So I made some cupcakes to take to my good friend's daughter's birthday. I made some yummy chocolate cupcakes using the Hershey's Perfect recipe (love it... Not too sweet) and decided to ice them with chocolate ganache. I thought I would make it extra special and whipped some of the ganache and used it to fill the cupcakes. They were so good!
It was a cold day... Really cold for So Cal.... And we were outside. I didn't really take that into consideration. After sitting out on the dessert table I guess the whipped ganache set and the inside filling was rock hard!! they were good, but dangerous!
Was there something I should have done differently to prevent this or was it strictly because of the outside temperature? I would like to try them again, but I would like some feedback first....
I'm not an expert at all but in my experience if ganache turns out too hard there was not enough cream for the amount of chocolate used. Sometimes I don't measure that well 
and have to reheat and add more cream!
How cold was it? Ganache that is rock hard has usually seized because of water getting in, but I can't imagine that if it was soft and good before you set it outside what the problem was--unless it was frozen. A few minutes in hot water or a few seconds in a microwave might have helped.
It was probably about 65 and damp (by the beach) and windy. The ganache on top was fine. It was the whipped ganache inside the cupcake that changed. Imagine a harder Hershey's kiss....
I don't know exactly why this happens, but I know what you're talking about. Sometimes when I whip ganache it turns out really hard, and sometimes it turns out moussey, I think it might have to do with the temp at which you whip at, or the choc/cream ratio. Experiment with it, and good luck!
Where I live the weather is so unpredictable and on the cold side year-round, I generally can't make traditional ganache using just chocolate and cream because it gets rock hard and it's impossible to cut!
Next time you want to use ganache and it's cold try cutting your cream with 50% butter. So if your recipe calls for 16oz chocolate, 16oz cream, modify it to 16 oz chocolate, 8oz cream, 8oz butter. Scald cream per usual, pour over chocolate and room temperature butter. This pours very nice but also whips and pipes nice (as long as you don't use a metal piping tip). If you want it softer still use 60% cream+butter to 40% chocolate.
Good luck,
Jen
Thanks for the suggestion about the butter. But why would you not want to use a metal tip?
Thanks for the suggestion about the butter. But why would you not want to use a metal tip?
Metal gets cold and can seize your chocolate when trying to pipe.
I have to laugh when you say SF gets cold! You should come live here and then you will know cold.
Seriously, we love SF and visit there whenever we can. You are right that it can get cold. Your winters are milder than ours.
Right now it is 42 and damp, cold and rainy. It's probably a little warmer where you are.
Back on topic: Can you post your recipe? Maybe your ratio is such that you purposely created a firmer ganache. And as far as it getting that hard, it could have been the weather. But it could have also been the moisture of the cupcake seizing the chocolate, or your recipe.
Although I have used a ganache as a cake filling, and that didn't seize. I can't remember the ratio I use off the top of my head. But the more cream, the softer the ganache. But post your recipe and we can go from there.
It was a 2:1 ratio. The seizing makes sense. Not just because of the weather, but I was filling 2 different types of cupcakes that day with 2 different fillings. If I washed my tip in-between and it wasn't 100% dry that might have gotten water into the whipped ganache as I was piping the filling in, right? hmmm...
And Linda, you're right about the weather - it was 97 here in Fullerton today - HOT for May. But for us 60 is hats and gloves weather! 
It was a 2:1 ratio. The seizing makes sense. Not just because of the weather, but I was filling 2 different types of cupcakes that day with 2 different fillings. If I washed my tip in-between and it wasn't 100% dry that might have gotten water into the whipped ganache as I was piping the filling in, right? hmmm...
And Linda, you're right about the weather - it was 97 here in Fullerton today - HOT for May. But for us 60 is hats and gloves weather!
Oh yeah, I used to live in southern CA. We would be out in tshirts and shorts and all the natives would be in parkas. It made us laugh every time. I am sure if I stayed there any longer I would have been the same way. But for us 60 is a heat wave! I wish it would at least get to 50 right now. 
FromScratchSF, if the cold weather were the cause of this problem, why would adding butter to the cream help? Butter is a lot harder than cream at cold temps. I actually add butter to help mine set up better (well, that, and because the cream I get is a little short on butterfat), but then I live in a neighborhood where I hear the devil has a condo.
FromScratchSF, if the cold weather were the cause of this problem, why would adding butter to the cream help? Butter is a lot harder than cream at cold temps. I actually add butter to help mine set up better (well, that, and because the cream I get is a little short on butterfat), but then I live in a neighborhood where I hear the devil has a condo.
By cutting it with butter you are adding a whole lotta fat to your ganache, preventing the chocolate from getting hard like a re-solidified chocolate bar. Even cold butter still cuts with a knife - chocolate shaves and shatters. You can get a firm shiny ganache that holds corners, piping, looks great with chocolate transfer sheets etc. and smooths nicely when you whip it, but even at it's coldest it'll cut like cold butter. Adding more cream makes the ganache more viscus and fudgey, which is also good, that's why I suggested bumping up the ratios to your tastesand desired outcome.
It also matters what type of chocolate you use... I prolly should have mentioned that, ganache made with milk or semi sweet does not set up as hard as bittersweet using the 50/50 method.
Jen
Thanks for the info, Jen. You're one of my go-to gals on this site!
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