Ganache I

"Ganache recipes can vary greatly in chocolate to cream ratios - this version falls somewhere in the middle and is great! To simplify the process, I chop the chips in my food processor until they resem..." See moreble fine crumbs. Then I heat the cream in a heavy bottomed saucepan until it just starts to bubble around the edges, pour the hot cream down the feed tube of the food processor, and give it a whirl... in seconds you have wonderful ganache. I should mention that chocolate chips contain stabilizers that allow the chips to keep their shape while warm, and those stabilizers don't melt down smoothly like chocolate does, so for a smoother finished product, I strain the warm ganache through a fine mesh strainer (this is not a necessary step, but will give more professional results). Use this ganache warm as a pourable glaze, let it cool to room temp (over night) and use like a standard frosting, or chill until firm and whip with a heavy stand mixer until it's lighter in color and spreadable. You can even use this ganache to make authentic chocolate truffles - just roll the chilled ganache (unwhipped) into balls and coat with cocoa powder, chopped nuts, or whatever. One more helpful hint: if you use this ganache to "frost" a cake, make sure the cake is brought to room temp before you try to cut it (using a hot knife). For added depth of flavor, try adding some liquor, vanilla, brewed coffee, or even coffee powder into the warm ganache mixture."

"Good stuff. I was looking for a chocolate filling to use in a layer cake and appreciated the tip that you could whip ganache to transform it into filling. I found the ratio of chocolate to cream to ..." See morebe a bit high for a cake filling, so I added extra cream to yield a creamier texture. The result was a truffle-like filling. Delish! It's been said before, but do buy the best bittersweet chocolate you can. I used standard bittersweet baking squares and found I had to add a few tablespoons of powdered sugar to cut down on the bitterness. This basic recipe lends itself to personalization, whereby you could play with different flavored extracts to customize a flavor. But it's great as is!"

"awesome. i love this, so easy but tastes amazing. however it doesnt really like to be refrigerated and re-incarnated in a double boiler. Iwould make when you want to use it...." See more"