The Fork Musketeers: Chocolate: Making Ganache

Hello fork musketeers!

Today we'll be focusing more on ganache. Om nom nom nom nom!

What is ganache?

Ganache is chocolate mayonnaise.

Okok, let's back up a bit...

Ganache is like ~~chocolate~~ mayonnaise. It's an emulsion of fat (cocoa butter) and liquid (cream). Fortunately you don't need a food processor or blender to make it, plus there are -tons- of ways to make your ganache flavourful and much more interesting.

The ratio between chocolate and cream will depend on what you'll be doing with your ganache. Generally speaking, if you're making truffles or want to cut out a shape, go for 2:1 (chocolate : cream). If you're looking for a glaze, 1:1 will suit your needs very well.

Method

There are a few ways to make ganache. The usual way I've seen is to boil your cream; pour it over your chocolate and let it melt before mixing it and wishing you had stronger biceps. In general, you'll want your cream; chocolate and flavouring. In this case, matcha.

At school, our teacher was very adamant not to boil the cream. Boiling the cream causes the liquid and fats to separate and you totally change the flavour of the cream. So, you warm it up. Key word being warm and it should feel slightly cool to the touch.

But Olivia, you might say, this won't melt the chocolate if I pour warm cream over it. What are you getting at?

Well, while ganache is like chocolate mayonnaise, it does require some attention to the temperature of your ingredients. If either of your ingredients are too hot, the emulsion won't work. At school, my teachers taught us to keep the average temperature of our ingredients between 30-35˚C. So we heat the cream and melt the chocolate. But if your method's been working out for you, go for it. Although I do think boiling the cream is a bad idea since it does affect the taste, but anyway... you'll heat your chocolate and your cream.

When they're at the desired temperatures, pour your cream into your chocolate in three or four parts. This ensures you get a good chance to have a good emulsion before committing all of your cream in. (Although if you're in a rush, pouring it all in works just as well. Don't tell anyone I said that.)

Step 1: Pour your cream into your chocolate

Now when you're making your emulsion, do not mix from the outside and do not use a whisk. Mixing from the outside doesn't create an emulsion, which makes both of us sad, and using a whisk incorporates air into the mixture. This will also mess up your emulsion. So use a spatula and mix from the centre!

As you're mixing, you're going to think, "oh donkey butt, I messed this up before I started." Just believe in yourself and keep mixing with your spatula. Eventually, in the centre, you'll see the cream and the chocolate come together into a ganache. Just keep mixing and when the cream no longer gets pulled into the centre, add another part of cream. Keep doing this until all of your cream is in. Then, and only then, can you run your spatula along the sides of the bowl and bring it into the centre.

Now you might think you're done, but if you look closely, sometimes your ganache will be a bit on the oily side. It'll kinda.... slide. Everywhere. For a small amount you may not notice this, but for a larger amount you'll see it. Just like buttercream, the answer to this is to just keep mixing. Just keep mixing, just keep mixing... until the ganache sticks to the sides of the bowl. Just be sure not to overwork it, otherwise your ganache can split. Yikes!