocolate into little pieces with a serrated knife. As you can see I forgot to take that picture. Oops.
Place it in a heatproof bowl and set it aside.

I know I just mentioned chocolate ganache is a mixture of equal parts chocolate and whipped cream melted together to make a wonderful frosting, glaze or delicious truffles. By adjusting the amount of the ingredients is where and how the magic happens. You can do so many things with two ingredients. Depending on the type of chocolate and the amount of chocolate and whipped cream you mix will determine what you can make. Here are the ratios:

2:1
If you want to make truffles, you’re going to need a 2:1 ratio of chocolate to cream.
Two parts chocolate and one part cream.
8 ounces of chocolate and 4 ounces of cream.
1:1
If you’re making a rich chocolate frosting to use in cakes you’ll need a 1:1 ratio of chocolate to cream.
One part chocolate and one part cream.
8 ounces of chocolate and 8 ounces of cream.
1:2
If you want to make a glaze to pour over your cakes, bunt cake, or a loaf you’ll need equal parts chocolate and cream.
One part chocolate to two parts of cream.
4 ounces of chocolate to 8 ounces of cream.

This may look like milk, but actually, it’s whipping cream that has about 36% milk fat. I recommend choosing a whipping cream with the highest fat content possible because a higher milk fat content provides a richer flavor, smoother texture, and a more stable ganache.

Place the cream in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring it to a boil stirring it as needed.

Once the cream boils remove it from the heat and pour it over the chocolate.

Give the bowl a little shake and let it sit for five minutes. I know it’s tempting but don’t stir the chocolate yet because doing so will cause the ganache to cool too quickly and it will be grainy. It’s important that your chocolate all be the same temperature when you stir it so it will blend together and be smooth.

Let it sit for five minutes and then stir.

Stir it gently so you don’t create air bubbles.
Continue to stir until its blended well.

Isn’t that beautiful? Cover your ganache with plastic wrap and push the plastic wrap onto the top of the ganache so the ganache doesn’t form a crust or film on top. If it does get crusty, that will end up in your frosting or truffles and that’s not fun!

How to use your ganache:

The longer you let your chocolate ganache rest the more firm it will become.

Once you make the chocolate ganache you can pour it over your cake, cupcakes, or bundt cake right away. Just be careful and don’t get burned because it may still be a little on the warm side.
If you want to use your chocolate ganache as frosting, let it sit at room temperature for about four hours. You can also beat it for about 5 minutes with a hand mixer until the color gets lighter. Scrape down the ganache from the sides of the bowl and let it sit at room temperature covered in plastic wrap and it will be a perfect piping consistency.
Let’s talk truffles and spreading ganache. Let the ganache sit at room temperature for about 12 hours. It will be a lot more solid but you can still pull a spoon through it. This ganache is perfect for making truffles and spreading on cakes you plan on covering with fondant. It will hold onto its shape while you place the fondant on the cake and it’s chocolate and cream so it’s delicious.

Chocolate Ganache Tips:

Milk and white chocolate have a lower amount of cocoa which makes them a little more difficult to work with. So when making ganache use a chocolate that has at least a 61% or higher cocoa.
To me, dark and semi-sweet chocolate work the best. I’m not a fan of working with white and milk chocolate because of the lower amount of cocoa. It can be done, but I prefer semi-sweet and dark.

There it is. The magic of chocolate ganache and how you can make all kinds of magical treats for your friends, family, and people on your holiday lists.

Chocolate Ganache Video:

I hope this helps answer some of those chocolate ganache questions. If you’ll notice in the video I weighed out 10 ounces of chocolate and 10 ounces of whipping cream. It worked because I used the 1:1 ratio. So make as much as you want, or as little as you want. Enjoy!

Bear hug,