I will be working on a cake this work for a customer who wants a chocolate drip to represent mud. The cake is covered in fondant and the whole top of the bottom layer will be covered with drips down the side. She wants it to be the color or mud and shiny.

I have never worked with ganache and don't really want to experiment with it.....although I've never used poured fondant either! So, what are my options for this effects.....ganache, poured fondant, regular fondant cut out or choclate buttercream ? Thanks!

definitely go with the ganache it is simpler than mixing up buttercream!!! Just use 8 oz. of heavy cream and 1-14 oz. package of choc. chips easy peasy! You can go with higher grade chocolate if you want, but the chips taste just as wonderful!


Heat the cream until it's about to boil, add the chips, let it sit for a few minutes, then stir it up with a whisk until all the choc. is melted and it's smooth. Then you can just pour it on the cake or (what I like to do) is put some in a pastry bag, snip the tip and drizzle it along the edge letting every couple ones drip down the sides (so pretty) and then use the rest to pour on the top and use a spatula to smooth it into the side drizzles.

I love the look of cakes with the ganache drizzle (not sure if it's the LOOK I like so much or because anything being drowned in chocolate is just too good to be ugly! lol)

This will work on fondant??

Ganache is not that hard but if you are more comfortable using buttercream, you can get a great "mud" effect by melting the buttercream. Just zap in the microwave for a few seconds and stir, and the buttercream turns pourable. If it's too thin to make mud-like lumps you just let it cool a bit, and if it's too thick you heat a little more.

The color will darken when you melt it, but it sets similarly to regular bc and the taste does not change much.

Ganache is really easy, I'd totally do it, it will give a nice glossy "mud" look...perfect.