Never using BC again under fondant - Page 23

I think that I may be a cake dummy.

I made my white chocolate ganache early this morning and let it sit in the bowl on the counter. I just iced my cake with it this afternoon at 4:00. It seemed thick (like peanut butter). It did not want to spread very well onto the cake.

Should I have stirred it some first? Heated it some? Or was I supposed to ice the cake right after it was made, then let it sit on the cake to harden so that I could smooth it? Or do you let it sit in the bowl and then again on the cake to reharden?

I reread this thread this morning and thought that I had it down.

Please spell it out slowly and in simple terms (menapause-my mind is no longer my own)

So it took me two days at work to finally read all of these pages. hehe, don't tell the boss.
My sister is getting married at the end of september and im traveling 5 hours with her cake. I feel more pressure doing this for a family event than i do for strangers. I'm going to test this method this weekend. I have a few questions...
Can someone tell me what the texture is like when someone forks into the cake? When you say it sets does that mean it is like a hard shell? How thick should i spread it under the fondant?

How can i get some hight out of this cake without buying one of those expensive silver cake bases. And one more question...how many days in advance do you guys bake your cakes. My husband thinks tuesday/wednesday is too early for a saturday cake. is he right?

Oh yeah while i'm here what does DH stand for in these forums? Duncan Hines or Dumb Husband? Just curious!

Can anyone answer my questions?

No, the texture of ganache is not hard. Once it sets up, it is more like a soft fudge, or a not real creamy peanut butter. I and my DH (Darling Husband) prefer ganache under fondant rather than buttercream under fondant. It seems to us that the fondant wants to separate from BC but marries nicely to the ganache. (DH can also be Duncan Hines)

Here's how I learned to apply the ganache to the cake, from a well-known book called Planet Cake: put your cake on a cake board(s) or drum the size of the cake pan used. You will notice that the cake likely shrank during baking. With cake on a turntable, apply ganache to only the sides at first. With a spatula or bench scraper held perfectly verticall against the edge of the cakeboard, turn the cake and scrape off excess ganache until the ganached cake is the very size of the cakeboard. Work to get the sides as smooth and straight as possible. Then with an icing spatula, push the excess from the sides onto the top, working to achieve a clean edge. Add more ganache to the top to cover, then smooth. Allow to harden, then smooth with a hot spatula. Allow to set overnight or several hours before applying fondant. Wet the ganache ever so slightly with syrup or water before applying fondant.

A brand new feature on CC: hover your mouse over an acronym with littel dots under it, and a definition will pop up. Not sure it works with every browser yet. Somewhere else on this site, unbeknownst to me, is a list of what those abbreviations mean.

Can't offer any suggestions for height, sorry.

pamconn, if the ganache is too thick to spread easily, nuke it in the MW for just a few seconds. Yesterday I had to do. I nuked the big bowl of it for 10 seconds, and immediately used the ganache on the outer edge of the bowl as it was the softest. Then I nuked for 8 seconds to soften the inner glob.

Dang, that stuff tastes good!

Thanks Grandmom! I was worried it would be like cutting into a hershey Bar. I can't wait to get this underway. Also to all of the DH's out there my apologies for calling you dumb! Darling just wasn't coming to mind.....

maloslatko-
What fondant do you use that is so white? Premade, or homemade? I am trying to get a nice white for a wedding cake. My MMF is a bit offwhite. I have a batch of MFF that I am going to roll out tonight, after I get the ganache set on my cake (this afternoon's experiment!) I am anxious to see how white it is.

TIA

Icecubed82, the MFF is not really white either, a lovely offwhite creamy color, just a tad lighter than my white chocolate ganache. Sure tastes good though! I think Ms. Foster suggests using white coloring to get it white white. I haven't personally tried that yet.

Canyou tell me. I went to purchase my choc the other day and was so confused. Ghiardelli has 60% and 100% baking choc. Which is better? I do know Trader Joes has a choc bar also that is 54% bittersweet imported from Belguim. It is more of a candy bar or melting choc than baking choc. Which is preferred?

Lori

What do you use for a dam when using ganache???

I don't dam when I use ganache. Also by coating the whole cake with ganache, it forms a shell that will protect most fillings from buldging and coming out.

grandmom, thank you. I have ganache left over from my last cake and I'll warm it up in the microwave for my next one.

I am so sorry about this big letters I try to fix it but I can't
I would do better next time. promise

I've used different kinds of chocolate, including Nestle semi-sweet and chocolate with up to 80% cacao. You definitely have to experiment when using different kinds of chocolate and a lot also depends on the weather and letting it set overnight. In a pinch, I've even used a generic brand of white chocolate chips which apparently isn't real white chocolate since it doesn't contain cocoa butter. I stopped measuring and just eye it now. If my ganache isn't the right texture the next day, I adjust by adding more chocolate or more cream - whatever is needed.

I prefer using chocolates with higher cacao content because I have a low threshold for sweet, and I actually enjoy the slight bitterness of 80%.

I've only made white chocolate ganache, so I'll chime in on that one, having had both success and failure.

In both cases, I've used heavy whipping cream. I've learned from experienced ganachers in previous threads that it's the cream to use in the USA.

The successful batches were made using Nestles Premium White Morsels, containing no actual chocolate. It sets up very well. If you dip your finger in it, you can taste the "candy" in it, but once it's on the cake and under the fondant, I can tell no difference in taste from the very tasty in the bowl failed attempt, next paragraph.

The failed batches, and I tried twice, were made from a store brand of white chocolate chip that contained only real cocoa butter. It just will not set up, period. I don't know if that means it too fatty or not fatty enough. Maybe someone else can tell us. My DH loves the failed batches though. He puts it in his coffee, dips his dates in it, eats it with a spoon. Whatever...

I don't like the thought of using "candy" instead of real chocolate, but the only other thing we can find in this area is just outreageously expensive couverture brand name white chocolate. A cream/chocolate ratio in ounces of 16/48 would cost over $50. Not going there... unless it's a wedding cake.

Good luck!