When ganache is placed on a cake, instead of chocolate frosting, does it dry hard, like a candy coating?

It will be harder, but not like a chocolate shell. The cream will keep it softer and pliable, while the chocolate allows it to have a harder finish. Hope that makes since. Hopefully someone else will have a better explanation.

Thanks...I think I was thinking chocolate shell. My son doesn't want fondant on his cake on his 2st birthday. So i'm doing a small Vulcan Snowboarding cake. He wants yellow cupcakes with chocolate frosting, and a pineapple upside down cake. I want to make him a special, smaller cake, from the sportsball pan, with a gumpaste Vulcan stone, and a snowboarder. So he gets that too. So I was thinking chocolate shell type frosting on the cupcakes, to make them look like a Hostess cupcake.

I think the ganache would work well for that. It would be nice and glossy smooth, but would not be hard to cut into. Sounds like fun to me!!

Like a petite four. Is that ganache? I've filled a cake with ganache, but it was creamy.

You need to find a poured ganache recipe. I normally use equal parts heavy cream and chocolate with a few Tbsp of butter to make it shiny. I heat the cream and butter until just boiling and then pour it over the chocolate. Let sit about 5 minutes, then stir until smooth. Pour over cake and let harden. It will still have a creamy mouth feel when eaten, but will set up nice for the cake finish.

Thankyou....Now I need to find the time to make all those cupcakes.