hi,

i have been asked to make a cake covered and filled with gamache i have only ever used ganache in cupcakes to make it melt in the middle. so i need some advice on what i need to be doing

1. do i need to cover the cake in buttercream first?

2. can i leave it to go slightly harder and use it like a buttercream?

3. can i whip it once cooled to be able to pipe around the edges of the cake?

i have made 2 x 8" sqauare cakes and they will be going together to make a 14" x 8" cake so how much ganache will i need i have 1200g of chocolate to 600ml of cream.

will it taste better covered in dark or milk chocolate as im starting to think that dark chocolate might be too much. i have considered filling and piping round the edges with dark and covering with milk.

thanx in advance

helen

AHi Helen,

When I ganache my cakes I let it cool to a consistency where I can spread it across the cake without it dripping so its still spreadable but has some stiffness. I do as many layers as I need to achieve a flat and perfect finish - or if it has a patterned finished.

Do not buttercream at all. The buttercream will smudge and run into the ganache and you will just end up with a buttercream/ganache mixture on the cake. You can buttercream the layers off the cake together but not the outside.

If the cake is dark chocolate based, it is nice to use milk chocolate and lighten up the taste but it really depends on what the client likes. One of mine wants dark choc cake with dark choc ganache.

Yes you can pipe the ganache around the base just make sure it's at the right consistency to hold its piped shape. You don't need to whip it though, just stir it and let it cool to the consistency you need and remember if it hardens you can melt it back down again.

Hope this helps - good luck!

http://www.threelittleblackbirds.com/2012/10/simply-ganache-a-tutorial/

This is a great tutorial on how to ganache a cake.

thank you mgostin, that was great advice and i followed what you said and it turned out perfect. wish i was able to try the cake as it smelt so good with all that chococlate :) lucily i had ganache left over so made truffles yum x

Hi Helen, so glad it went well for you!