I made ganache for the first time. Used 1 1/2 cups cream, 3 Tbs. butter, 3 Tbs. sugar and 12 oz. chocolate.

It is very runny. Is it supposed to be this way? I let it cool for about 15 minutes and it felt ok to the touch. I had to put it on with a brush. Is this normal?[/b]

I'll give you a "bump" because I wish I could help you and I see no one has responded.

Yes, it will be runny until it cools for a much longer period of time (meaning, several hours). You can cool it a little quicker by putting it in the fridge with a piece of plastic wrap laid across the top of the ganache to prevent filming. It can help to stir it every 1/2 hour or so but I find that's not always necessary.

The runniness is a bonus if you want the dripped look on your cake but even then I believe that's used after about 1-2 hours of cooling. I let mine cool overnight so that I can whip it; by that time it is quite thick and spreadable.

This is how I make ganache.. 9 ounces of bittersweet chocolate and 1 cup heavy cream.

Boil the cream and poor over chocolate. If you let it sit and cool it will thicken up and you can use it for filling. When you store it and take it out to use again.. whip it up and it is ready to use.

My problem and your problem would get along really well together. Mine is always too stiff and hard to pour! If we mixed em we'd probably get the right consistency.

The recipe really depends on what kind of chocolate you are using. For dark chocolate its about 1:1 by weight. If you are using butter, sugar, and/or other thinners then the ratio will need to be adjusted. Milk chocolate is roughly 2:1 and white 3:1. So, YES it will set more over time (choc takes 24 hours at room temp to set again completely after melting) but without knowing what type of choc you used (especially as compared to what type the recipe recommended) I can't help more than that.