Ganache

Simple To Make

Nothing could be simpler to make than a batch of ganache. It’s so simple to make that there are several ways to do it. To make ganache, you will need a saucepan, a heatproof bowl, something to cover the bowl, and a whisk. You will also need cream and chocolate. The ratio is 50 percent cream and 50 percent chocolate. So let's start with:

• 6 ounces of chocolate
• 6 ounces of cream

If you have chips, just put them in a heatproof bowl. If you are using a solid block of chocolate, you will have to crush it somehow. The best way to do this is with a serrated edge knife. Cutting the chocolate with a serrated edge will quickly chop the chocolate into meltable chunks. Once the chocolate is chopped up, put it into a heatproof bowl. The kind of chocolate is up to you. You can use milk, semi-sweet, bitter sweet...whatever you like.

Heat the cream in a saucepan until it just starts to boil. Then, pour it over the chocolate and cover the bowl for about five minutes. Next, use your whisk and mix the chocolate until it is smooth and well blended.

Another way to make ganache is to take your saucepan and fill it about half way with water. Put both the chocolate chunks and the cream in the bowl and put the bowl on the saucepan. This is a variation of the Bain Marie concept. Put the saucepan over a medium heat and, as the steam heats the cream/chocolate mixture, use your whisk to blend the chocolate and cream until it is a smooth blend.

What To Do With Ganache

Ganache makes a great frosting and is easy to use. You can just pour it over a cake or use a spatula to spread it over a cupcake. You can let it cool and harden and then make little balls out of it. When making cupcakes, you can half fill the cupcake cup, place the ball of ganache in the center of the cupcake, and then fill the cup the rest of the way with cupcake mix. As the cupcake cooks, the ganache will melt. When you open the cupcake, the chocolate will flow out and you just made a cupcake surprise sometimes known as a lava cake. You can also use the ganache to fill an almond macaroon if you so desire. With so many options, you will be covering just about everything you can think of with ganache.