Francisco Migoya

Ganache Method

Appears in
The Elements of Dessert
The Elements of Dessert

By Francisco Migoya

Published 2012

  • About
Ganache is mostly an emulsion and, to a lesser extent, a suspension. It combines a liquid (water) and a fat (chocolate) to form a smooth-textured chocolate and liquid mix. It is this smoothness that is the most desirable quality of a ganache; the more liquid there is, the smoother the ganache will be, and the more chocolate there is, the denser it will be. Obtaining a smooth ganache is not very complicated so long as the proper steps are followed.
THE SIMPLE GANACHE METHOD IS AS FOLLOWS:
  1. The chocolate should be broken down into small pieces (about 1.5 cm/.5 in). This can be a tedious task, but fortunately, most chocolates are available in small pellets or pistoles, which eliminate the task of cutting chocolate into tiny pieces. Reserve the chocolate in a bowl.
  2. Bring the liquid to a boil. This liquid may be anything from cream to fruit juices to beer, and it can contain corn syrup, glucose, or sorbitol. Sorbitol is a type of alcohol used to reduce the water content of a ganache, thus extending its shelf life.
  3. Pour one-third of the boiling liquid into the chocolate and stir with a rubber spatula. It will dissolve most of the chocolate.
  4. Return the liquid to a boil, pour another one-third of it into the chocolate, and stir until it has been incorporated completely.
  5. Bring the remaining liquid to a boil and pour it into the bowl. Stir until the chocolate has completely dissolved. Some pastry chefs opt to add the liquid all at once, and while it yields a good result, it is not as good an emulsion as when the liquid is added in three additions. The stirring motion and the slow addition of liquid create a smoother texture.
  6. Some recipes call for the addition of butter. If so, the softened butter should be added when the previous mixture of chocolate and cream reaches 30°C/86°F, and it is added to the chocolate in small pieces. It is rubbed in with the rubber spatula by pressing the butter against the side of the bowl. The butter is not necessarily stirred into the ganache, since at this point the butter and the ganache are very similar in texture, and stirring can cause unwanted air bubbles to form as well as crystallization.
  7. Pipe the ganache into the desired shell for molded chocolates and candy bars or into a frame for cutting and then dipping (see Step 8). Ideally, a ganache is made when it is needed; making excess ganache to get ahead does not yield very good results. Once the ganache sets, it has to be re-softened without breaking the emulsion, and it just becomes more complicated than it has to be. More often than not, the ganache breaks, and it takes even longer to bring it back to a proper emulsion. Making a ganache takes just as long as softening one and even less time than fixing one that is broken.
  8. When making a ganache for hand-dipped (or enrobed) chocolates, pour the ganache, just as it is made, into a frame to set. The ganache should be pourable and fill in the frame easily. This frame is typically made of steel bars, like those used for caramels. These bars are strong and heavy enough to contain the pressure that a hot, fluid caramel can exert on them. They can be used to form many different sizes of squares/rectangles, and they are available in different thicknesses. In this book, the frames measure 30 cm/12 in wide by 45 cm/18 in long by 1.25 cm/.5 in deep, and they will hold about 2 kg/4 lb 6.4 oz of ganache. The final yield will depend on how the ganache is cut. The bars will need to be placed over a flat surface that can be moved from one place to another (in other words, not a static work surface, unless you can give up that space for more than 12 hours). Try to use a marble or granite surface that fits inside a sheet pan. The marble should be lined with a nonstick rubber mat, and then the bars are placed on top of the mat. Once the ganache is made, pour it into the frame, spread it out evenly with an offset spatula, and then even out the surface with a long Plexiglas or steel bar. It is important to let the ganache set at room temperature and not refrigerated.