• 10 ounces bittersweet chocolate
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Chocolate is a spiritual experience.  Mix in the right proportions with heavy cream and you achieve Nirvana.  Ganache may be the easiest yet most under utilized tool in your culinary toolbox.  Pour it over a cake for a perfect iced coating unlike anything one can achieve with a knife.  For truffles, simply ball it and roll in crushed toffee, coconut, coco or anything you can dream up.  Ganache can be piped, poured out onto your counter-top, cut into squares and covered in chocolate for candies, it can be used as a chocolate paint or rolled into logs filled with nuts and dates, cut into medallions and laid atop luscious flavored creams and custards.

Ganache is, quite simply, made by combining heavy cream and chocolate.  Vary the amount of cream used and you create Ganache of varying consistencies.  Add espresso, vanilla, Grand Marnier,  raspberry or any flavored liquor and you transform your Ganache into decadent and memorable sweet.

For this recipe I use a bittersweet chocolate but have substituted semisweet, milk chocolate or a mixture of chocolates depending on my final use.  If this is your first time making Ganache, I recommend having a few extra ounces chocolate on hand in case your Ganache doesn’t set as firmly as you would like.  It takes just a couple of minutes to bring your Ganache back to a liquid state to incorporate more chocolate and firm up your final set.  This recipe will create a Ganache for use in making truffles and calls for only 1/3 cup of cream.  If your plans are to pipe it or use it as layer icing for a cake, increase the cream to 3/4 cup.  For an even thinner set for use in coating candies or flow-icing a cake, increase the amount of cream to 1 cup.

Directions:

  1. If your chocolate is not already in pieces, chop with a serrated knife into 1/4 inch pieces – big chunks will not melt properly – and place in a glass bowl.
  2. Add vanilla to the chocolate.  If you are using any flavored liquors you will want to add a tablespoon or two to the chocolate at this point as well.
  3. Bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan over a medium heat.  We want the cream to come to a solid boil where the cream raises up in the pan like it wants to boil over.
  4. Immediately pour the cream over the chocolate and allow it to sit for about a minute and a half.  Using a rubber spatula, or a wire whisk if making a thinner Ganache, slowly work the mixture for about 2 minutes moving slowly so as not to incorporate air into the Ganache and making sure that all the chocolate is melted.
  5. Let the Ganache set for about 2 to 3 hours in the refrigerator at which point it will be ready to work with.

Consider lining a baking sheet with parchment paper and pour your Ganache on to it.  Once it is set you can flip it out on to your counter and cut into squares with a sharp knife.  I have even added toasted coconut to my chocolate before incorporating the cream.  After it is set and cut into squares, hand dip your squares into a room temperature Ganache made with a cup of cream to chocolate coat these amazing candies.