Ganache

                                                                                                                                                                                           Photos by Donna Turner Ruhlman
Ganache:  Ganache is a fancy word for chocolate sauce.  It’s usually made by adding hot cream to chopped chocolate and, after the chocolate has begun to melt, gently stirring it into a smooth emulsion.  It can be made with other fats (such as butter) and with additional flavorings or forms of sugar (often corn syrup is included).  A common ratio of equal parts by weight of chocolate and cream results in a thick chocolate sauce that is pliable when chilled.  The less liquid used the harder the ganache will be when it sets up.  Ganache is used for fillings, chocolate truffles and icings.  It’s also perhaps the easiest dessert sauce to make and, if you use delicious chocolate, one of the best.

This holiday season is made for chocolate, for eating it without remorse and for giving it.  Freshly made chocolate sauce is superior to any mass produced sauce if you use good chocolate.  Warm chocolate sauce is delicious on ice cream or used to finish profiteroles (see the pate a choux post below) in the classic French bistro dessert.  It makes an excellent icing.  Thin it out and flavor with rum and cardamom and serve it in a mug for delicious hot chocolate.  I made the above chocolate sauce with the standard ratio of equal parts cream and chocolate but first infused the cream with freshly grated ginger and orange zest and strained it over the chocolate.  It sets up stiff enough to roll into truffles and coat with cocoa powder, or it can be reheated as you wish.  Amy Scattergood wrote about chocolate sauce in last Wednesday’s LATimes; she uses half cream and half water (this runs contrary to my belief in always adding more fat whenever possible), but she does add butter, and she also notes some interesting variations, such as using crème fraiche.   There’s no end to what you can do with ganache or the variations.

Comments

[mj]

What chocolates do people recommend?

[drago]

Cook's Illustrated has a head-to-head of baking chocolates this month. They left out the super-premium brands, but some of the more expensive chocolates that you'd find at the grocery store weren't necessarily the best. (I believe Scharffen-Berger rated about the same as Nestle Chocolatier.)

I tend to stick with Ghiradelli - it's reliable and better than a lot of other choices without breaking the bank.

I should make truffles soon...

What's everyone's opinion on adding a bit of heat to chocolate in the form of powdered chiles?

[ruhlman]

I like Scharffenberger and Callebaut best of those most available in grocery stores.

There is a difference between bittersweet and semi-sweet, but I can never remember what it is—as far as I'm concerned they're interchangeable.

[David]

The belief that adding more fat will make chocolate taste better generally, as you read, isn't true.

The thick hot chocolate most folks drink in Paris and Mexico is made with low-fat milk or water. Chocolate is pretty fatty as it is--if you add more cream, the fat is likely to obscure the taste of the chocolate. (Think of adding cream to white chocolate; will that augment the taste or dilute it?) Similarly with butter. A small amount is good, but too much, and the taste of the chocolate is obscured.

And bittersweet and semisweet are, according to the legal FDA definition, interchangable terms. Each must have at least 35% cacao solids.

[Darcie]

Count me in for adding hot flavors including cayenne and chipotle. But my current favorite is Earl Grey tea steeped in the cream. I like Guittard for middle range chocolate, but it's not a grocery store staple. Chocosphere.com is one of the best online chocolate retailers. Their array is dazzling.

I made a ganache last week (to pour over the cream-filled profiteroles!) and was looking for something to dip in the extra sauce. I finally found the right thing - a spoon.

Michael, I want to thank you for giving me something to look forward to on dreary, wet Monday mornings at work (on my break, of course).

[carri]

Bittersweet and Semisweet might be interchangable to the FDA but they are very different in their sugar content...bittersweet chocolate delivers a more refined flavor. I love to add chile...when you are heating your cream add a couple of dried Anchos and let it soak for 20 min or so, then strain the cream into your chocolate and stir...so delightful!

[ruhlman]

David knows considerably more about chocolate than I do. Thanks David! So does Carri, thanks Carri!

But I'm sticking to my fat rule: I consider it a moral imperative in this fat phobic age in America. David is lucky enough to live in country that has a healthy relationship with his food.

[carri]

About 5 years ago I started getting a lovely cream that's is at least %40 butterfat...it comes in half gallon and has revolutionized my life! I tell people, when buying cream, get as much fat as possilble! You can barely whip the stuff they call Whipping Cream! As far as Ganache, you have hit on my number one task of the day, the joke around here is my day doesn't start until I have heated cream and poured it over chocolate! Try a good Zinfandel (perhaps one third of total liquid) added to your cream...a red wine chocolate sauce to live for!

[Connor]

Although I'm not a huge fan of pairing chocolate and fruit, I do like the addition of orange zest to ganache. A small amount of Scotch or bourbon is also a nice addition.

On the topic of chocolate, I read awhile back that chocolate chips are typically of lower quality than chocolate bars, brands and type (e.g., semisweet, milk) being equal, due to the way chips are processed. Unfortunately, I cannot remember the source...is this correct?

[Lisa]

Brand recommendation: Vermont Nut-Free Chocolates (vermontnutfree.com) makes an excellent dark chocolate. Safe for those allergic to nuts, but tastes awesome too. Haven't cooked with it yet--somehow always gets consumed in its natural state!

[AC]

Do you really find that equal parts cream and chocolate stiffens up enough for you to make into truffles? I've been making a bunch lately and use a little more than 2 parts chocolate to cream ratio with 2 tablespoons butter to each 3/4 cup cream. I chill the ganache for maybe a little longer than I'm supposed to, but that makes it much easier to shape.

Also, this weekend I experimented with a cayenne cinnamon truffle it came out fantastic. I don't like spicy stuff, generally, but these came out great. If I do say so myself, and all.

[mike pardus]

AC - I've found that the brand ( and consequently the cocoa butter and solids content) makes big difference. Using Callebaut I found the 1:1 ratio works very well- soft enough to shape but with a creamy mouth feel that melts easily; using Cocoa Barry at 1:1 yields a ganache that is almost brittle. Deeper flavor, but texture not as fine. I'm guessig that other brands could go the other way and yield a very soft product at 1:1.

[Aaron]

Here's something fun I experimented with this fall. "inside out s'mores". Make your standard truffle and roll it in crushed graham crackers, skewer it with a long bamboo skewer. (Don't push the skewer all the way through)Pipe homemade marshmallow into cornstarch dusted molds (I used shot glasses, lightly oiled and then dusted)and insert the truffle end into the marshmallow. The truffle should be completly enclosed by the marshmallow. Let them sit out at room temp for at least 3 hours. Toast around the campfire and enjoy.

[suzysf]

Has anyone else used A.Korkunov dark chocolate? It's a Russian dark chocolate,very good but rather new to the U.S. I've never been able to keep it around long enough to use it in a receipe and was curious if anyone else had.

[Egaeus]

My last ganache was a 1:1 Organic Valley heavy whipping cream that had apparently been shaken and/or wasn't homogenized because there was quite a bit of butter in it and Equal Exchange Organic Fair Trade chocolate (70% cacao if I remember correctly). I put it on my birthday cake and it was still reasonably soft after a night in the refrigerator. And yes, I make my own birthday cake. Unfortunately I have to live gluten-free, and nobody else can easily make one. Unfortunately, I have yet to make a cake that isn't upstaged by the ganache.

[Angela]

I can't wait to try my hand at making ganache and truffles. Actually Mark Bittman has an article and video on it today (Wednesday) in the New York Times website. For those in the New York City area Ronnybrook sells a heavy cream that isn't ultra-pasteurized.

[Tags]

While we're thanking David Lebovitz, count me in. I asked him on his blog what he thought of Peter P. Greweling's (along with the CIA) "Chocolates and Confections." His answer was a hearty recommendation. As soon as I read that I ordered it immediately.

It's everything he said it was.

Thanks, David.

[carri]

mr. ruhlman...I'm sweet on this whole idea of making extra dough thing you got going on with the ads here on the blog...but , dude, there is a COOL WHIP ad right next to your lovely Ganache photos....don't let them do this to you(us)!

[Dawn in STL]

I second the "Chocolates and Confections" recommendation. I've beem making caramels out of it for holiday gifts and people are chasing me down to make more!

Now I just need something to put some ganache on...

[sugarlaws]

Can't wait to try this! I was googling "ganache" earlier this week to see how to make it, so this must be fate!

[Kirk]

We made truffles last night using Callebaut Semi-Sweet and local heavy cream, 2:1 ratio. It made a firm ganache that we scooped with teaspoon sized ice cream scoops, maybe a little too firm because the mechanism to detach the balled chocolate from the scoop kept breaking. Switched to a melon baller and had no problems. We then rolled them in toasted slivered almonds and sprinkled with coarse grey sea salt. Amazingly good.

[Joe]

WRT unsweetened vs. sweetened chocolates: My understanding is that many chocolatiers use different sets of beans in their plain chocolates vs. their sweetened ones, with the straight chocolate getting the short end of the stick. The exception I'm familiar with is Scharffen Berger. So that semi-sweet you're using may actually taste better than the same company's straight chocolate for a reason. I ran into this with Valrhona's 56% ("Noir," perhaps? -- they've dicked around with their product line a lot lately) from a few years ago: I was ashamed for a long time that the extra sugar was misleading me into thinking it was a better tasting chocolate, when it really was a better tasting chocolate. :) I believe it was an old article in Cook's Illustrated that clued me in, but I might be mistaken. But I still hate that I'm paying premium chocolate prices for what's partially just extra sugar.

[ktdid747]

I also HIGHLY recommend CIA's "Chocolates and Confections"...very informative on everything you need to know (science of it all, equipment, loads of recipes, great links for supplies)...have been making chocolate caramels, a variety of molded chocolates, and even hard candies with just the first tier of equipment recommended with great results! (only problem is, they are soooo good we are enjoying them a little too much and now I need to make more tomorrow so we have enough for gifts!! LOL ;)

I like to use Callebaut and Scharffen Berger chocolate.
Will have to try the ganache truffles--infused with ginger sounds divine. :)

[Steve]

The only thing better than eating a great ganache is watching someone else make it for you, Yum.

www.rouxbe.com/recipes/94;preview

[Bob delGrosso]

Wow, I don't much like ganache, but those photos are great. Donna really knows how to convey a boatload of information with a minimum of detail.

And I have a renewed appreciation for the convention of the triptych.

[m.]

"(...) this runs contrary to my belief in always adding more fat whenever possible (...)"

maybe you should try olive oil...

[eileen]

Regarding ganaches, I've been addicted to a simple icing from Nigella that she says is really a ganache but after the butter or cream is mixed with the chocolate, you add 2 raw eggs and mix well before adding the sugar and flavorings. I got to wondering about the whole raw egg thing. should this cake be refrigerated and also how dumb is it to use this recipe esp when my kids gobble it up?

[eileen]

Regarding ganaches, I've been addicted to a simple icing from Nigella that she says is really a ganache but after the butter or cream is mixed with the chocolate, you add 2 raw eggs and mix well before adding the sugar and flavorings. I got to wondering about the whole raw egg thing. should this cake be refrigerated and also how dumb is it to use this recipe esp when my kids gobble it up?

[samantha a]

i an making a ganache, i have made it over and over again. its too dull looking and looks alot like dirt. i need it to be shiny and appealing. if anyone have any good ideas on how to made it look appealing please let me no!
e-mail me @ turdnuggit69@aim.com
thanks!