Chocolate Ganache 101

Ingredience

Dark Chocolate Ganache (1:1 Ratio)

300 g Dark Chocolate (60%) Cocoa Solids

300 g Cream

Milk Chocolate Ganache (1.5:1 Ratio)

300 g Milk Chocolate (33% Cocoa Solids)

200 g Cream

White Chocolate Ganache (3:1 Ratio)

400 g White Chocolate (28% Cocoa Solids)

132 g Cream

Pokyny

Cream and Fat Percentage

Step 1

The type of cream you use will impact the overall stability and texture of your ganache.

Step 2

A cream with a lower fat percentage (for example Heavy Cream which is 36-40% Fat), will result in a thinner, softer ganache that is less likely to split. This is because there is less fat to destabilise the emulsion compared to higher-fat creams.

Step 3

Whereas, a higher fat cream, like Double Cream (UK), which has 48% fat, will give you a thicker ganache, that is more prone to splitting. Not saying it will split, but, but be aware that a ganache with using a higher fat cream will be more fragile, especially when you whisk it.

Step 4

So when choosing a cream, keep this in mind in terms of how it will impact the texture of your ganache. For lower-fat creams (below 35% fat), it’s better to heat it to a slightly lower temperature—around 50-60°C (122-140°F)—to avoid curdling, graininess, or fat separation. For higher-fat creams (35%+ fat), you can go slightly hotter, up to 80-85°C (176-185°F), since the extra fat helps stabilise the emulsion.

Compound vs Couverture Chocolate

Step 5

Couverture chocolate is a high-quality chocolate with at least 31% cocoa butter, giving it a smooth texture, fluid consistency, and a glossy finish. Its high cocoa butter content makes it ideal for ganache, as the the high cocoa butter content is easier to emulsify, resulting in a more stable product.

Step 6

Compound chocolate on the other hand is a chocolate alternative where vegetable fats replace cocoa butter, making it easier to work with. However, it lacks the same smooth texture as real chocolate, and the vegetable fats are harder to emulsify compared to cocoa butter, making it less stable than compound chocolate.

Step 7

Couverture chocolate includes brands such as Callebaut or Valrhona - expensive but worth it. Compound chocolate is usually cheaper chocolate that you will find in supermarkets.

Step 8

Although you can use compound chocolate if you can't get couverture chocolate, a compound chocolate is better suited for say whipped ganache which is stabilised with gelatin, so can overcome some of the stabilisation issues.

Equipment

Step 9

Ensuring you use a hand blender when you mix your ganache is important as this will create a better emulsion compared to a hand whisk.

Step 10

A hand blender more efficiently forces the fat and water together and is able to create smaller, more evenly distributed fat droplets in the emulsion. This will lead to smoother, more stable ganache.

Ganache Ratios

Step 11

The following recipes are for softer, pipeable ganache recipes - but keep in mind your ganache will firm up and crystallise after piping (see the last section).

Dark Chocolate Ganache

Step 12

For Dark Chocolate Ganache, add the chopped dark chocolate to a tall measuring jug (this will ensure it gets fully submerged in the cream).

Step 13

Here we are using a 1:1 (Chocolate:Cream) ratio. Add your cream into a pan and heat, stirring gently until it reaches 80-85C (176-185F), no hotter than this or you will split the cocoa butter in the chocolate.

Step 14

Once hot, pour the cream over the dark chocolate and allow it to sit for 2 minutes. Use a hand blender to blend until smooth but avoid 'pumping' the hand blender up and down - we don't want to add too much air in.

Step 15

Once blended, cover the surface with cling film and leave at room temperature for 2 hours.

Milk Chocolate Ganache

Step 16

For Milk Chocolate Ganache, add the chopped milk chocolate to a tall measuring jug (this will ensure it gets fully submerged in the cream).

Step 17

Here we are using a 1.5:1 (Chocolate:Cream) ratio. Add your cream into a pan and heat, stirring gently until it reaches 80-85C (176-185F), no hotter than this or you will split the cocoa butter in the chocolate.

Step 18

Once hot, pour the cream over the milk chocolate and allow it to sit for 2 minutes. Use a hand blender to blend until smooth but avoid 'pumping' the hand blender up and down - we don't want to add too much air in.

Step 19

Once blended, cover the surface with cling film and leave at room temperature for 2 hours.

White Chocolate Ganache

Step 20

Start by placing the white chocolate into a bowl, placed over a pan of gently simmering water. Stir constantly until completely melted. Remove it from the heat and pour it into a tall measuring jug (dry the bottom of the bowl so that water that has condensated on the bottom of the bowl doesn't drip in and seize the chocolate)

Step 21

Here we are using a 3:1 (Chocolate:Cream) ratio. Add your cream into a pan and heat, stirring gently until it reaches 80-85C (176-185F), no hotter than this or you will split the cocoa butter in the chocolate.

Step 22

Once hot, pour the cream over the melted white chocolate and use a hand blender to blend until smooth but avoid 'pumping' the hand blender up and down - we don't want to add too much air in.

Step 23

Once blended, cover the surface with cling film and leave at room temperature for 2 hours.

Piping

Step 24

After around 2 hours at room temperature, the dark chocolate ganache should be a soft, pipeable consistency.

Step 25

Add it straight into a piping bag, and pipe as needed!

Step 26

After around 2 hours at room temperature, the milk chocolate ganache should be a soft, pipeable consistency.

Step 27

Add it straight into a piping bag, and pipe as needed!

Step 28

After 2 hours, your white chocolate ganache will still be slightly soft. Add the mixture into a stand mixer with a whisk attachment.

Step 29

Whisk it on a low speed (if you go too fast it could split - if it does split, add in a splash of warm cream and carry on whisking). Whisk until it has a thicker, more pipeable consistency.

Step 30

Scoop it into a piping bag and pipe with it immediately. It's important to work with it immediately because white chocolate has a high cocoa butter content and low water content. As it sits, the cocoa butter begins to crystallise and set, making it stiff and difficult to pipe.

Ganache Setting and Crystallising

Step 31

Once of the challenges with ganache, is when you pipe it, it is nice and soft, but it very quickly solidifies!

Step 32

What is happening here, is the fat and cocoa butter are crystalising, which turns the ganache from a soft to a firm state.

Step 33

To help prveent/avoid this you have a few options:

Step 34

1: Add a small amount of invert sugar (glucose, honey or trimoline) into the cream when you heat it. Add about 4% of the total weight of the ganache in invert sugar and this will slow the crystallisation and keep the ganache softer for longer. So for example. if you are making the dark chocolate ganache with 300g chocolate and 300g cream, you will need 4% of 600g = 24g of invert sugar. The % of invert sugar you add can be adjusted too up or down - adding more will result in a softer ganache, but will also contribute more sweetness. As a rule of thumb, I don't tend to go over 5%.

Step 35

2: Use a cream with a lower fat percentage. Less fat will result in a thinner ganache that stays softer.

Step 36

3: Increase the cream-to-chocolate ratio. More cream introduces extra water and reduces the cocoa butter concentration, slowing crystallization and keeping the ganache pipeable for a longer time.