Chocolate Ganache

Sharing the Oh So Famous, absolutely delicious, decadent and silky, shiny Chocolate Ganache! Before the recipe let me share a somewhat of a Culinary Folklore.

The word ‘ganache’, as they believe, was coined in the 1920s by a famous French Chef Georges Auguste Escoffier. The story goes that one day an apprentice accidentally poured hot cream into a bowl of chocolate pieces and the chef in anger, shouted at him ‘ganache’. Ganache in French is meant to name a person of low intelligence, here used to probably exclaim ‘fool!!’. However it turned out to be one of the most versatile and widely used ingredient in the confectionary world and loved by all. And that’s where the name ‘ganache’ comes from if we were to believe!

Ganache essentially is a mix of chocolate and cream in certain proportions (depending on the use of it). It can beautifully transform into a glaze, icing, frosting, chocolate sauce for desserts/puddings or ice creams, chocolate fondue, hot and cold drinks, mousse, chocolates – the uses are endless. It’s become an integral part of the Chocolate World!

I shall be covering the basic ganache recipe for Dark, Milk and White Chocolate that can be used to dress cakes, cupcakes in the form of an icing or frosting.

Begin by choosing the kind of chocolate you would like to use for your ganache and measure the required quantity.
Chop the chocolate and keep ready in a bowl.
Now measure out the cream and heat it in a pan on medium heat (or microwave), only till a soft boil.
Pour this heated (not boiled) cream over the chopped/grated chocolate.
Cover the bowl with a lid or cling wrap and rest aside for 5-10 minutes.
Post the resting time, using a silicon spatula or a metal spoon, begin to mix the chocolate and cream mixture, starting from the centre, stirring gently outwards, till all of the chocolate has melted.
In case you still see lumps or pieces of chocolate remaining, heat it again in the microwave ( 15 seconds
only at a time) or double boiler till all of the chocolate has melted.
If using the microwave, remember to mix and dissipate the trapped heat in the chocolate completely before heating again for 15 seconds (that is, if required – you see pieces of chocolate).
Now cover the surface of the ganache (and not the bowl) with cling wrap and rest overnight on the counter top.
Stir well using a spatula and use as required the next day.

Important Pointers

The ratio for dark chocolate ganache as above is 2:1. 2 parts chocolate and 1 part cream.
The ratio for milk and white chocolate ganache is 3:1. 3 parts of chocolate and 1 part cream.
Use the best quality of chocolate available to you. Try using couverture chocolate instead of compounds.
You can use callets/ chips directly to avoid the step of chopping or grating chocolate.
Use heavy cream if possible for a creamier texture. Amul whipping cream (Red and White pack) or Amul Fresh Cream works just fine.
You could add 1 tbsp of softenened, room temperature butter to the warm ganache for that extra shine.
You could flavour your ganache using oil based flavourings, fruit purees, compote, dry ingredients such as ground spices or coffee.
Ganache is best made 1 day prior and kept outside at room temperature to set.
If in a hurry, you can set it in the refrigerator but never the freezer.
You could add powder, liquid or gel colours to your ganache to add another dimension to your creation.
Ready ganache can be kept in the refrigerator easily for upto 1 week. However, fresher products are always preferred.
Do not over mix and whisk the ganache. You don’t want air bubbles while using it for frosting or piping.
You can melt the ganache again and in the microwave or double boiler to use it as a sauce.
If using whipping cream, you can whip up the ganache the next day and you have whipped chocolate ganache ready to use!

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Chocolate Ganache

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