Chocolate Ganache Bittersweet Or Semi Or...

Decorating By kristina67 Updated 28 Jun 2008 , 7:39am by OCakes

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kristina67 Posted 27 Jun 2008 , 10:38pm
post #1 of 8

I'm not sure which chocolate to use. I see bittersweet mentioned in some recipes and just "chocolate" in others. What kind tastes the best?

7 replies
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JoAnnB Posted 27 Jun 2008 , 11:40pm
post #2 of 8

Semi Sweet and bittersweet are very similar in ganache (because the cream softens the flavors a bit). It is very rich. Either chocolate will work just fine. I often add a portion of milk chocolate to make the chocolate less intense (my mom prefers it that way)

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kristina67 Posted 28 Jun 2008 , 12:09am
post #3 of 8

Thanks JoAnnB!

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kelsiedelizzle Posted 28 Jun 2008 , 12:55am
post #4 of 8

The last (and, so far, only) time I made ganache, I used chocolate with 62% cocoa, which is "bittersweet" I think.

I've heard and read that high-quality, dark chocolate works best, and that white chocolate needs special care, so it has its own recipe.

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icer101 Posted 28 Jun 2008 , 1:06am
post #5 of 8

i usually use semi-sweet , sometimes i mix milk chocolate with bittersweet... that is good too...

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kristina67 Posted 28 Jun 2008 , 2:36am
post #6 of 8

Well, I tried it tonight with semi sweet because its what I had. On it's own I thought it was similar to bitter (just like JoAnnB said) and I wasn't too excited, but once I put it onto the cake (WASC) I thought it was very good, rich.
So, normally would you BC the cake first and then pour this over? Tonight I just poured it straight over the cake, but I doubt that's what you would do normally, right?

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JoAnnB Posted 28 Jun 2008 , 7:22am
post #7 of 8

It helps to have a very smooth surface for the ganache. A crumb coat will make sure there a no lumps or seams visible. However, it usually looks so good no one notices minor imperfections.

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OCakes Posted 28 Jun 2008 , 7:39am
post #8 of 8

Yes, I agree with JoAnnB... and I had been making it with bittersweet alone, but just read to mix with 1/2 semi sweet (was that JoAnnB in another forum?).. anyway, I crumb-coated my 1st attempt at pouring ganache over a cake, and after it set I tried to smooth it - do NOT do that, it will lose it's shine & get all messed-up. I was trying to level a bump - just leave the bump. Add a flower in that spot or something (you probably won't even get a bump... mine wouldn't have been noticed, but that perfectionst came out again. I hate that!)

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