AI made my first batch of ganache last night, tasted it this morning and it is TERRIBLE. I actually feel kind of sick.... I used 7 oz heavy whipping cream that has an expiration date of 10/23, and 22 oz Giardelli white chocolate baking chips. I boiled the cream, poured it over the chips, let us sit 3 mins, stirred slowly from the inside out, then whisked until the right consistency. I covered with plastic and let sit on counter overnight. What did I do wrong? After reading everyone racig about ganache, I'm so disappointed!
The Ganache should taste like the chocolate you use, I have never tried Giardelli it's not a common brand here. Do you like the taste of just the chocolate on it's own before you make it into Ganache? Another thing if you overboil the cream it can give you an unpleasant "boiled dairy" aftertaste.
The recipe sounds right...depending on the ratio you are wanting. I never boil my HWC though. Just to almost that point. And Giardelli chips should be really good. Think maybe boiling the HWC was the problem.
AThank you. The recipe I followed said to heat the cream until it boils around the edge of the pot. I've also seen the microwave method where its heated up slowly- I think I'll try that next time. When its finished, do you all let yours sit at room temp, or refrigerate?
I stop when I see little bubbles around the edge...but the center is not "boiling". I let sit at room temp overnight then use...I freeze the left overs.
I never boil my HWC ever and when I am using white chocolate it is always Giardelli. I am going to think you scalded the cream.
A
I would agree with it being a boiling issue, you really just want the cream hot to the touch. I let it come to a boil once, not paying attention, and it got a funky flavour and separated. Now if I get it too hot, I just toss it and start over, never had the issues again.
kitchenchick..the different ratios depend on what you doing...most of the time I do 2:1...3:1 for white.
Newbie question, are the ratios based on volume or weight? And when you say 3:1 for white chocolate, that's 3 chocolate to 1 cream?
AThe ratios are based on weight. Also be sure you didn't use ultra pasteurized cream, just normal pasteurized cream. In ultra pasteurization, the cream is heated much hotter, and I think, gives it a weird flavor. I prefer Guittard to ghirardelli for chocolate - I think it tastes better. I use 1-1 ratio when using the ganache for glazing a cake like this:
[IMG ALT="Chocolate cake with oreo French buttercream, ganache glaze, and more oreos on top!"]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3037072/width/200/height/400[/IMG]
The 2-1 and 3-1 ratios are for when you want to use the ganache as frosting on a cake, as they will thicken much more stiffly. Those are also the ratios for making truffles. I also use 1-1 ratio ganache, cooled to room temperature (it will still be liquidy), whipped on high speed to make a delicious light and fluffy chocolate frosting.
Quote:
........ I use 1-1 ratio when using the ganache for glazing a cake like this:
The 2-1 and 3-1 ratios are for when you want to use the ganache as frosting on a cake, as they will thicken much more stiffly............
(Sarahgale314: I had to run into the kitchen and grab an Oreo. looks fabulous.)
Kitchen Chick: all these posters know what they are talking about, and make georgous cakes. Take their advice and try again until you succeed.
ASome people can taste stuff like that, and some can't... I am a "super taster" and am therefore very sensitive to flavors. Check it out - there are three levels of tasters:
AThank you all! I tried it again using semi-sweet chips and a slow microwave melting method. the. Did the same thing with Lindt white chocolate bars. Delish!
I ganached, then froze the cakes. I have them thawing in the fridge now, and will decorate tomorrow. Fingers crossed!
AGood ganache is made with good chocolate. Generally, chips from the grocery store ain't gonna cut it. Check out Pastry Portal for their couverture lines, that's what makes good ganache. Or any other good online source for chocolate.
AHa! Lindt bars work well too, I almost mentioned that and then ili saw the last response. Lindt is great.
AThanks, everyone. Here's a pic of my cake. The bottom tier was the semi-sweet chocolate, and it was very mushy and soft. Made the fondant not look so great. But the top two tiers were the white chocolate and they turned out great! Very smooth and hard. All were yummy. :) [IMG]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3124614/width/200/height/400[/IMG]
If your semi sweet choc was soft I'm guessing there wasn't enough cocoa butter in the chocolate you used.
ASadly, semisweet and bittersweet chocolate are not distinguished from one another by the USDA. Any chocolate with 35% or higher cocoa content can be labeled as semisweet or bittersweet, so it can be hard to tell what you're getting. The lower the percentage, the softer your ganache will be. 60% seems to be the ideal percentage for me. I like Guittard semisweet, callebaut 60% baking bar or callets, and the ghirardelli 60% baking bar. What's funny is, the ghirardelli bar is not the same as the ghirardelli 60% chips. Buy both and taste them together - they taste quite different, and I think the bar tastes much better.
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%