i'm wondering, for those of you who have done things with chocolate ganach, do you use the recipes from here? and can i substitute something for the liquor, like a flavoring, or just omit it? i've never tried it, but i thought i'd try to make one for my mom this weekend 
. also, do you usually pair it with a chocolate cake or yellow? any opinions are appreciated
I almost never add flavoring--I like the plain chocolate! I use a simple recipe I found on allrecipes.com:
9 oz semi sweet chocolate (I usually use good quality chocolate chips like Guittard or Ghiradelli)
1 cup heavy cream
Heat the cream until it is almost boiling (but don't let it boil). Put the chocolate in a metal bowl. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and cover the bowl for a few minutes. Remove the cover and whisk the mixture until it is smooth and glossy.
This makes a fairly thin ganache. I either chill it just a little before pouring/spreading on a cake or I use 12 oz chocolate to make it a little thicker.
I have used it with chocolate and yellow cake--both delicious!
yes, my dear smashcakes, you can use flavourings other than liquers for ganache (and you should, if making a cake that children will eat). any oil-based flavouring will work just fine, and you can even add small amounts of liquid flavourings like juice once the ganache is made (i.e. after the cream has melted the chocolate). stick with things that go with chocolate, like peppermint oil, orange oil (you can also use orange zest) cherry or raspberry flavours. cinnamon is a nice addition. i would also stick with natural flavourings for chocolate as much as possible.
for pouring or icing (whipped or unwhipped) for coating a cake i like to use a 1:1 ratio of cream to dark chocolate, and decrease the cream by 1/3 or increase the chocolate by 1/3 if using milk chocolate (which is softer than dark).
truffle ganache is at least 2:1 in favour of the chocolate; more chocolate means a firmer mixture. check out my truffle recipe in the recipes section. 
ganache goes with just about kind of cake (even cheesecake) and makes a wonderful alternative to buttercream that is appreciated by adults especially. 
Just curious, but how do you pour the ganach to cover the cake smoothly? Do you stay in the center and just let it flow? Or go to the edge to cover the sides?? Ive done one and with all the questions you can guess why. It just didnt turn out real pretty.
Pour the ganache in the middle and let it run over the edge. It will level itself. Make sure your cake is on a wire rack with a baking sheet underneath. Then you can use (or eat) the excess chocolate. Wouldn't want to waste that delicious stuff. I use my own proportions according to what I want to do with it. Sometimes I will add a couple cubes of butter or egg yolks for the nice shine it creates
Pour the ganache in the middle and let it run over the edge. It will level itself. Make sure your cake is on a wire rack with a baking sheet underneath.
How long do you keep the cake on the wire rack before you move it? I would think the shifting of the cake would crack the ganache or put crevices in it. This is all new to me. Any tips out there? (Squirrely Cakes?)
kos
I've never used ganache before, so sorry if this is a silly question. Is is possible to get a smooth coat of ganache of the sides of your cake? Or is it usually just poured on the top?
heathercarnold --I have never tried it either and finally found something on ganache on the "joy of cooking" website. I'm going to follow these directions and see how it goes. Hope it helps.
Brush any loose crumbs from the cake and place cake on a wire rack. Put the wire rack on a baking sheet. In this way if the ganache drips it will end up on the baking sheet, which makes clean up easier. Using a cake spatula, cover the sides and top of the cake with about 2 tablespoons ganache. This is called a crumb coat and seals in any cake crumbs so that your cake will have a smooth finish. Refrigerate cake for 5 minutes to set the crumb coat. If you have any air bubbles or crumbs in your ganache, pour through a strainer. To cover cake, pour the remaining ganache into the center of the cake. Working quickly, spread with a spatula, using big strokes to push the ganache over the sides of the cake, to create an even coating of ganache. If there are any bare spots on sides of cake, cover with leftover ganache. Leftover ganache can be strained to remove any crumbs and used to make truffles.
Hear is an old post on ganache it has a recipe as well as pouring instructions. I used this method the first time I made ganache and it turned out great. I also used this same recipe today to make whipped ganache, and whipped it in an ice bath, and it also turned out great. I thought it might help some of you with ganache questions also.
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-693-ganache.html
Wilma
What I do (and I have used a lot of ganache)
First I make way more than I think I need (to avoid air bubbles stir the cream and chocolate, don't use a whisk)
Second, with the cake on a rack over a cookie sheet, I pour a bunch on the top and allow it to run over the edges. Then I pick up the whole cookie sheet and tilt it until all the sides are covered. Let it sit at room temperature until ganache has slightly set. Then I pour the remaining ganache (you may have to reheat it to pouring consistency) over the top and allow it to just run over the sides and completely coat the cake including sides. It has always produced a very level and smooth cake including the sides.
The key is to pour the ganache while still warm because it pours easy and really coats and levels itself well, and make sure cake is not cold before pouring because a cold cake will instantly start setting your ganache which is what you don't want. Refrigerate and after it has completely set
(I make my ganache so that when it is set it is still soft (hard to explain)and allows me to move the cake without it cracking) gently pick up cake from rack and using a warm knife or cake spreader remove any drips from the bottom of the cake where it dripped onto rack and cookie sheet.
Tip: if the cake is very crumbly you can just brush it with a simple syrup (also works as a crumb coat) and allow to set before applying ganache
cheftaz-- Thanks so much for the tips. I just finished my cake and put it in the fridge like you suggested. Unfortunately, I followed the other directions first and crumb-coated the cake with the ganache and refrigerated it for about 5 minutes. When I started pouring the ganache over that, it was more like the consistency of just-cooked-pudding. I had to spread it a little on the sides. I think it will work out okay. It's for the guinea-pigs my husband works with so it's just a practice cake 
. Thanks so much for the great information. I'm going to cut-and-paste it into my recipe book. 
You answered everything I needed to know.
kos[/b]
Another trick... if you have a food processor, chop you chocolate in that until it's fine, then add your hot cream, wait 60 seconds, then process just until mixed... MUCH easier on the arm! (This came from the Cake Bible... It's the only way I make ganache anymore!)
Yw Kos.
Amendment: When I say 'pick up cake from rack' I mean just high enough to get the warm knife, spreader or off set spatula under it to remove any drips (if you even have any) I often don't. I usually use 2 off sets to move the cake to serving platter. Here is my method of making ganache as well
I don't know your method but from experimenting I found that chopping the chocolate to smallish (1/4-1/2 oz) pieces and placing in a bowl. Heat cream to boiling and immediately pour over chocolate and then cover bowl tightly with saran wrap and let stand for 5 minutes. Unwrap and gently stir from the center outwards until all chocolate is melted works the best. Now (optional)you can add some butter to make it richer and add a nice sheen. When I make my 'truffle torte' I add 2 egg yolks to the blended chocolate and cream for added richness and sheen
cheftaz - I used two spatulas as well to move the cake off the rack to the plate. It went easier than I first thought it would. 
I had a few small drips in the pan that my husband tried out. He loved it. I'm not sure I like it. I used the Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate and it seemed a bit too bitter for me. (I guess that means it's good, huh? ) Does the ganache stay somewhat soft? Can you add powder sugar to this for a fudgy chocolate frosting? Thanks again for all your input.
MelC, thanks for the tips. I'll have to checkout the Cake Bible.
Kos
The ganache will stay as soft as you made it. The higher proportion of chocolate to cream the harder it sets. I usually have lots on the baking sheet. I love to eat the stuff yuuuuummmmmmy
I usually use semi sweet 'callebaut' You could try adding powdered sugar but I don't see it blending well. Adding 1 oz of butter to every 8 oz of cream is nice too. Add the butter to the cream before heating the cream
This is the proportions I use when I make my truffle torte. It sets but is nice and soft and able to cut with dental floss
This will make a 8" springform with a thin almond crust about 1 " thick
560 ml cream
412 gms chocolate
2 large egg yolks
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