AI made the ganache from the CIA cookbook using the recipe for,the soft ganache, as I need it for a filling. It's 20 oz dark chocolate, 4 cps cream, simmer the cream, pour over chocolate, let cool it in fridge overnight. And when you are ready for it, simply whip it to your desired consistency. Sure. Right. Twice now I have made this. Both times, when it comes out of the fridge, it looks like soft, grainy poop. I don't know how else to describe it. When I whip it, it just gets liquidy. Like brown cottage cheese. I was patient, giving it a good 5 minutes on the mixer.

I have tried heating it a bit, which worked last time, but not this time. I need it this time!! Back in fridge, cool it, try again. Baby poop. It won't come together. I thought I might have put it in the fridge too quickly today, and I didn't let it sit overnight, just 7 hours. Hey, if I went to bed at midnight, and got up at 7 to finish, that's 7 hours, right? Can ganache tell time?

So in desperation, I heated it up to the way it looked right after the cream melted the chocolate, am letting it cool down on the counter and will put it in the fridge overnight. If it still doesn't work, I'm going to desperately use my chocolate frosting recipe which is excellent and comes out 100% of the time. So there, ganache!!

$16 of chocolate, down the drain.

Advice? Thank you. For reading this tome. Nancy

Try just letting it set up overnight at room temp.  When I'm doing a cake, I don't refrigerate it.  If I whip ganache, which I don't do often, I only use a paddle.  Any manipulation of ganache will make it set very fast.  You could just move it around by hand and it will set up.  

My opinion only, but if you are using it on the outside of the cake for a crumb coat, don't whip it.  It will set up just from smoothing it with a spatula.  If it's a filling, only whip it slightly.  It can be heated to soften it up if it sets.

The recipe sounds wrong to me.

20 oz of chocolate = 566 grams

For "whipping" ganache you need equal parts chocolate and cream, which would make the cream no more than 20 oz or 566grams.

I am not sure what 4 cups would weigh, but I am pretty sure it would be significantly more than 566 grams.

I would start again, and use the typical 2:1 ratio, or at MOST equal parts chocolate to  cream.

Edit:

Just found this guide to volume to weight conversion which lists cream as...

1 cup = 8 fluid ounces = 232 grams

Which makes the amount you used 928grams or almost double the chocolate quantity... that is never going to set.

So why the heck does the CIA recipe call for that amount?? I have had trouble with a couple of the recipes in there. Maybe if you are a student there, you have the magical ability to make things work, that I don't have!!! 

And thanks for the help - I can't afford to start over, either in time or money, though. I am going to have to go with frosting. 

Nancy

AWas there any implied use of their "soft" ganache? Maybe their soft is softer than your soft? I dunno. I've never looked at their recipes, but I do know that different fat percentages of cream, as well as different cocoa percentages do change the outcome of ratio results.

Thoughts: check your chocolate.

For those proportions, for the ganache to whip properly, it requires approx 52% cocoa butter. Lower amounts  [around 35%] as in ordinary semi-sweet chocolate will give you a loose consistency, that won't whip.

If the ganache does not thicken, add just enough powdered sugar until it does - then whip ! It is still very useable !

Auzzi is no doubt correct here, the CIA recipe would be assuming you would use a Couverture chocolate, with at least 52-53% cocoa butter... (even so that would still be a very soft mix at 1:2!!) If your chocolate has less than that % of cocoa butter it would not work.

The proportions I quoted are the ones we were taught at the TAFE College I attended and those are using quality couverture as well, and at maximum rates of 1:1

Mixing in Icing sugar should work to salvage what you have :)

AThank you! I used dark, bittersweet chocolate from a chocolatier in my area - not grocery store chocolate. I have to go familiarize myself with the proportions.

I did put it in the fridge last night. I wanted to give the recipe a chance to work in case I rushed the cooling the first time around. Do I whip it now - as the recipe implied - or fo I let it come to room temp? And then add sugar? With the cream, it has to stay cool, yes?

Thank you again!!!!

Nancy

Has the consistency changed since you refrigerated it overnight? 

Go ahead and try to whip it, and see what happens, if it doesn't do anything after 5 minutes then start adding the powdered sugar small amounts at a time until you get some thickening I guess!

AIt took almost 4 pounds of confectioner's sugar to form up, bit it finally did! I didn't have to throw it out! You really saved the day for me - thank you all! Nancy

Glad it worked out for you Nancy!

BTW whipped ganache is a lovely filling for a cake, if you do ever want to try it again, might I suggest you use no more than 1:1 ratio, and leave it to settle overnight at cool room temp before hand whipping it with a whisk until it totally changes colour (it goes much lighter) and thickens to a mousse like consistency. Then pipe onto your cake.