I tried the higher ratio ganache today, because I'm also going to try fondant for the first time. 

I cannot believe how hard it is.  What happens as it comes back to room temp? Does it ever soften a little?

I'm not sure I like the idea of a solid coating around my cake, although it will probably never go stale! :

a second question: I put it on a cold cake, and it was hard before I really got the finish smooth. should I go back and carve it, or leave it with small imperfections? Should I have put it on a room temp cake?

jen

Did you put it in the fridge, freezer? It only gets really hard for me if I put it in there, leave it at room temperature for a few hours and it should be spreadable like peanut butter.
 

I did leave it at room temp until I covered the cake with it. Now it's on my cake and became hard, almost immediately. 

Just use a metal bench scraper or spatula and hold it in boiling water, once it's hot enough it should melt away any imperfections. 

I had that problem the last time I made ganache - rock hard ganache :(  I don't know that this is the correct way to do things, but I ended up microwaving it for about 30 seconds and mixing it until everything was melted together.  Then I put it in the fridge for about 15 minutes until it was about the consistency of buttercream.  That gave the cake enough time to warm up a little, too...  Once it was on the cake it did harden up quite a bit but I didn't have any problems with cracking and it was easy to cut and serve the next day.

It's not rock hard in your mouth though. It's easy to cut and it melts in your mouth. Don't worry!

Oh and yes, you should put it on a room temp cake in future.

AI always ganache my cakes cold and haven't had an issue.

I know that Torta Couture cakes uses belcolade white chocolate for her white ganache. Her cakes are perfection.

I use Sainsburys basic white and dark. Their chocolate is surprisingly good quality considering the price. I don't make milk chocolate ganache but I wouldn't use cadburys or galaxy, you'd need to use a good quality chocolate for that. You need to make sure you use the green whipping cream to make it.

It's probably because you used a 2 to 1 ratio too...usually chocolate I use is 3 to 1 and white chocolate 4 to 1.  I can't imagine a 2 to 1.  The 3 to 1 gets pretty firm as it is.  I have heated a few TBL of cream and added to already made ganache to loosen it a bit, it still dries nice and use the hot knife to smooth it out.  It does seal the cake really good!! lol...

I do 2:1 for dark chocolate and it works fine... the rock hardness is what I normally get but I find that as long as once it is covered in fondant, and it sits in the kitchen while I work out the decorations, then it goes to the customers venue/house, then gets served and cut, it is no longer rock hard!
As for white chocolate I always find that when I do 3:1 I get big lumps of white chocolate that hasn't melted, so I use less.. I measure out 3:1 then take out a few handfulls and it's about right.

I hope this isn't a stupid question.

I see  many people using ganache and I have been trying to understand it the last few weeks, so my question is...  Is this always done in  3 steps- buttercream, ganache and then fondant?  Although the cake are beautiful this seems like it would be a  very expensive way to frost a cake. 

Thank-you, I going to try ganache soon!

I have never used ganache, always buttercream and I rarely completely cover a cake in fondant anyway as most people don't care for the taste (I make my own and they like the small bits, but a full cake is too sweet). Anyway, my question is what do you do if you typically use ganache and the customer doesn't like chocolate? I believe I understand the purpose of the ganache to be to provide the smooth crisp edges for the fondant to go over but I don't care for chocolate and would think there are others out there who don't care for it either. Didn't mean to hijack the thread but figured with all these ganache experts, now would be the time to ask. :)

Ahttp://www.artandappetite.com/2009/11/ganache-instead-of-buttercream/

This has some great videos about making ganache and using it to cover a cake. If my ganache hardens up while I'm working on a cake I'll stick it in the microwave for 30seconds to soften it back up.

AYou can cook the cream over the stove (don't let it boil) and infuse flavors there, zest or chi. If you add flavorings or liquors you want to add them after you put the cream in the chocolate before you mix it. Temperate is what you need to be aware of. I will add an article. Chocolate comes first.

Ahttp://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/10838/how-do-i-infuse-fruit-flavor-in-ganache

Dark Chocolate 2:1 ratio, two pounds of chocolate use one pound of cream White or Milk Chocolate 3:1 milk and white are usually softer

This is just how I do it. I've heard other people using 2:1 for all types of chocolate.

I've just added extracts and liqueurs after everything is mixed together.

Now, for one last question: For those of you who cover your cakes with ganache, then fondant, do you also fill with ganache or do you use buttercream or some other filling?

Thanks for your patience with my rookie questions!

AI use one or the other. If the customer wants ganache I fill with ganache too, if the want BC I fill and cover with BC. Unless they ask for something different.