Page 605 - YC Cooking School

How to make ganache

A ganache is simple to make. The most important thing to get right is the ratio of chocolate
to cream. As a general rule, when using 49-52% dark chocolate such as LINDT SWISS
CLASSIC dark slab, work on a ratio of 1 part chocolate to 1 part cream. For milk and white
chocolate (which have a higher percentage of cocoa butter), the ratio is 2 parts chocolate to
1 part cream. When using a high percentage cocoa chocolate like LINDT EXCELLENCE 70% or
90% 1 part chocolate to 1½–2 parts cream is the recommended ratio. It’s important to use a
whipping cream that has a fat content of no higher than 35-40%, as this could also upset the
fat to cocoa ratio.

Once you’ve worked out the correct ratio, it’s a matter of bringing the cream and glucose to
a rolling boil and then pouring it over the chopped chocolate pieces and allowing them to
melt into the cream. If you’d like to infuse any additional flavour, do so while the cream is
coming to a boil. It’s important to bring the cream to a full boil so that the glucose gets
properly dispersed within the cream and so that enough heat is generated to properly melt
the chocolate.

To finish the ganache, use a spatula to stir from the centre of the chocolate and cream
mixture to create a tight core. You’ll see that as you stir, a smooth, shiny ganache with body
will form. It should take about 30 seconds to a minute for this to happen. Keep stirring until
all the lumps have been worked out.

Now is the time to add any extras like chopped almonds, desiccated coconut or ground
pistachio nuts.

Allow the ganache to set evenly
It’s important to pour the finished ganache from the mixing bowl into a flat and shallow
container. This allows the ganache to set evenly. Ganache should also be given time to set at
room temperature, rather than in the fridge. This can take up to two hours but is well worth
the effort as uneven setting can result in a coarse textured truffle. Cover the ganache with
cling film and allow the cling film to actually touch the chocolate. This prevents a skin from

forming.

Storing ganache
Ganache will keep well in the fridge for a few weeks and can be remelted over a gentle heat
back into liquid form at any point. You can also freeze ganache to use later.

Ganache troubleshooting
Ganache is a water, sugar and fat emulsion. If any of these elements is not present in the
correct ratio, the ganache will either split, not set correctly or simply harden up too much.
There are a couple of checks you can run through if something goes wrong:

Did I use the correct cocoa % chocolate?

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