I am making a torted peppermint/choc. cake with ganache for my husband tomorrow. (recipe if from the cake doctor book---love this book)

Well, mistake one, I was supposed to take peppermint sticks and crush them. I thought I did a good job, until I added them to the icing that is going in between the layers. The icing is a bit gritty and not smooth at all. Lesson learned, next time use the food processor to make them the consistency of powder.

I made too much of this gritty icing, so I thought, why not add it to the sides like a crumb coat. But now I am afraid when I make the smooth ganache, that the crubing coating will show through and just make the whole cake "gritty looking".

So is there something that I can do with the ganache when cooking it, so that I still get a smooth top and sides on this cake once its hardened a bit on the cake?

By the way, the icing with the peppermint is heavenly! It should taste great with the doctored choc.cake and choc. ganache!

I am not sure about smoothing but when I made peppermint flavored ganache I used peppermint schnapps liquor. I was a bit intimidated with crushing peppermint candies so I opted for a liquid form.
Maybe you could try a very thin layer of ganache to cover the icing and then another layer to make it smooth??

I did both the crushed peppermints and some peppermint extract. I agree, next time I will just either do the schnapps or extract, but probably not the crushed candies, too frustrating.

I think I would do a sort of 'crumb coat' layer with the ganache and then do another to make it look pretty....????

Yes, as pps said, another layer of cooled ganache as a crumb coat and then pour like you had planned.

Peppermint and chocolate is my favorite!

All right then, off to the store I go to buy more chocolate.

By the time I am done with this cake, its going to weigh like 25lbs!