How to Make Chocolate Ganache at Home?

Making Chocolate Ganache at home is really easy, it only takes a few minutes and 3 ingredients. Learn how to make this popular frosting with my easy recipe and tips.

I’ve always been a lover of chocolate and everything chocolaty, like 99% of people on this planet, so it wouldn’t come as a surprise to you when I say my favourite frosting is a plain and simple BUT a really rich chocolate ganache. I love making it, frosting with it and eating it, not because it’s the greatest frosting ever (which it is) but because it’s ridiculously easy to make. A chocolate ganache is what you make when you have literally nothing but want your cake to look fancy and taste great.

Another great thing about a ganache is that you can use it quite a lot of ways. You can either pour it over your cake, or whip it, or even make truffles out of it. So how’s a ganache made? You need cream (25%) and dark chocolate for it. How much cream and chocolate is needed really depends on how you want to use your ganache. Ideally, the ratio of cream and chocolate is 1:1 which means if you’re using 100 grams cream, you will need to add 100 grams of chocolate to it. This ratio is great to have a pouring consistency, or get soft peaks when you whip but if you’re looking for a stiffer ganache which is what you need when you want to pipe your ganache, then you will need to add more chocolate. So if you want to make pipe it, you will need 100 grams of cream but 150 grams of chocolate. I also like to add a little butter to my ganache, which makes it all the more rich and give it a nice gloss.

 What you need:

• Cream (25%), 1 part (Amul cream works beautifully, so does D’lecta)
• Dark Chocolate, 1 part (chopped in to small bits)
• Soft Butter, 2 tablespoons per 100 grams

*All parts should be measured in grams, not cups. If you’re using 100 grams cream, use 100 grams chocolate and so on.

**If you need enough ganache for a 5″ cake, 100 grams of cream and 100 grams of dark chocolate is enough. Add in 2 tablespoons of butter to it. Increase the amount of chocolate if you need a stiffer frosting for piping. 150 grams chocolate per 100 grams of cream and 2 tablespoons of butter is a really good ratio. Don’t forget to whip your ganache before piping. Whip when it’s cold.

***This recipe makes a ganache with a pouring consistency. It will create soft peaks when whipped. If you’re going to whip it, make sure you do it when the ganache is cold.

What you need to do:

Transfer the chopped chocolate in a glass bowl. Remember you’re going to add cream to it, so use a big bowl.

In a pan, heat the cream on medium heat (don’t boil it) until it’s steaming and is about to come to a boil. Pour this hot cream immediately over the chocolate bits and let it sit there for about 5 minutes. The chocolate will melt in the residual heat, so make sure you chop it fine, because big bits won’t melt easily.

After 5 minutes give the ganache a stir and add in the butter to it. Mix everything until all the chocolate is melted and you have a beautiful glossy rich ganache.

This is ready to be poured over any cake, or you can simply chill it until it’s cold and then whip it to frost your cakes. If you want a more chocolatey ganache, add a little more chocolate.

For more frosting recipes go here.