How to make whipped ganache

Making chocolate ganache is a real pleasure. The texture is soft, shiny and frankly impressive. But to me, my favourite way of having chocolate ganache is in the form of whipped ganache. It’s really airy and thus feels less heavy. It’s perfect for decorating cakes, cupcakes or filling other desserts.

Ganache is an emulsion, which is a mix of a high fat component with a less fatty component. Other emulsions include salad dressings, mayonnaise, hollandaise sauce, etc. This means that, like in those preparations, the danger in making ganache is that it can split. But I promise that if you follow all the instructions in this recipe, you won’t have anything to worry about.

You can make this ganache with any type of chocolate: dark, milk and white. It’s important to use nice quality chocolate for it. Low-quality chocolates have flavourings, added fat and thickeners that can affect the result of the ganache. You don’t necessarily have to use chocolate couverture, you can use a good chocolate bar instead. You’ll notice the difference! I made this whipped chocolate ganache for my almond and chocolate cake and it’s a great fit for it.

With the whipped ganache, the temperature is really important. Once you make the ganache, we need to wait for it to cool down before whipping it up. If it’s hot, this is going to take a longer time. If it’s cold, it will be quicker. You have to be careful because if it cools down too much, it could split when you whip it up. I prefer to let the ganache cool down on its own, but there are people who prefer to place it in the fridge in 5-minute intervals and mixing in between. The problem with the fridge method is that if you forget about it or it becomes too cold, then it’s bye-bye ganache.

How to make whipped ganache

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Course: Pastry Basics

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 400 g of ganache

Author: Lorena Salinas from Cravings Journal

Ingredients

• 200 g chocolate I used 65% cacao but it can also be milk chocolate, darker chocolate or white chocolate
• 200 g whipping cream 30-35% fat content
• Granulated sugar depending on the chocolate you use for dark chocolate I use 50g and for milk and white chocolate I don't add any.

Instructions

• Place the cream and sugar (if using) in a small pot. Heat up the cream over medium heat until it steams. Stir constantly to dissolve the sugar. If by mistake it breaks into a bowl, then you need to cool it down a bit before using it.
• Melt the chocolate in a bowl. You can do it in the microwave in intervals of 30 seconds, mixing in between each interval. Alternatively, you can melt it in a bain-marie over low heat. Make sure that the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the surface of the water.
• Remove the chocolate from the bain-marie if using. Add all the cream onto the chocolate.
  
• With a spatula, make small circles at the centre of the bowl. You'll see that it will start to come together at the centre on its own and then expand towards the sides.
  
• When everything looks evenly dark, scrape down the sides of the bowl and keep mixing until everything looks incorporated and shiny.
  
• Let it cool down until it has a thicker texture, like a fudge or dulce de leche. Give it a mix every once in a while so it cools evenly. When it's ready it should be at room temperature. If it's cold it will take 20-30 minutes to cool down and if it's hot it could take up to an hour.
  
• Whip the ganache on high speed using an electric mixer. In this process, we're aerating the ganache and it will also cool down more and thicken. If you're using a stand mixer, you want to stop every once in a while to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula. Stop when it looks really creamy and aerated.
  
• Use the whipped ganache immediately. If you let it be for too long it will go hard. You can bring it back to its texture by beating it on low speed.
  

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