Dumb Question, But I Know Nothing About Ganache ...
Decorating By emiyeric Updated 30 Sep 2009 , 2:58am by PuffMamaT
I'm planning on covering my first ganache cake tonight, and was just hoping for some pointers (or even better, for a highly-detailed professionally-illustrated manual that I could download, hopefully as a holographic image ). Do I just pour the stuff onto the cake when it's made? On a rack, like petit fours? Or should it be more like a (more liquid version of) a buttercream? Let it cool a bit first? How thick should it be when I do so? Sorry, DUMB questions, I know, but I am an absolute ganache virgin .
Thanks for any help you can give me!!!
I did my first ganache this past Saturday. I can only give you one time worth of experience. I used two cups heavy whipping cream and two cups Nestle semi sweet chips. I put both into double boiler and heated til smooth. I let it sit on the counter overnight and stirred occassionally. The next morning, it was the PERFECT consistency. If I had a choice, I would use ganache for everything! LOVED IT!
Good luck!
it really depends on what kind of coating you want. if you want a thinner coating you can pour it on the cake while the ganache is still warm and liquidy (on the rack like you said). or, if you wanted a thicker coating you can make the ganache and let it cool down and firm up a bit (it goes faster if you put it in the fridge... just wait till it's cool before you put a lid on or you'll have a mess with the condensation) and then frost it like a normal buttercream.
also, i noticed the PP said she melted the chocolate with the cream in a double broiler, i think it's more common to just scald the cream over the stove and pour the warmed cream over the chocolate chips. let it sit like that for a few moments and then stir it around to help melt. this is how i've always done it, but it sounds like it works both ways, so whatever floats your boat i suppose. oh, and i usually do about a 17 oz of chocolate to 1 cup of cream type of ratio.
hth a bit. i'm no pro but i've done it a couple of times
I put ganache on 80% of the cakes I make - after I have covered them in ganache I then put on the fondant.
The consistency that I get is like soft butter or margarine - I just spread it onto the cake one it is cool. You can pour it on as mentioned earlier or smooth it like buttercream.
My mixture is 250mls of cream to 300 grams chocolate. I heat my all together in a saucepan over a very low flame, once melted, I pour it into a bowl and place it it in the fridge to cool.
Best of luck,
I've never used ganache either, and was shocked when I saw that it can be left out overnight! Really? How long is it stable for left out of the refrigerator?
I use ganache on every cake eversince I started it. What kind are you looking for? Are you looking for pourable ganache or spreadable?
Everything you ever wanted to know about ganache:
(Includes overview, master and other recipes including white chocolate as well as info on how to glaze, smooth and stack.)
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-497433-.html
Chocolate 101:
http://tinyurl.com/ytby97
Whipped Chocolate Ganache:
http://cakecentral.com/recipes/2328/whipped-chocolate-ganache
Blender Ganache:
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-6176469-.html#6176469
HTH
You guys rock! Thanks a bajillion! I am in the process of covering my last tier with ganache, and will cover them with fondant tomorrow ... so far so good, but I'll be in a better place to give a final opinion once I've finished the fondanting .
Thanks again everyone!
-Emi.
Please note that different ratios will give you different results.
1:1 ratio is for poured ganache, the glaze type look, and will not firm up enough to cover with fondant. The 2:1 - 2.5:1 ratio will make the paste you spread on like buttercream, and overnight it will set up nice and firm on the cake so you can then cover it with fondant.
HTH
Thanks so much, Sharon! I had what I hope is an unrelated (but can't count on it) issue with the cake after the ganache had set (beautifully!) and the cake was covered ... I'll post it in another thread and see if anybody has any insight into why this happened ...
You can use Baker's semi-sweet chocolate bars. That's typically what I use.
Lately, I've just been using Nestle semi-sweet morsels because I shop at Sam's and it helps keep my costs down
I'm planning on covering my first ganache cake tonight, and was just hoping for some pointers (or even better, for a highly-detailed professionally-illustrated manual that I could download, hopefully as a holographic image ). Do I just pour the stuff onto the cake when it's made? On a rack, like petit fours? Or should it be more like a (more liquid version of) a buttercream? Let it cool a bit first? How thick should it be when I do so? Sorry, DUMB questions, I know, but I am an absolute ganache virgin .
Thanks for any help you can give me!!!
That is hilarious as i was just searching ganache recipes on here earlier today. Sometimes i get intimidated to ask questions so i am glad you did. I too want to knock out my fear of it too, i know it tastes so yummy. I also wanted to know how you torte and fill a cake that you want ganache on top. Do you have to dam the sides and if so with what??? My thought was to use the Chocolate Kahlua filling recipe on here. AND the chambord filling OMG BRING ON THE ANSWERS GANACHE HERE WE COME!!!!
I use ganache on every cake eversince I started it. What kind are you looking for? Are you looking for pourable ganache or spreadable?
HMMM well since i know no better, i want the thick ganache that is smooth to the finish and can be piped too ??? LOL
I will make a dam of 3:1 ratio ganache (3 parts choco to 1 part cream) to hold in the filling
Then I use a 2:1 ratio ganache (2 parts choco to 1 part cream) to either spread or pour, depending on what I'm going for. Crumb coating is awesome with ganache! It fills in all those little nooks and crannies that form after baking, torting, etc. So nice!
I use ganache on every cake eversince I started it. What kind are you looking for? Are you looking for pourable ganache or spreadable?
HMMM well since i know no better, i want the thick ganache that is smooth to the finish and can be piped too ??? LOL
I did this cake with poured ganache and then piped the design on (not all of the design is ganache...there's bits of it that you can't quite tell from the picture
http://i449.photobucket.com/albums/qq216/RoanokeCakes/92May102009-MomOMothersDayCake.jpg
I will make a dam of 3:1 ratio ganache (3 parts choco to 1 part cream) to hold in the filling
Then I use a 2:1 ratio ganache (2 parts choco to 1 part cream) to either spread or pour, depending on what I'm going for. Crumb coating is awesome with ganache! It fills in all those little nooks and crannies that form after baking, torting, etc. So nice!
OK sorry, newbie, ganache virgin to quote the author of this thread LOL what do you mean by crumb coating? I know crumb coating with buttercream do you mean a thin coating of ganache to cover the layers dam the sides (does this have to sit for a while before filling??) then fill ??
What I mean is, I rather use a crumb coat of ganache (either white or chocolate) instead of buttercream under my fondant. Ganache dries hard and makes awesome corners, especially on square cakes. It also makes for sturdy stacking cakes.
The crumb coat goes on after you fill. It's a thin coat of ganache, just like buttercream, that you would ice the entire cake with in order to lock in the filling, lock in stray crumbs. It makes a nice base surface for either putting your final coat of icing on or a layer of fondant.
I hope that made sense!
OK i think i got it, I am not going to cover this wonderful chocolate ganache, i want it in its bare beauty THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR ALL OF YOUR HELP I love this site!
Thanks for posting this topic.
I did my first ganache a few months ago, and the woman at the cake decorating supply store insisted that I MUST use at least 70% cocao or else my ganache wouldn't "bind". Now I'm glad to see that I can use regular old Nestle's!
FYI, I whipped my leftover ganache and used it as filling. It ended up being more like a truffle filling -- very dense, almost like a fudge. But my friend LOVED it, and in fact requested another cake just like it for next weekend!
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