Ganache can be used in so many recipes. You can use it in tarts and entremets, to fill or decorate cakes, as a macaron filling or to make chocolate truffles. You can make a ganache with different ratios of chocolate and cream depending on the consistency that you want, but I find that this is a good versatile texture (1 part chocolate, 1 part cream).
Ingredients
300g dark chocolate
300ml whipping cream or double cream
50g butter, room temperature
Special equipment needed
None
Method
1. Melt 300g dark chocolate in a microwave or in a heatproof bowl over a pan of steaming water. Remove from the heat once melted. If using a microwave, be careful not to overheat the chocolate so use a low setting and stir it every 30 seconds.
2. Warm 300ml whipping cream in a saucepan until it is steaming.
3. Pour roughly one third of the warm cream over the melted chocolate.
4. Stir in small circles in the centre of the bowl until the mixture starts to change consistency in the centre. Scrape down the sides of the bowl until it’s all combined. The mixture should become thicker and glossy as it creates an emulsion of the water and fat in the ingredients.
5. Repeat step 4 twice more with the remaining cream, emulsifying with each addition
6. Add small chunks of the room temperature butter and then stir until all the butter is incorporated fully.
The ganache will get firmer at room temperature and will set completely in the fridge. Depending on how you want to use the ganache, you can leave it to firm up to whatever consistency you need!
Variations
Not only can you use chocolate ganache for lots of different things, you can flavour it in a variety of ways too. Infuse the cream with citrus zest, toasted coconut, coffee, loose leaf tea or food flavourings, or add a small quantity of alcoholic spirit or liquor to taste after you've incorporated the butter to give a boozy ganache perfect for chocolates and macarons!
To infuse the cream, warm the cream in a saucepan until it is steaming, add the additional ingredient that you want to infuse to the pan. Take off the heat and cover the pan with cling film. Leave to infuse for at least 30 minutes or until the flavour has been imparted enough for your taste. Strain the cream and then make the ganache following the recipe above.
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