Chocolate Ganache Recipe
This easy chocolate ganache recipe takes just chocolate, heavy cream, and 20 minutes. Use my ratio chart to make dark, milk, or white chocolate ganache for drips, glazes, whipped frosting, cake filling, and truffles.
Servings: 24 ounces
Calories: 123kcal
Ingredients
Firm Setting Ganache 2:1
- 16 ounces dark or semi-sweet chocolate
- 8 ounces heavy whipping cream
Soft Ganache Frosting 1:1
- 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate (about 60%)
- 8 ounces heavy whipping cream
Soft White Chocolate Ganache 3:1
- 18 ounces white chocolate
- 6 ounces heavy whipping cream
Soft Milk Chocolate Ganache 2.5:1
- 15 ounces milk chocolate
- 6 ounces heavy whipping cream
Soft & Creamy Milk Chocolate Ganache (with butter)
- 8 ounces milk chocolate
- 6 ounces heavy whipping cream
- 1 ¼ tablespoons light corn syrup about 0.9 oz
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 1.5 oz, softened
Instructions
- Before you begin: Weigh your chocolate and cream for the ratio you need (see the ingredient groups). Ratios change with the type of chocolate; I use Guittard. The darker the chocolate, the firmer it sets.
For the ganache
- Chop the chocolate finely and place it in a medium heatproof bowl.
- Heat the cream in a small saucepan until steam just begins to rise from the surface, whisking occasionally so it doesn't boil over.
- Pour the hot cream over the chocolate, push the chocolate under the surface, and let it sit for 5 minutes.
- Whisk in small circles from the center out until smooth and emulsified.
- If there are lumps, blend with an immersion blender for a few seconds until smooth.
- Use warm for piping, drizzling, or drips. For drips, cool to about 90ºF and drip onto a cold cake. To cool faster, pour into a baking sheet.
- Press plastic wrap onto the surface and let it set at room temperature for about 4 hours or overnight, until it reaches peanut butter consistency for frosting, filling, piping, or truffles.
Video
Notes
Ratios (chocolate to cream, by weight): dark 1:1 for soft frosting or drips, dark 2:1 for firm frosting, filling, or truffles, milk 2.5:1, and white 3:1. The soft & creamy butter version uses milk chocolate at about 1.3:1.
Use good-quality chocolate. Chocolate bars that contain cocoa butter melt more smoothly than chocolate chips, which often contain stabilizers that make ganache thick or grainy. I use Guittard.
Chop the chocolate finely. Smaller pieces melt evenly when the hot cream is added, so you don't get lumps.
Let the cream sit before whisking. Give the chocolate a full 5 minutes to melt under the hot cream. This helps create a smooth emulsion.
Adjust the texture. Too thick? Add a little warm cream. Too thin? Add more melted chocolate.
Fix lumpy or separated ganache with an immersion blender for a few seconds until glossy and smooth.
Ganache thickens as it cools. Use it warm for drips and glazing, and at room temperature (peanut butter consistency) for frosting and piping.
Soft & creamy butter ganache: Warm the corn syrup with the cream, pour over the milk chocolate, and whisk until smooth. Let it cool to about 95ºF (35ºC), then blend in the softened butter until glossy. The butter and corn syrup give it extra shine and a silky texture that stays soft and spreadable.
Storage: Keep ganache at room temperature for up to 48 hours, refrigerated for up to 1 week, or frozen for up to 6 months. Rewarm in the microwave in short bursts, or let it come back to room temperature.
Nutrition is estimated per 1 ounce of the firm-setting 2:1 dark chocolate ganache.
Nutrition
Serving: 1oz | Calories: 123kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5.5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 5mg | Potassium: 78mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 143IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 0.6mg
