How To Make Chocolate Ganache for Any Dessert

Chocolate ganache, that amazing chocolate concoction we use for everything from truffles to glazes and layer cakes, is a simple enough thing. After all, it’s just cream and chocolate, right? Well, yes and no!

Knowing how to make chocolate ganache — thick or thin, whipped or smooth — requires understanding just two things: proportion and temperature.

It’s true: ganache is the simple process of introducing finely chopped chocolate to very warm cream, waiting a few minutes for the chocolate to melt, and then stirring until it blends together into a rich, shiny, beautiful mass. But success is always in the details, so let’s take a closer look at some of the things to know and understand about making ganache.

The chocolate ganache that glazes your cakes and pastries is the same chocolate ganache that you roll into chocolate truffles, with one very important exception: the proportion of cream to chocolate. Glazes and icings will require a thinner consistency which translates to a higher percentage of cream. A thicker glaze for frosting or for rolling into truffles needs to be stiffer, so the chocolate percentage is higher. Here’s a handy guide:

These proportions are based on weight. For example, a 1:1 ratio means 4 ounces chocolate to 4 ounces cream.

• Layer cake filling and thick glaze: 1:1, equal parts chocolate and cream.
• Chocolate truffles: 2:1, two parts chocolate to one part cream.
• Soft icing and pourable glaze: 1:2, one part chocolate to two parts cream.

You don’t actually need to boil or even simmer the cream to make ganache; it simply needs to be hot enough to melt the chocolate. To help this happen more quickly and easily, chop the chocolate very finely before combining it with the hot cream. This said, even somewhat chunky pieces of chocolate will melt in very warm cream given enough time. (And if your cream cools before all the chocolate has melted, you can reheat the cream over a double-boiler or by setting your bowl over a pan of simmering water.)

It’s also important to use your ganache while it’s at the right temperature for whatever you’re making. A still-warm ganache will pour beautifully over a cake and settle into a smooth glaze. If it’s too warm, though, it may be too loose and simply run right off; if it’s too cool, it will start to stiffen and won’t pour at all. By contrast, a ganache used for truffles will need to cool until it is thick enough to roll into balls, but if it is too cold and stiff, it won’t roll easily.

Keep an eye on your ganache and be ready to use it in the appropriate window. If it has cooled and stiffened too much, you can always gently reheat it over a double-boiler or a pot of simmering water until it reaches the proper consistency.

It’s also helpful to understand ingredients. Because ganache is made of just two ingredients, each needs to be the best quality you can buy. This is especially apparent in the chocolate, which will affect the ganache in both flavor and consistency. Important: I don’t advise making ganache with white or milk chocolate.

A chocolate with higher cocoa percentage (70% to 72%) will make a rich, not-too-sweet ganache. If you taste it and it’s not sweet enough, you can dissolve a little sugar in to the ganache as long as it’s still warm enough for the sugar to melt. Also, keep in mind that the melted sugar is basically a liquid, so don’t put in too much or you’ll affect your final consistency. Start with a spoonful — you’ll be surprised at how little it takes to sweeten the ganache!