I can't ganache. I tried and tried and tried and even though it was *kinda* smooth, it shows right through to the fondant and now it looks crappy.

The first time I used ganache, it turned out the same way. This time I even tried a different technique.

I give up on it. Buttercream is so much more forgiving.

If you are using light coloured fondant, then I always use white ganache. Are you using a hot spatula & bench scraper to smooth?

Did you try this method....
http://sugarsweetcakesandtreats.blogspot.com/2010/05/covering-cake-in-ganache.html

I have only done this once but it turned out great......

I tried that method first time and it didn't work out. And this time I just winged it.

I think I just suck at ganaching. Maybe the consistency wasn't right? It wouldn't smooth right or something.

Oh, no....ganache is easy. Take 1 cup heavy cream, 2 tbs butter, 2 tbs sugar and heat in the microwave for @ 1 1/2 minutes. Put 12 oz semi-sweet or bitter sweet chocolate in a stainless steel bowl, pour cream mixture over it, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it sit. After 10 minutes or so, take plastic off, mix it for a few minutes (emulsion blender works nicely) and your done. Really, it's very easy! Give it another try.

I didn't put butter or sugar in my mix. The one I used was 1:1 ratio of cream and chocolate.

I've only done the poured ganache myself. But I've been researching how to do it under fondant this week and I think your ratio was off. From what I saw you want a 2:1 ratio (chocolate:cream) for dark and semi sweet chocolate and a 3:1 ratio for milk chocolate or white chocolate.

This ratio is also based off of weights, not cup measurements

Maybe that's why. I'll have to try it with a 2:1 ratio next time and just chalk this up to experience.

I agree with PP's, the ratio should be 2:1 for dark chocolate, and 3:1 for white and milk chocolate...that is what worked for me anyway.

Good Luck!

I understand if you change the ratio between chocolate and cream you get ganache with different consistencies. Perhaps the recipe you are using is just too stiff or too thin? I would post a link to the different ratios, but this is something I read a long time ago and can't remember where.

You can use it to pour over cakes and to whip for fillings. It works well and is pretty forgiving for chocolate. If the chocolate doesn't completely melt the first time, just put it all back in the microwave for 30 sec intervals until it's melted. Also, I scorched the chocolate one time, and after using the emulsion blender for a few minutes, it did smooth out. I've never covered it with fonant. I think it would work out if you keep the fondant a little thicker than normal, but I'm not sure.

I made ganache for the first time several weeks ago and it turned out great. I used Rose Levey Berenbaum's recipe from her website.

http://www.realbakingwithrose.com/2007/06/my_first_and_worst_cake.html#more

I have been using ganache on my last several cakes and I will NEVER go back to buttercream!! It gave me nothing but headaches! The ganache was so easy, smooth and sturdy under the fondant.

I agree with the previous posts: 2:1 for dark chocolate, 3:1 for white or milk chocolate.

Give it another try... it's definitely worth it!

I changed to ganache over a year ago and will never go back, either! I live in the tropics. Buttercream is just too moist to put fondant over here. The ganache is more like peanut butter and is less moist, even though it turns to goo, too, once it sits under the fondant for a while in my kitchen! But it's MUCH easier to work with than buttercream.

1:1 ratio is for a poured glaze or for whipping into a filling or a soft icing.

2:1 is for firm ganache (for use under fondant) that will set up like a chocolate shell 18-24 hours after being smoothed onto the cake

higher than 2:1 will give you firmer ganache shell

white choc for firm

ganache starts at 3:1

HTH!

I've watched several videos on how to ganache a cake, but I've not tried it yet. Almost everyone that wants a fondant cake asks if I put buttercream under the fondant because they like the taste of the buttercream. I'll have to try the ganache on a cake that's just for my family sometime.

90% of Australian made cakes are ganache under fondant

Fondant is rolled REALLY thin - most aiming for 1/8th of an inch or less these days.

This is a really good photo step by step of a class taken with Faye Cahill in Sydney - http://www.fayecahill.com.au/Wedding/wedding.htm


Tutorial

http://www.notquitenigella.com/2010/11/04/how-to-make-a-two-tier-wedding-cake-with-faye-cahill/

ANOTHER set of tutorials by another talented Aussie

The book 'Planet Cake' has good instructions for ganache under fondant. Personally I find buttercream a complete nightmare compared to ganache. You can use dark ganache under white fondant, no problems. I roll fondant about 3 or 4 mm thick, and the dark ganache never shows through.

What do you use for your chocolate when making white chocolate ganache?

I use ganache on some of my cakes, but I use it at 1:1 ratio because I want to be able to both fill and ice with the same batch. It actually sets up really well, much firmer than BC. But I always refrigerate my cakes because I use perishable fillings.

I use a dark chocolate, and I cover in very thin white fondant and it never shows through. The 1:1 ratio is nice and firm for covering with fondant (but I chill the cake first) and when cut and served is still soft enough not to come across as a shell and more like an icing, which is more pleasing to eat, I think.

I love ganache and I have used it on my last two cakes ...

http://cakecentral.com/gallery/2010995

http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1973765

I used chocolate ganache on both. I did not have any problems with the ganache showing through on either of the cakes and I got a beautiful smooth finish on the ganache. I like it so well that I am thinking of no longer using BC.

ajwonka, I use any white chocolate or white candy melts. I'm kind of limited here in Mexico by the brands of chocolate I can get, but I've used Fehrback (not sure how to spell it). I see that Callebaut has a factory here now, but I have no idea where to find its products.

DebBTX, the ganache doesn't form a shell unless you put the cake in the fridge right up until serving time. And it especially doesn't form a shell in the heat and humidity of Texas! Actually, what happens is that it gets to the consistency of peanut butter before you spread it on the cake. Once it's on the cake, the thinness of the layer you use lets it firm up even more, even without refrigeration.

But once you put the fondant on and it's been there for a while, the ganache gets softer, so there's no worry about cutting through a "shell" or any of that. At least, this has been my experience in my non-AC kitchen in Cancún.

I agree with Peridot, I use ganache on all my cakes now under the fondant. You will be amazed at how easy and smooth the fondant goes on! Plus i think it keep the cake itself fresher because it seals it better than BC.

http://cakecentral.com/gallery/2015364