Candy Melts for Ganache? - Page 2

well. at least i didn,t have to change my username to stay on here... got all brands of products just like you.. aren,t you the one..that beats your neighbor down the street in the ground in all your post.. yeh.. i think you are.. lol

Oy with the sensitivity already! No one is putting down Wilton per se. Candy melts are not chocolate. Ganache is traditionally made with chocolate. Generally, when people request ganache, they are thinking CHOCOLATE. And because candy melts are not chocolate (go ahead, read the ingredients), I was making a joke. Har dee har har. Jeeze Louise!

The candy melts that I have are Wilton, and here is the ingredient list:
sugar, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil palm kernel, palm), nonfat dry milk powder, whole milk powder, soya lecithin, salt, natural flavor, sorbitan tristarate, artificial flavor

I can not speak for any other brand.

Ahhhh, I see what you mean. Thank you!!

Woah there! Um, I'm pretty sure Jamie did not change her username so she could remain a member. Believe me, if you mess up & are banned on this site, you ain't getting back in no matter what you are called (they check your IP)!

I changed my name too recently, just because I felt like it. It's allowed and no-one has to justify it to anyone.


If you are happy using candy melts in your 'ganache', that's great (really), but you can't call it ganache, because it's not. I challenge you to find a sound ganache recipe that contains candy melts. Ganache is made using real chocolate, plain and simple. I'm sure that's all the PPs were stating, not launching an attack on Wilton/Merckens or any other brand of candy melts. They do have their uses (choc transfers etc), but ganache isn't one of them.

wilton acutally calls it

Basic Truffle Candy Center

Ingredients:
14 ounces White Candy Melts®
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Makes: Each candy serves 1.


instructions
Chop Candy Melts (or place in food processor) to smaller pieces. Heat whipping cream in saucepan just to boiling point. Do not boil. Remove from heat and add chopped Candy Melts. Stir until smooth and glossy. Note: May be formed into round balls for candy centers. Dip into melted Candy Melts for truffles. Coat with cocoa, chopped nuts, jimmies, etc.

*Brand confectionery coating.

Well all credit to them for not calling it something it isn't

Oh yeah, another person who can't read sarcasm when it's so painfully obvious to everyone else.

One thing you need to be aware of is when you start 'substituting' ingredients that you can have a LESS THEN DESIRABLE effect on your end product.

This point in case!

GANACHE is a hot topic here on CC at the moment - us Aussies have been using ganache under fondant here for years and years AND LOVE IT!
It appears that lots of MIS-information is appearing here though which results in lots of confusion.

PLEASE consider this :-

If you are planning to use your 'ganache' under fondant - then you DO have to be careful what chocolate you use. And this is NOT chocolate snobbery as you suggest! It is scientific !! the ingredients contained in chocolate 'substitutes' are DIFFERENT - they have a much higher OIL content and also have a high water content. This will effect the shelf life of your 'ganache' - it will effect how it SETS and may affect how it reacts with the fondant.

When we tell people that ganache is SAFE to be left unrefrigerated for days - we are saying this is CORRECT - but only IF you use the products containedin the recipe!! Bacteria need food, warmth and moisture to multiply - Compound chocolate (as in Wilton candy melts etc. ) with their high water content provide too greater food safety risk.

Same goes for people that whip their ganache - by introducing AIR into the mix you are providing FOOD for bacteria - and this will reduce your shelf-life as well - this might be OK for whipping and putting on your cakes as a final coating but NOT RECOMMENDED for use under fondant!

Wilton does not have a strong foothold on the Australian market - and from reading CC - am sort of glad!!

Nicely said Applegum. And LOVE your signature!

I realize this is an old thread, but I have a pseudo-ganache question--if you do make a ganache-like substance from Wilton Candy Melts and Cream, will it pour like real ganache and coat a cake sort of like poured fondant or aganache glaze? 

 

I'm wanting to coat a tall narrow cake layer with something lime green, and one of this year's new flavors for Easter is Key Lime Pie Candy Melts (They actually taste quite yummy!!) and I thought it might work for this cake.

 

I've done many cakes with real ganache, so I know what I'm looking for, but I'd hate to waste time and money if it just won't work technically and someone out there already tried it.

 

I also don't need a shiny ganache mirror glaze loo. A matte finish will be ideal.

I use Callebaut Chocolate chips or just the chocolate chips from the grocery store. There are plenty of good ones at the store.  If you like candy melts, great but they don't make a true ganache.

Using the basic Wilton recipe in discussion here, how many mini heart cakes do you think it would cover? I've got a pan that makes six mini cakes at a time (about 2"x2"x2"-the one in the picture), and I'm trying to figure out how many supplies to buy. The website says it makes about 2 1/4 cups, but it doesn't say how many cakes/cupcakes it would cover.

what kind of white chocolate do you use?

There are loads of opinions about ganache. If it tastes good and achieves the look you want then do it!

 

There are a couple of things though, white chocolate, isn't actually chocolate. Chocolate, traditionally meant that it contained cocoa solids as well as cocoa butter. Much of the white chocolate available has alternatives to cocoa butter and contains no cocoa solids. 

 

My only concern with candy melts is that it contains partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Liquid oils are processed heated to extremes and hydrogen atoms are added so that the double bonds between the carbons break to form a single bond chain with saturated hydrogen bonds. This essentially converts a liquid, unsaturated fat, into an artificial- saturated fat. Obviously when making ganache there is no way of getting around the fat content, it's a treat after all. Chemically the difference is to do with the shape of the chain that is formed. Hydrogenated fats are linked with cancer. It worries me how many harmful ingredients are given to children. They are easier to work with, they take dyes beautifully and they don't seem to suffer from sugar bloom, but they might be doing more harm than good. Use them, but sparingly.