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Serious Ganache Help Needed!

post #1 of 12
5/10/12 at 8:43pm
Thread Starter 
Made my first ganache and am having trouble with it. When it cooled, it was rock hard. So, I re-melted the chocolate and added more cream, and when it cooled it still was hard. Should I re-melt again and add more cream? I ultimately want to whip it to make a filling, but I think it's still too hard to even whip.
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post #2 of 12
5/10/12 at 8:50pm
Are you using a recipe or just guessing? I find when I put the cream in it looks like there is too much. But it comes together. My basic recipe is 200g of chocolate to 1/2 cup cream.
I would probably put more cream in if you want to whip it.
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post #3 of 12
5/10/12 at 8:59pm
Thread Starter 
Well, I thought the ratio was 2 parts chocolate, one part cream. I had a large bar (17 oz) of dark chocolate, and I used 1 cup (8 oz) of cream originally. Then, I re-heated and added more cream, but it's still pretty hard. Will I ruin the chocolate if I keep re-heating it to add more cream?
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post #4 of 12
5/10/12 at 9:47pm
That's close to my recipe. If you doubled mine 400g would be American 14oz. Not sure why it's not working. Sorry I can't be more helpful.
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post #5 of 12
5/10/12 at 11:14pm
Yes, add more cream.

I don't know how much cream you added the second time but if the ganache is still hard, it wasn't enough. The choc:cream ratio is usually 2:1 but there's a bit of room to move with that. The weather also plays a part - if it's cold, you can bump up the cream, if it's hot you can bump up the chocolate. As you want the ganache for a whipped filling rather than to ice the cake, you've got even more room to play - the whipping process should firm it up if it turns out slightly too soft.

C.
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post #6 of 12
5/11/12 at 12:27am
cream? or heavy whipping cream? some people's views of what cream is can be different so i just wanted to make sure you are using heavy whipping cream and now like creamer or something. just a thought!
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post #7 of 12
5/11/12 at 7:49am
Thread Starter 
I used heavy whipping cream. Added more cream last night. I did have it in the frig, so maybe I just need to wait longer for it to come to room temp? How long do you usually leave it out of the frig before you use it? If it's still a little hard, will it whip up ok?
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post #8 of 12
5/11/12 at 9:01am
yes, ganache is very sensitive to heat and cooling. If you did use the fridge to cool it down you probably only needed an hour or so for it to be workable...also depends on what you're doing to it. whenever i'm going to be using it for the day i just pull it out in the morning and let it get to room temp. but, if you use the microwave to get it to a working consistency again do it on half power and for smaller intervals at a time....just like any chocolate it's sensitive.
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post #9 of 12
5/12/12 at 3:42am
as long as you dont heat the ganache up too much then you should be able to heat and cool it as many times as you like! if you take it too high though it can split or burn. you will run in to problems above 130*F(54*C) for dark and 115*F(46*C) for milk and white chocolate so keep the heat low

I would just use temperature to get the mixture to the consistency you want rather than keep adding cream and risk over-doing it. just heat the ganache up slightly (few seconds in the microwave) until it is soft enough to whip. whipping it up will make it softer anyway and you don't want to go too far and end up with a runny mess that can't be whipped or just oozes out of the cake when used as a filling.

I also use 2 parts chocolate, 1 part cream and find that it works every time. but i dont ever put it in the fridge as i find that it sets hard enough at room temperature and cooling it in the fridge means that condensation forms on the ganache when it is taken out and that's never a good things as far as chocolate is concerned!
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post #10 of 12
5/12/12 at 6:15am
I use a 2:1 with chips and a 1.5 to 1 with real chocolate if I want to use ganache as frosting. If I want a poured ganache 1:1 and if I want a setting ganache for under fondant usually 2.5 to 3 to 1

I freeze my left over ganache and let it come to room tip. For a 1/2 quart container it usually takes about 45 min to come to room temp. I do not whip my ganache. I have a professional culinary book on ganache that says whipping ganache reduces its shelf life and I don't want to add that to the equationicon_smile.gif
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post #11 of 12
5/13/12 at 8:30pm
Apologies - when the OP said cooled, I assumed she meant cooled to room temperature - not cooled to fridge temperature. No wonder it was hard!

My new advice: don't add any more cream until you've got it back to room temperature. thumbs_up.gif
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post #12 of 12
5/14/12 at 7:56am
You said you were using dark chocolate? I haven't made ganache since last year, I want to say dark chocolate needs more cream that semi sweet or milk?
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