How to make Dark Chocolate Ganache

Last updated on July 22nd, 2023 at 07:15 pm

This 2 ingredient quick and easy recipe has an unbelievable amount of uses!

While it does depend on what kind of chocolate you are using with this Ganache, I used dark chocolate to top my dark chocolate cheesecake. It makes such a good topping to the delicious cake itself making every bite a soft and tasty experience.

What kind of Chocolate should I use for making Ganache?

You can use any white, milk, dark chocolate, even if they are chips, chunks or a whole block of chocolate. But however the shape the chocolate comes in it might have to be shaved down into smaller pieces so it will melt properly.

While dark chocolate works best at 50% cocoa with a 1:1 ratio like this recipe. Milk chocolate is better with a 3:1 ratio of chocolate to cream, white chocolate is best with a 4:1 chocolate to cream ratio.

Just note that dark chocolate past 50% will likely need a little bit of powdered/confectioners sugar added to soften the bitterness. A tablespoon of sugar should be added after the chocolate has been just added. If you are going for a more bitter Ganache then taste test it after the mixture is fully combined and see if it will work with or without the added sugar.

What quality of Chocolate should I use for my Ganache?

Whatever kind of chocolate you use make sure it is higher quality chocolate. lower quality chocolate will lead to problems. This means baking or cooking chocolate as it is higher quality chocolate that will melt evenly, unlike eating chocolate which might be lumpy and will likely drop to the bottom of the pan and burn.

If you have Chocolate Chunks or larger

Chocolate is very picky with temperatures and can be burned surprisingly quickly. This is why I suggest you use smaller pieces of chocolate. But if you only have larger chunks of chocolate to make Ganache with, it is best to chop it into smaller pieces. Somewhere around chocolate chip size or smaller works best.

This makes it so the chocolate can melt evenly and combines easier with the cream of the Ganache. And lessens the chance of the chocolate being burnt if it touches the bottom of the pan.

The Difference between Ganache and Glaze

Ganache is an icing which is a 1:1 ratio of cream and chocolate, while glaze is a 3:1 ratio with a lot more chocolate and sugar having it harden up at room temperature quite quickly.

What Is The Best Cream For Ganache?

30% fat and up. These will give the best results because if you go lower it will be to runny and cause problems setting. This means heavy cream, thickened cream, pure cream as well as heavy whipping cream and normal whipping cream.

Don’t use low fat or no fat creams in Ganache the fat is a required part of the process so it can’t be remove for the recipe to work.

Decorating a Cake with your finished Ganache

Once you are finished with your Ganache there is numerous things you can do with it!

One thing you can do with it is pour the hot ganache onto a cake to glaze it and make a nice soft coating for the cake.

Another thing is you can chill the Ganache and whip it in a stand mixer until it is light and fluffy. This can be used as frosting or to fill a cake or other baked good.

Making Chocolate Ganache

First we need to get the ingredients. A heavy cream around 30% fat and up works great. Now we need to choose our chocolate I like using Hershey’s 50% cocoa dark chocolate since it has always worked great whenever I use it.

Now measure out the cream to 8 oz or 1 cup of liquid.

Now since we are making a chocolate sauce we are going to keep the amounts exactly the same.

Now pour into a measuring cup 8oz of chocolate chips or 1 cup.

Now pour in the cream into a small sauce pan and start to slowly heat up the cream to the point where it just starts steaming or boiling. Keep a close eye on it because before you know it the cream will separate and you will have to start again.

When it starts steaming slightly or some small bubbles start coming up from the bottom we are going to pull it off the burner and pour in the chocolate chips in three parts and stir with a spoon as you add the chocolate. This is to make it so the chocolate doesn’t burn when it hits the bottom of the sauce pan.

after we finish adding the chocolate we are going to keep stirring slowly to make sure any chocolate stuck to the bottom of the pan is scraped of and stirred in. This makes it so there is very little chance that the chocolate will burn when it hits the bottom.

After a few minutes we have a delicious chocolate Ganache that we can pour over whatever we want. OR you can have with some ice cream (very delicious, take my work for it.)

How long can I store Ganache For?

it is best stored in the fridge for a week or the expiry of the cream, whichever is shorter. It can be stored in the freezer for about three months safely if you need to.