I am making a 2 tiered square cake this weekend and I think I want to try covering it in ganache before I cover it in fondant. What ratio of cream to chocolate should I use to do this? I hate covering square cakes it fondant because I can never get nice clean edges. Will ganache help with this? Has anyone ever done a square cake in ganache and then fondant? Do you just pour the ganache on? Or is it a thicker consistancy and spreadable?

Also...when covering a cake in fondant, is it better to cover the cake in poured ganache or whipped?? Which is better under fondant??

I use 12 oz chocolate to 1 cup heavy whipping cream and 1/4 to 1/2 cup butter (real butter not margarine!) depending on if I am using it as a poured fondant or wanting it to set a little firmer and then whip it to use as a frosting that I can ice on like butter cream. I only use semi sweet chocolate. If doing White chocolate ganache I use 18 oz of white chocolate to the 1 cup heavy whipping cream and no butter. Eventhen if you don't have a good white chocolate it is too runny and too "see through".

I've read about sour cream ganache but haven't tried any recipes because I want it to harden slightly (like the 2:1 ratio of chocolate to cream) so I can put fondant on a cake. Has anyone used sour cream in place of heavy cream??? Does it work in the same way with the same ratios???

First, I would like to say this topic is a great help. Thank you all that are helping.

Second, to Rylan... it's pretty neat to see you on Cake Central cause my first ganache attempt I looked for help and found your tutorial. Thank you for the help.

So now a question(s)... or maybe clarification:
I have made my ganache and then I whip it and fill and coat with it before fondant. Somehow it doesn't seem right. Should I be pouring it on? Or perhaps just not whipping it? It gets messy for me too... like when I take it from the fridge, once it cools it melts as I'm applying it to the cake. Am I being too impatient?
I mean seriously... i want my cakes to look this good. What steps do you all take?

Do any of you use ganache by itself, and not cover with fondant? It looks so smooth, just wondering if there is any reason not to use it alone?

You can definitely flavor ganache any way you like. Liqueurs work very well, and extracts too. I made peanut butter ganache this afternoon for Reese's PB cupcakes. I whipped it and used it as frosting on my Reese's cupcakes. I have personally used ganache in many ways, it's hands down my favorite. When flavoring it with a liqueur though I heat it just to boiling, to bring out the true flavor of the alcohol. At the last bakery that I worked at we soaked every cake with a coordinating simple syrup. So if you wanted to infuse your cake with Baileys, I would make simple syrup and add a splash of Baileys to that. Then brush on your cake after it is torted.

SAVE

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allisweets, I just covered a cake in chocolate ganache for the first time a couple day ago. I made an irish cream cake with chocolate irish cream ganache:
1 small bag milk choc (about 12 oz?)
1 small bag semi sweet
7 oz hvy cream
3 oz irish cream liquor (Ryan's)
let sit overnight, room temp (70-72 degrees) It was the perfect consistency for me. Not too firm not too soft. The next day I whipped the ganache and torted a thin layer then I put a layer of irish cream buttercream (has irish cream and a little coffee in it, PM me if you want recipe) on top of ganache. This really added to the cake and it wasn't overly sweet. Then I just used the rest of the whipped ganache to crumb coat. I did a thin crumb coat and then another thin coat and smoothed well. Let it sit over night at room temp then misted it with a little water and covered in fondant. The fondant smoothed wonderfully and cut easily. HTH

I too have started to use ganache instead of buttercream.
Best decision ever! Sharp edges, stands up well to heat and is out of this world delicious.

Rylan, I'm such a fangirl for your cakes. Endlessly contemporary without losing any of it's romanticism. Pure genius.



Now that we have that out of the way, I absolutely need to know, what in the world do you use as risers between your cakes? I love the look of the extra wide tiers and the risers, but wouldn't know where to start. Would you be willing to share some tips?

Thanks everyone for your tips, I'm getting ready to do a choc. cake with ganache and this really helped.

So...when using ganache under fondant...are you guys whipping it or applying it in the thick "peanut butter consistency" stage?

Also, what is the shelf-life (per se) on ganache at room temp?

Oh my...after reading this I want to go use ganache now!

It seems like most everyone uses chocolate chips in one form or another. Planet cake said to use dark chocolate which I would love because it would be less sweet. The only dark chocolate I have found is in 4oz bars which would make it very costly to cover a cake. Has anyone found a source for good quality chocolate at a reasonable price? I love, love Ganache and am anxious to try covering a cake but with the Planet Cake recipe, it would cost me about $35.00 to cover a cake.

I normally put buttercream on with an Icing tip and I was wondering if I could do that with the Ganache as well or should I do it with the icing knife? and what should the consistancy of the Ganache be? Thanks

Rylan is there a formula in terms of how much ganache is needed to cover a cake ?

Ie 14oz of chocolate 7oz of cream will cover a 8 x 4 cake etc?

Would be nice to know roughly how much of the recipie you need for different sized cakes

Also is there any type of chocolate that we shouldnt use - eg morsels?

thanks

Anxietyattack, you probably can but I don't find the need to. Maybe becase I've never done that method.

Brian, it all depends on the thickness. With 6 pounds of chocolate and 3 pounds of cream, I could cover a 10", 8", and two 6" rounds (4"-5" tall) with some extra. As of thickness...you know how the cake board is bigger than the cake? I use that as the guide.

and just to clarify, it seems the ganache does NOT need to be kept in the frig (let's say, you've used it to icing a cake)?

I usually use a a 3-1 or 2-1 ratio. I don't need to worry about the heavy cream going bad?

anyone have an answer on if the ganache covered/filled cake needs to be kept cold?

awesome thread - thanks everyone!

Can you use white chocolate for a ganache ???

A tutorial and an answer to a few questions:

http://sugarsweetcakesandtreats.blogspot.com/2010/05/covering-cake-in-ganache.html

Another recent thread on Cake Central:

http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=695017&postdays=0&postorder=asc&&start=0

I have only used ganache as a filling. After reading this I want to use it under fondant. I can't wait to give it a try.