Yield; about 2 cups, enough to fill one tart or frost 1 sheet pan of brownies
This is a versatile, all purpose ganache that can be used to fill baked tart shells, layer crepe cakes (crepe recipe link), and frost things like sugar cookies (link to soft sugar cookies) brownies and birthday cakes. This recipe contains liquid sugar, in the form of glucose or corn syrup. Unlike the thick ganache for truffles, which gains its stability from a high concentration of chocolate, this ganache is higher in liquid. When chilled we might not notice a need for extra stability. But since most of the desserts we will use this ganache to top will be served at room temperature, we need a little assistance. This medium textured ganache benefits from the addition of the water-binding sugars in glucose or corn syrup.
200g chocolate
250g cream
50g glucose or corn syrup
- Chop the chocolate finely, no larger than the size of an m&m. Place the chocolate in a medium bowl and set it aside on the counter.
- Place the cream and glucose (or corn syrup) in a small pot and cook over medium high heat until the cream comes to a boil. Remove the pot from heat and let the cream sit for a minute, until it drops in temperature below 190°F.
- Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it sit undisturbed for 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, use a rubber spatula to gently begin stirring the cream and melted chocolate together. Make small circles at first, until you have visual confirmation that the chocolate and cream have combined evenly, then you can increase the breadth of your stirring.
- Once the ganache is smooth and even, you can choose your own adventure!
To fill tart shells- Pour the warm ganache directly into the tart shell, and transfer it to the refrigerator to set before serving. Once the chocolate is set, the tart should be tempered for 30 minutes before slicing and serving to your guests, preferably under a cloud of unsweetened whipped cream.
To ice brownies, cookies, cakes, or crepes- Place the ganache in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. Remove the ganache from the refrigerator and gently carefully stir it. Put it back in the fridge and repeat this step, chilling and stirring, until the ganache has cooled and it is a spreadable texture. It shouldn’t take much more than 30 minutes, but use your own intuition. Spread the thickened ganache on the top of brownies, cookies, on cakes, or between stacks of crepes.
To make whipped ganache frosting- Place the ganache on the counter and let it cool to room temperature. While your ganache is cooling, ready the cooled cake layers or cupcakes you are going to frost, setting them nearby in wait. You will need to use the whipped ganache immediately after it’s made. Once at room temperature or around 70°F, transfer the ganache to the bowl of a stand mixer fit with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium low speed for two to three minutes, until the frosting lightens in color and thickens to the texture of bean dip. Do not over whip or the chocolate will seize and become grainy. Use the whipped ganache immediately, piping it onto cupcakes in pretty rosettes, or spreading it around a layer cake. A tip- if the ganache is much above 70°F, it won’t collect any air bubbles when whipped, and if it’s much below 70°F, it will seize when whipped.