I'm about to try making my first "nice" cake ever lol. I have read ganache under fondant is a good place to start because it's a little more forgiving. Anyways..I have a few questions. :)

1. Do I *have* to have a glass mixing bowl? Would it be ok to use plastic (for the microwave) or stainless steel (if I do it on the stove top)? I want to get glass mixing bowls..just haven't been able to yet. :)

2. How much will I need to make? I used the "ganacherator" excel document that someone posted in these forums. It's saying for a 6" round cake stacked 2 high I need 18oz of dark chocolate and 9oz of cream. Does that seem right?

3. I'm having to go dairy free..would coconut creamer be ok? I saw some people suggest soy milk coffee creamer..so I thought coconut might be ok. :)

Thanks in advance!!

anyone?? :)

AIn my very humble opinion, I would stay away from plastic and the microwave.i usually do small amounts of ganache in a stainless steel double boiler on the stove top and it's just fine. But I don't trust plastic or the microwave. It's so much harder to control, plus the crap that's in plastic these days... I don't know. Definitely invest in the glass ones, you can't go wrong!

Test a small batch with the coconut milk. I've never done it, but who knows, maybe you'll come up with something great :) I always test first if it's something I haven't tried before. That way I'm not crying my eyes out at 2AM if it doesn't work!

AHey AFred, Ganache does produce more straight lines, it's all we mostly use here in australia. As with the bowls, I haven't tried plastic but I make mine on the stove. I heat the cream slowly until it just starts to boil ( you'll see bubbles around the edges ) then I take it off the heat and add the chopped up chocolate into the cream and whisk until smooth and glossy. Then I pour it into a plastic container without a lid and leave it at room temp for 30 mins then put a lid and into the fridge. As with how much you need, it really depends on if your using it to fill your layers ( if any ) and how much you put on your cake to perfect your edges. Then after it hardens and you hot knife, you may need to add more. I always make a little more than what I need just in case! I'm afraid I can't help you with dairy free option. I'd be interested in that also! Good luck!

thanks for the tips!! good call on trying just a little bit with the coconut creamer..don't know why I didn't think of that!!

AHi AFred - I just had to make non dairy ganache a few weeks ago. For many years at a job I had to make kosher non dairy stuff for customers and used Rich's non Dairy Whip, which works great but is like emulsified plastic and kerosene or something. So for this personal project I wanted something tasty. After a few tests, I found that half either almond milk or coconut milk, and half cream of coconut works great and tastes great.

If you do not use the cream of coconut, it still tastes good, but without the added fat it is not as smooth, just a tiny bit grainy (like it would be if you used half and half instead of heavy cream in the regular recipe). Which is fine for some applications, and probably ok for your use (i was pouring over cake for smooth finish).

And yes, always make a little more than you need. Extra can be used for SO MANY things, but making a second batch and getting to spreadable temp when you are in the middle of a cake is annoying.

this doesn't answer all your questions but it is a step by step video on applying ganache under fondant:

http://cakecentral.com/b/tutorial/use-ganache-under-fondant

Good luck!

i used a pyrex measuring cup to heat my cream in the micro, just last night. It was great and much faster. I did stand there and only heat it one minute at a time so that it wouldn't boil over. Otherwise, hot cream, poured over chocolate and voila,. ganache!

thanks for the tips so far. :D

Sadiep...is there a difference between cream of coconut and coconut creamer?

Leanne..thank you for the video link!

ASorry I don't know exactly what you mean by "coconut creamer" - like coffee creamer that is coconut flavored? If so, I can't share any info on using it. I think those are made with oils of some kind, so not sure...

Are you in the US? Coconut milk brands are Goya, Thai kitchen, Badia, etc, usually found in Spanish or Asian section in your grocery. Coconut cream, if you can find it, is the same basic product as coconut milk, but higher in fat content, also made by Goya. Cream of coconut, which is much easier to find, is similar but contains added sugar and some emulsifiers/thickeners. Coco Lopez is a popular brand and is sometimes in the drink mixers section at the grocery. Either "cream" will do for this purpose.

I use plastic bowls and the microwave all the time and it works fine.

Trader Joe's has canned coconut cream, which has more fat than regular coconut milk. Oh and their semi-sweet chocolate chips are vegan too!

I found a recipe here that uses regular canned coconut milk, which you can get at any grocery store:

http://www.katesshortandsweets.com/2013/06/2-ingredient-chocolate-frosting.html

I would not recommend the coconut coffee creamer, and BTW that isn't dairy free.

yeah I had found this: http://www.sodeliciousdairyfree.com/products/coconut-milk-creamers/creamer-original  and I had seen I *think* somewhere on here someone suggest the soy milk coffee creamer..so I wondered if they might be the same?

I didn't think about the canned coconut milk though! I'll go with that. :D Thank you so much

AI use tinned coconut milk to make paleo ganache often, works great! Use the regular version, not the light as it's too watery. I use organic Native Forest, which is nice and thick and surprisingly the cheapest our store carries. Good luck!