What Is Ganache?
Everything you need to know about this chocolatey baking staple — plus mouthwatering recipes to put it to use.
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By Alice K. Thompson for Food Network Kitchen
Alice is a contributing writer and editor at Food Network.
The simple combination of chocolate and cream creates rich, velvety ganache, one of the most important (and irresistible) elements of baking. Whether used as a filling, frosting or glaze, ganache is truly greater than the sum of its parts. It’s famous for its pure chocolate flavor and richness, but also for its wonderfully smooth, melt-in-your mouth texture. Here’s everything you need to know about this dessert staple, plus some great recipes to put it to use.
What Is Ganache?
Ganache is a mixture of chocolate and a liquid, most often cream, heated together and stirred to form an emulsion.
The liquid in ganache keeps the mixture soft at room temperature, making it a versatile element in a number of desserts. Depending on the quantity of liquid, it can be used as a base for truffles or other candies, a frosting for cakes or filling for cake layers, or as a pourable glaze atop cakes or pastries.
What Is Ganache Made Of?
At its simplest, ganache consists of just two ingredients: Chocolate and a liquid, usually cream. Other liquids or a mixture of liquids can be used in ganache, including milk, coconut milk, coffee and various liqueurs. The chocolate for ganache is most traditionally bittersweet or semisweet to give it deep chocolatey flavor, but milk chocolate and white chocolate are also used in some recipes.
The combination of chocolate and cream is so perfectly delicious that it often requires no further ingredients. But there are some flavorings commonly added: vanilla or other extracts, coffee, rum or cognac, nut butters and often a pinch of salt. Some cooks also add small amounts of corn syrup or butter to make their ganache shinier and smoother.
The ratio of chocolate to liquid depends on the desired thickness: Equal parts chocolate and liquid will make a soft and versatile frosting or filling; 2 parts chocolate to 1 part liquid will make a fudgy, stiff mixture excellent for filling truffles or other confections; and 1 part chocolate to 2 parts liquid will make a pourable glaze that’s perfect over cakes, pastries or ice cream.
What is Ganache Used For?
Ganache is one of the most common elements in chocolate desserts. It can be used as a filling for truffles or macarons or the base of a chocolate tart. It can be spread between cake layers or whipped and used as a frosting for cakes or cupcakes. If enough liquid is used in a ganache it can also be poured over cakes as a glaze or drizzled over everything from pastries to jellyrolls. You can also whip it to a mousse-like texture and eat it with a spoon!
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How Do You Make Ganache?
Ganache is made by heating cream and pouring it over chopped chocolate, or sometimes by heating the two ingredients together in a double boiler. The mixture is left to sit until the chocolate has melted, then it's stirred or whipped together until emulsified. Flavorings can be infused into the cream, or added to the mixture before it’s stirred.
Ganache will be softer while it is still warm and will thicken and stiffen slightly with cooling. It can be safely kept at room temperature for up to 2 days or refrigerated for up to 2 weeks. It can also be frozen for 3 months or more.
Recipes for Ganache
If reading about chocolate has given you a craving, you’re in luck: Ganache is part of some of our favorite dessert recipes. Here’s a selection.
Photograph by Ryan Liebe
This rich “drip cake” gets its picture-perfect finish from a layer of semisweet chocolate ganache poured over vanilla buttercream so that it drips elegantly down the sides. It’s a stunning contrast.
A simple ganache of bittersweet chocolate and cream does double duty in this recipe: It’s used as a frosting and also folded with whipped cream to fill the cupcakes.
Armando Rafael
One of the great things about ganache is that, since it's so rich, it stays relatively soft even with freezing. Here, it’s layered between dense brownies (you can use homemade or storebought) and strawberry ice cream, although you could also use chocolate ice cream for a blackout cake.
Teri Lyn Fisher
A shiny ganache is the irresistible glaze over this fanciful take on Cosmic Brownies. Serve with extra napkins!
Armando Rafael
A batch of thick ganache is ready in minutes and forms the basis for these super-simple truffles. Roll them in your favorite chopped nuts or chopped candies for a variation.
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