I think that I may be a cake dummy.

I made my white chocolate ganache early this morning and let it sit in the bowl on the counter. I just iced my cake with it this afternoon at 4:00. It seemed thick (like peanut butter). It did not want to spread very well onto the cake.

Should I have stirred it some first? Heated it some? Or was I supposed to ice the cake right after it was made, then let it sit on the cake to harden so that I could smooth it? Or do you let it sit in the bowl and then again on the cake to reharden?

I reread this thread this morning and thought that I had it down.

Please spell it out slowly and in simple terms (menapause-my mind is no longer my own)

So it took me two days at work to finally read all of these pages. hehe, don't tell the boss.
My sister is getting married at the end of september and im traveling 5 hours with her cake. I feel more pressure doing this for a family event than i do for strangers. I'm going to test this method this weekend. I have a few questions...
Can someone tell me what the texture is like when someone forks into the cake? When you say it sets does that mean it is like a hard shell? How thick should i spread it under the fondant?

How can i get some hight out of this cake without buying one of those expensive silver cake bases. And one more question...how many days in advance do you guys bake your cakes. My husband thinks tuesday/wednesday is too early for a saturday cake. is he right?

Oh yeah while i'm here what does DH stand for in these forums? Duncan Hines or Dumb Husband? Just curious!

Can anyone answer my questions?

No, the texture of ganache is not hard. Once it sets up, it is more like a soft fudge, or a not real creamy peanut butter. I and my DH (Darling Husband) prefer ganache under fondant rather than buttercream under fondant. It seems to us that the fondant wants to separate from BC but marries nicely to the ganache. (DH can also be Duncan Hines)

Here's how I learned to apply the ganache to the cake, from a well-known book called Planet Cake: put your cake on a cake board(s) or drum the size of the cake pan used. You will notice that the cake likely shrank during baking. With cake on a turntable, apply ganache to only the sides at first. With a spatula or bench scraper held perfectly verticall against the edge of the cakeboard, turn the cake and scrape off excess ganache until the ganached cake is the very size of the cakeboard. Work to get the sides as smooth and straight as possible. Then with an icing spatula, push the excess from the sides onto the top, working to achieve a clean edge. Add more ganache to the top to cover, then smooth. Allow to harden, then smooth with a hot spatula. Allow to set overnight or several hours before applying fondant. Wet the ganache ever so slightly with syrup or water before applying fondant.

A brand new feature on CC: hover your mouse over an acronym with littel dots under it, and a definition will pop up. Not sure it works with every browser yet. Somewhere else on this site, unbeknownst to me, is a list of what those abbreviations mean.

Can't offer any suggestions for height, sorry.

pamconn, if the ganache is too thick to spread easily, nuke it in the MW for just a few seconds. Yesterday I had to do. I nuked the big bowl of it for 10 seconds, and immediately used the ganache on the outer edge of the bowl as it was the softest. Then I nuked for 8 seconds to soften the inner glob.

Dang, that stuff tastes good!

Thanks Grandmom! I was worried it would be like cutting into a hershey Bar. I can't wait to get this underway. Also to all of the DH's out there my apologies for calling you dumb! Darling just wasn't coming to mind.....

maloslatko-
What fondant do you use that is so white? Premade, or homemade? I am trying to get a nice white for a wedding cake. My MMF is a bit offwhite. I have a batch of MFF that I am going to roll out tonight, after I get the ganache set on my cake (this afternoon's experiment!) I am anxious to see how white it is.

TIA

Icecubed82, the MFF is not really white either, a lovely offwhite creamy color, just a tad lighter than my white chocolate ganache. Sure tastes good though! I think Ms. Foster suggests using white coloring to get it white white. I haven't personally tried that yet.

Canyou tell me. I went to purchase my choc the other day and was so confused. Ghiardelli has 60% and 100% baking choc. Which is better? I do know Trader Joes has a choc bar also that is 54% bittersweet imported from Belguim. It is more of a candy bar or melting choc than baking choc. Which is preferred?

Lori

What do you use for a dam when using ganache???

I don't dam when I use ganache. Also by coating the whole cake with ganache, it forms a shell that will protect most fillings from buldging and coming out.

grandmom, thank you. I have ganache left over from my last cake and I'll warm it up in the microwave for my next one.

WOW this is a lot of info. for all the people who live in the United States and if you have done this ganache to use under fondant, can you please help with what type or brands of chocolate to use. dark,milk, and white chocolate.
and also what kind of cream? I live in Southern California and the only type I found is the heavy whipping cream. the one I use to do the regular ganache to pour on cake.

thank you so much I hope someone can help me

I am so sorry about this big letters I try to fix it but I can't
I would do better next time. promise

I've used different kinds of chocolate, including Nestle semi-sweet and chocolate with up to 80% cacao. You definitely have to experiment when using different kinds of chocolate and a lot also depends on the weather and letting it set overnight. In a pinch, I've even used a generic brand of white chocolate chips which apparently isn't real white chocolate since it doesn't contain cocoa butter. I stopped measuring and just eye it now. If my ganache isn't the right texture the next day, I adjust by adding more chocolate or more cream - whatever is needed.

I prefer using chocolates with higher cacao content because I have a low threshold for sweet, and I actually enjoy the slight bitterness of 80%.

I've only made white chocolate ganache, so I'll chime in on that one, having had both success and failure.

In both cases, I've used heavy whipping cream. I've learned from experienced ganachers in previous threads that it's the cream to use in the USA.

The successful batches were made using Nestles Premium White Morsels, containing no actual chocolate. It sets up very well. If you dip your finger in it, you can taste the "candy" in it, but once it's on the cake and under the fondant, I can tell no difference in taste from the very tasty in the bowl failed attempt, next paragraph.

The failed batches, and I tried twice, were made from a store brand of white chocolate chip that contained only real cocoa butter. It just will not set up, period. I don't know if that means it too fatty or not fatty enough. Maybe someone else can tell us. My DH loves the failed batches though. He puts it in his coffee, dips his dates in it, eats it with a spoon. Whatever...

I don't like the thought of using "candy" instead of real chocolate, but the only other thing we can find in this area is just outreageously expensive couverture brand name white chocolate. A cream/chocolate ratio in ounces of 16/48 would cost over $50. Not going there... unless it's a wedding cake.

Good luck!

In addition to cake decorating, I am a hobby chocolatier -- I make molded and filled chocolates using tempered chocolate for the shells. The most common fillings are flavored ganaches. Reading this thread, I don't see why you couldn't flavor the ganache used under the fondant in the same way it's done for truffles and filled chocolates. You can infuse the cream: add flavoring to the cream as it is heated and let it sit with the flavoring until it cools, strain out any solids and reheat to pour over the chocolate. You can use fruit peels, lavender, cloves, cinnamon, expresso powder, malted milk powder, etc. in this way. Or, to the finished ganache, you can add liquers: Grand Marnier, Kaluha, Kirsch, Framboise. You can beat in pastes: peanut butter, almond, hazelnut. And for cakes, I often beat in a little jam: seedless raspberry, strawberry. As long as you don't add so much that it thins out the ganache, which would defeat the purpose of using it under fondant, I don't know why it wouldn't be great to use the flavored ganaches with cake.

lots of great info!

I make peppermint ganache by adding the extract after the cream has melted the chocolate -- if you're using butter or corn syrup, add it at the same time. Heat tends to dissipate extracts and alcohols, so it's better to add it later rather than heating it with the cream. Anything solid (herbs, spices) that should be strained out would go in the cream and be allowed to infuse. Same for something that should be dissolved: expresso powder, malt powder. HTH

Thank you, luddroth

How much ganache does it take to cover a cake?

I am making a 2-layer 8x8 square which will be 4 inches tall.

Many thanks.

I filled and covered 8 and 12 inch rounds, both 2 layers, with white chocolate ganache. I used 16 oz. cream to 48 oz. chocolate. It was barely enough to get by. I would have done better with 20 oz. cream and 60 oz. white chocolate.

For just covering, not filling, an 8 inch round, 2 layers, I use 12 oz. cream and 36 oz. white chocolate, but I had enough left to fill if I had wanted to, but I would have run close had I torted and filled.

I would think the 12/36 would work, but I would personally go the extra and do the 16/48, especially if you torte and/or fill.

HTH.

I cant wait to try this! BC is really too sweet and fattening. i love ganache!!!

i have some questions

1. will the ganache melt under the fondant?
2. how long should I sit my cake covered with ganache in the fridge?

TIA guys!
Xoxo

* Im making it right now! I cant wait!!!

Meegh - What is Michele Foster's fondant? Is that someone on CC or is it something I can google? Also is making the chocolate ganache the same as white chocolate as far as the proportions. What chocolate do you recommend? Can you use the chocolate melts you get at AC moore or Michael's I am a newbie.

Wow, I have a headache after all that reading but great info.

I definitely want to try this!

A quick question though- one of the posters said to refrigerate the fondant after applying it to the cake for about an hour to let it harden. Another said you have to leave it out for 12 hours to let it harden and that refrigerating it causes condensation to form on the fondant. Another suggested letting it sit out for a few hours.

Which is it- refrigerate or not? If not, is 12 hours really necessary? That seems like a hugely long time and really increases the amount of time I would have to prep in advance for each cake.

Thanks for any help!