Ganache Experts..help :(

Decorating By emy fadel Updated 21 Dec 2014 , 12:20am by MBalaska

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emy fadel Posted 18 Dec 2014 , 3:04am
post #1 of 8

AI made some ganache for my sister's birthday cake and it came out nice and smooth then i decorated the cake with it and it was still fine... But after i served the cake some pieces were left so i kept them in the refrigerator...next day i found that the ganache on the cake turned grainy.... WHY DID THAT HAPPEN ????????

7 replies
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Magic Mouthfuls Posted 18 Dec 2014 , 8:12am
post #2 of 8

I've had that happen before.  A truly expert professional totally awesome cake professional told me that I didn't allow it to emulsify with the cream properly before letting it cool.  It looks melted, but really isnt.

 

So, since then I have been putting the chocolate in the food processor to grind it up smaller - some success.

 

I think age of the chocolate has something to do with it - the older the chocolate, the less likely it to melt properly. So buy the freshest chocolate with the longest best-before date on it you can find.

 

I also wonder if the type of cream is an issue.  I started used 'thickened cream' instead of 'pure cream'.  Thickened cream has gelatine in it, and I wonder if that is hindering the chocolate from truly melting.  Pure cream is 35% milk fats and contains nothing else, no more additives.  I will go back to using Pure Cream from now on, and see if it works more successfully.

 

I have also passed the hot freshly made ganache through my fine sieve, and pushed through all those unmelted chocolate bits I couldnt see before then - that worked brilliantly, albeit more time consuming.

 

But, then, a ganache takes 50-75% less time than swiss meringue buttercream to make, so I can't complain.

 

Best of luck with your next batch.

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mcintyrepope Posted 18 Dec 2014 , 7:08pm
post #3 of 8

AI want to start using ganache on my cakes but have not a great recipe. Can someone share a recipe that works well under fondant please.

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winniemog Posted 18 Dec 2014 , 8:46pm
post #4 of 8

AThe recipe is just a ratio - for dark chocolate use two parts chocolate to one part cream (2:1), for white chocolate use 3:1. If your climate is hot you might want to increase the chocolate to dark choc 3:1 and white choc 4:1. Heat the cream, pour over the chocolate to melt and mix to emulsify. Let set up to peanut butter consistency before using on cake.

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Magic Mouthfuls Posted 18 Dec 2014 , 10:30pm
post #5 of 8

I use the same ratio as @Winniemog.  

 

For a 9" round cake -

1.2kg /2lb 10 oz of dark chocolate and 600mls/21 fl oz of pure cream - or

1.3kg/3lb white chocolate and 450ml/16 fl oz of pure cream

 

I allow to cool overnight at room temperature (just covered sitting on the bench) - its the perfect consistency the next day.

 

Somewhere on this CC site is the 'ganacherator' which helps you calculate how much ganache to make for the size cake you have.

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MKC Posted 19 Dec 2014 , 10:23pm
post #6 of 8

Aif you use an immersion blender to mix the cream and melted chocolate, the ganache will become silky and shinny and it will create the perfect emulsion.

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Magic Mouthfuls Posted 20 Dec 2014 , 10:14pm
post #7 of 8

ha ha - I had to google what an 'immersion blender' was - for us Aussies it is a 'stick mixer' / 'bamix'.

 

That's a great idea MKC.   I need to buy a new one of those (my old one developed a leak and filled up with soup and then the soup started rotting inside the machine - putrid!!)

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MBalaska Posted 21 Dec 2014 , 12:20am
post #8 of 8

Quote:

Originally Posted by MKC 

if you use an immersion blender to mix the cream and melted chocolate, the ganache will become silky and shinny and it will create the perfect emulsion.

 

@MKC I saw that done for the first time in a youtube video.  I'm looking forward to trying that.

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