There are two common techniques for using ganache: the piped and the slabbed methods. While either may be applied to a ganache formula, the steps used for each—and the results—are quite different.
Technique Theory: Piped Ganache
The piped technique is used to make truffles and other ganache centers that are to be piped or possibly shaped by hand. When ganache is made using the piped technique, it sets quickly, with a relatively firm texture that allows it to hold its shape and permit handling, as when it is rolled into truffles. The defining step of the piped technique is the tabling that tempers the ganache, causing a rapid set and the firm consistency required for piping and shaping. Without this tempering, the ganache would not set with a firm, uniform consistency.
CHOP TEMPERED CHOCOLATE INTO SMALL PIECES. The chocolate used should be tempered fresh chocolate so that it contains stable Form-V cocoa butter crystals. Not all of these crystals will melt during the process of making the ganache, and the remaining crystals will seed the ganache to ensure proper setting.IF FLAVORING THE GANACHE WITH AN AROMATIC INGREDIENT, FOLLOW THE INFUSION PROCEDURE. (SEE INFUSIONS .) COMBINE THE CREAM AND LIQUID SWEETENER AND BRING TO A BOIL. The cream and sweetener—usually glucose syrup—are boiled to further sanitize the cream and to provide enough heat to melt the chocolate. The mixture should be brought only up to a boil in the smallest diameter saucepan that is practical. Boiling cream for a prolonged period of time or boiling it in too wide a saucepan results in the evaporation of water, leaving too high a percentage of fat, which contributes to separation.POUR THE HOT CREAM OVER THE CHOPPED CHOCOLATE; ALLOW IT TO SIT UNDISTURBED FOR APPROXIMATELY 1 MINUTE. Leaving the hot cream to sit on the chocolate allows the chocolate to melt so that it will emulsify easily with the cream.USING A PADDLE, BEGIN STIRRING IN SMALL CIRCLES IN THE CENTER OF THE BOWL UNTIL THE MIXTURE RESEMBLES “CHOCOLATE MAYONNAISE.” Stirring in small circles starts the emulsion in the center of the bowl. “Chocolate mayonnaise” is an appropriate description for the ganache: not only is it an emulsion, but it is also a fat-in-water emulsion just as mayonnaise is.CONTINUE STIRRING OUTWARD IN LARGER CIRCLES UNTIL ALL OF THE CHOCOLATE HAS MELTED AND THE MIXTURE IS HOMOGENEOUS. Once the emulsion is formed in the center of the bowl, it can be spread throughout the ganache by stirring in wider circles.IF SOME OF THE CHOCOLATE HAS NOT MELTED, PUT THE GANACHE OVER A HOT WATER BATH. BE CERTAIN, HOWEVER, NOT TO ALLOW THE TEMPERATURE OF THE GANACHE TO EXCEED 34°C/94°F. If some of the chocolate remains unmelted by the heat in the cream, warming the ganache lightly will melt it so that the chocolate can emulsify with the cream. Overheating melts the stable cocoa butter crystals, so the ganache should not be allowed to become warmer than 34°C/94°F. This temperature ensures that stable Form-V cocoa butter crystals are left intact to seed the ganache.ADD THE BUTTER, STIRRING IT INTO THE WARM GANACHE. The butter should be soft but not melted so that the emulsion of the butter will not separate; this will help ensure a smooth texture. The butter is added before the liquid flavoring so that there is enough heat in the ganache to allow the butter to be incorporated.ADD THE LIQUID FLAVORING, IF USING. The temperature of the liquid flavoring should be approximately 25° to 32°C/77° to 90°F so that it neither cools nor warms the ganache excessively.POUR THE FINISHED GANACHE INTO A LARGE, FLAT PAN THAT WILL ALLOW IT TO COOL EVENLY AND EFFICIENTLY. PLACE PLASTIC WRAP DIRECTLY ON THE SURFACE OF THE GANACHE TO PREVENT IT FROM DRYING OUT. The ganache should be pooled into a thin layer so that it cools and crystallizes quickly.ALLOW THE GANACHE TO COOL UNDISTURBED AT ROOM TEMPERATURE TO 22°C/72°F. THE GANACHE SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO REACH A FIRM BUT MALLEABLE CONSISTENCY. THIS MAY TAKE UP TO 1 HOUR DEPENDING ON AMBIENT TEMPERATURE. Although it is possible to proceed to step 11 without allowing the ganache to cool undisturbed, better results are obtained by letting the ganache cool at room temperature to approximately 22°C/72°F and develop a plastic consistency. Proper consistency is a more reliable indicator than temperature that the ganache is ready to work with. This step is especially crucial with milk chocolate and white chocolate, which are more prone to separation during agitation. Refrigerating the ganache at this point leads to the formation of unstable fat crystals, and the ganache will never have the proper firmness when it returns to room temperature. (See Refrigeration of Ganache .)REMOVE THE GANACHE FROM THE PAN, PLACE IT ON A MARBLE SLAB, AND TABLE IT LIGHTLY. ALTERNATIVELY, STIR IT BRIEFLY IN A BOWL. Agitating the ganache is the defining step in the piped method. Tabling or stirring the ganache briefly helps to crystallize the fat, accelerating the setting process. Ganache that is agitated sets firmer, with a shorter texture than unagitated ganache, making it easier to pipe and handle. Properly made ganache requires very little agitation; milk chocolate ganache that has cooled to 22°C/72°F requires only a few strokes with a palette knife on a marble slab, with approximately 2 minutes between strokes. Dark chocolate ganache requires even less agitation. Minimal agitation provides the best results. Ganache that has been overagitated has an overly short texture rather than the creamy smooth texture that is desired.PIPE THE GANACHE IMMEDIATELY AND ALLOW IT TO CRYSTALLIZE AT ROOM TEMPERATURE UNTIL FIRM, ABOUT 20 MINUTES. Once tabled, ganache sets rapidly, so it must be piped immediately before it hardens into an unusable mass.HANDLE AND DIP AS DESIRED. After piping, allow the ganache to crystallize at room temperature, and then continue to process as desired. With tabled ganache, crystallization is rapid, taking as little as 15 minutes, but the ganache becomes firmer and easier to handle when it is allowed to crystallize longer. Leaving the piped ganache for several hours or overnight makes for ease of handling.
Stir the ganache in the middle of the bowl to create the emulsion, then spread out to incorporate the remaining cream and chocolate (see step 4 of the technique).
Tabled ganache is ready to be piped once a sharp ridge appears when a palette knife is rested on and then lifted out of the chocolate (see step 11 of the technique).
Piping the prepared ganache once it has set yields consistent portions and an easy shape for later handling and finishing (see step 12 of the technique).
