I tried making ganache with 70% cocoa dark Lindt chocolate. It totally separated... what a mess... it has oil sitting on top of everything. Is there a way to save this?? I've never had this happen before. (and I used the 2:1 ratio of chocolate to heavy cream)

I think I know why I use buttercream way more than ganache! ;)

well, you can try to heat up some more cream, about half as much as you did the first time, and while it's over the hot water, slowly add the broken ganache to the hot cream. Stop when you have the right mixture and then let it cool. you will have some of the broken ganache left over. 

jen

AI added the extra cream and the chocolate looks alot better but the oil is still there. ;(

AWhat did I do wrong? I think ganache hates me... And I know SO many people swear by it and say its the easiest thing to make. I can make so many things but ganache may be the end of me, LOL! ;)

did you add the chocolate to the cream instead of the cream to the chocolate?

you have to go slowly, this is the key. when i'm making a ganache, I heat the cream and then add the chocolate and let it sit there,  just melting for about 5 minutes. then i slowly stir in a folding motion, bringing the bottom to the top. When it looks mixed i put it in the fridge for a couple of hours. when it's cool i mix, always being careful not to overmix.

Generally a safer ratio is one ounce chocolate to one ounce heavy cream, too much chocolate can make the emulsion come apart. Either that or somehow water got into it, which would also mess up the fat ratio, or it got too hot.

I always make mine slowly, pour the cream over the chocolate, let it sit, then stir, but it's not actually as important as we make it out to be.

Some of the top chocolatiers in the world use a food processor, so does rose beranbaum, (someone us cakers are a little more familiar with, lol).

I would heat the whole thing over a bain marie, add a little more heated cream, and whisk like a mad woman.

I too have had this happen to me a couple of times.  I think it's when the cream is overheated.  i always heat my cream in the microwave, but a couple of times it has overboiled and split when I added the chocolate.  One cake I did had a layer of 'fat/copha' on it when i woke up in the morning.  tastes fine but looks terrible.  good luck

I shock a lot of people when I make ganache, I just bring the cream to the boil take it off the heat just before it starts to boil up , and then stir in the chocolate. No bain maries , no double boilers.  It works perfectly everytime. 

I also prefer to use a 40-50 % chocolate you have a lot less failure rate or chance of it splitting , it also tastes nicer in my opinion. 

AHere is a scientific explanation of ganache. I think you have too much chocolate and not enough cream. Also, try adding the chocolate to the cream as others have suggested.

http://p.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/mar/25/love-that-luscious-ganache/?page=all

AIn my opinion, the chocolate and cream mixture got too hot and separated. I had that happen several years ago and no matter what I tried I couldn't fix it.

The other day I needed to make some milk chocolate ganache and decided to try several different chocolate to cream ratios and see what happens.

My chocolate was Ghiradelli double chocolate candy making and dipping bar, comes in 2.5 lb bars.

I made a 8 oz. chocolate to 8oz. heavy cream, by weight not volume. The next was. 16 oz. chocolate to 8 oz. heavy cream. Third was Collette Peters Truffle Filling Recipe which was 12 oz. chocolate to 8 oz. heavy cream.

Method: I started the cream heating while I was chopping and measuring the chocolate into a glass bowl. Just as the cream started to simmer I removed it from the heat and poured it over the chocolate, agitated the bowl a little to make sure the chocolate was all covered by the cream, and let it sit for 10 minutes. Then I used a whisk and started mixing until well combined and silky. Then I used my immersion blender and blended it well to make sure all the chocolate was melted. I prefer using the immersion blender because I only have one small thing to wash compared to using my food processor:) When cooled to room temp, I covered each bowl with plastic wrap and left on the counter overnight.

Here's my results:

8oz chocolate to 8 oz cream - was very much like chocolate syrup while warm, and very similar to slightly warm peanut butter when the ganache cooled. I used this to crumb coat a cake and while it covered the cake, the chocolate shell was thin and would be suitable for use under fondant as it does not provided a good firm chocolate shell that was completely smooth.

16 oz. chocolate to 8 oz. cream - this was very thick, while warm and hard when it cooled. This would be a great chocolate truffle recipe because it is so smooth and the chocolate flavor was great, and very silky.

12 oz. chocolate to 8 oz. cream - this was like a thicker chocolate syrup when warm, and like a slightly thicker peanut butter when cooled. I was able to use this ganache right out of the bowl to cover my cakes with and it made a good chocolate shell on the cakes. Great for covering with fondant. If it is too thick for you, you can heat it up ever so slightly in the microwave, stir really well and it is good to go. Really easy to smooth out. I could eat this version out of the bowl with a spoon...lol.

Hope that helps:) Pam

I use RLB's technique.  It requires a little more cleanup, (food processor bowl) but is always perfect and silky smooth.  Cut chocolate into fairly small chunks, and put your chocolate in a food processor and process until fine. Heat the cream to boiling (put it in the microwave, but watch it carefully or it will boil over and make a mess).  With the processor running, pour the hot cream slowly into the chocolate, using the feed tube.  Continue to process a little longer until perfectly smooth.  It is really beautiful, no unmelted specks or chunks and sooooo smooth.   I have never had any problems, and I have used this with different ratios for poured ganache, whipped ganache, or frosting/filling.  I have used all kinds of chocolate, and often throw in all different kinds of odd types and pieces to use them up.  HTH

AJust found this info in the Bouchon Bakery cookbook.

"Note on repairing broken ganache: Ganache contains a high percentage of fat and if it is heated too much, the fat may separate from the chocolate. Just as you can fix a broken mayonnaise by adding to it a fresh yolk and some mustard, you can whisk some fat free milk into a broken ganache to restore the emulsion."

AIt needs more agitation.