Shirt a Phobia

Sample Page

Ganache (UK: /ɡəˈnæʃ/, US: /ɡəˈnɑːʃ/;[1] French: [ɡanaʃ]) is a glaze, icing, sauce, or filling for pastries and other sugar confectionery that is made from chocolate and cream.[2]

In the broad sense of the term, ganache is an emulsion between (melted) solid chocolate (which is made with cocoa butter, the fat phase) and a water-based ingredient, which can be cream, milk or fruit pulp.[3] It has a smooth and shiny appearance.[4] Depending on the ratio of cocoa butter and water in the finished product, ganache can be either semi-solid or liquid at room temperature, which allows its usage in a wide diversity of desserts and confectionery items.[5]

Preparation

Ganache is a chocolate preparation containing whipping cream, or some other liquid.

  • Cream-based ganache: a common approach.
  • Butter ganache: More common in Europe, this is made with warm, tempered chocolate and softened butter.[6]
  • Fruit ganache: Uses fruit purée as the liquid, often with equal parts butter. It was traditionally stabilized with egg yolks, though invert sugar and apple pectin may be used.[6]
A puddle of white chocolate ganache on a red plate
A thin white chocolate ganache. The ratio depends on how the ganache will be used.

The ratio between these ingredients varies, depending on the ingredients used and the preferred final consistency. A 1:1 ratio (i.e., equal weights of dark chocolate and cream) will produce a relatively hard ganache appropriate for icing or filling foods. More chocolate makes a “heavy” ganache, appropriate for making truffles; more liquid makes a thinner, “pourable” ganache that is more easily whipped.[4][7] A heavy ganache can require twice as much dark chocolate as cream by weight, or 2.5 times as much milk chocolate or white chocolate.[6] Similar ratios apply when making butter-based ganache, which uses unsalted butter instead of cream.[6]

In preparing a ganache, cream and sometimes butter are heated. If the ganache is being infused with flavorings such as herbs or a tea, they are added to the hot (not boiling[8]) cream and left to steep for several minutes. The hot cream is added to chocolate, left to stand for a few minutes so the heat from the cream can melt the chocolate, and then stirred to combine.[6]

Finally, liqueurs or flavored pastes are sometimes added at the end.[4] If liqueurs are added, then the amount of chocolate in the ganache must be increased proportionally to compensate for the added liquid (e.g., 100 grams of chocolate for 100 grams of liqueur, if a 1:1 ratio is being used).[6] Other flavorings, such as nuts, may also be added at the end.[6]

  • Different uses of ganache
  • Ganache being poured atop a cake
    Ganache being poured atop a cake
  • Peanut butter fudge covered in ganache
    Peanut butter fudge covered in ganache
  • A chocolate cake with ganache frosting
    A chocolate cake with ganache frosting
  • Whipped chocolate ganache on the side of the cake
    Whipped chocolate ganache on the side of the cake
  • A video of making ganache

History

Ganache was said to have been created accidentally in the 1850s in Paris at a confectionary shop owned by Paul Siraudin, after an apprentice spilled cream on chocolate, prompting his master to call him “ganache” (meaning “idiot”).[9][10] Ganache or crème ganache was originally sold as a kind of chocolate truffle.[11] Siraudin named the sweet after a popular Vaudeville comedy debuted in that year by his contemporary Victorien Sardou called Les Ganaches (“The Chumps”).[12][13]

Other ganache-like sweets were probably made earlier. Jordan & Timaeus sold chocolate combining cocoa paste, sugar and fresh milk in 1839 in Dresden.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ “Ganache”. Merriam-Webster Online, accessed 27 July 2023
  2. ^ Rombauer, Irma S.; Marion Rombauer Becker; Ethan Becker (2006). Joy of Cooking. New York: Scribner. p. 795. ISBN 0-7432-4626-8. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  3. ^ Zeiher, Pierre; Truchelut, Jean-Michel (2020). La pâtisserie de référence. Editions BPI. p. 301. ISBN 978-2-85708-905-6.
  4. ^ a b c The Culinary Institute of America (2011). The Professional Chef (9th ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley. p. 1114. ISBN 978-0-470-42 135-2.
  5. ^ Schloss, Andrew; Joachim, David (May 2019). “La science de la ganache au chocolat”. Fine Cooking. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Notter, Ewald (2011-01-18). The Art of the Chocolatier: From Classic Confections to Sensational Showpieces. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 111–114. ISBN 978-0-470-39884-5.
  7. ^ “Sweet Technique: Chocolate Ganache | Institute of Culinary Education”. www.ice.edu. Retrieved 2025-12-15.
  8. ^ “How to make ganache”. King Arthur Baking. Retrieved 2026-04-17.
  9. ^ Tout sur le Chocolat (Sciences Humaines) (in French). Odile Jacob. 2009. ISBN 978-2738193919.
  10. ^ Saglio, Aurelie; Bourgeay, Julien; Socrate, Romain; Canette, Alexis; Cuvelier, Gerard (October 2018). “Understanding the structure of ganache: Link between composition and texture”. International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science. 13: 29–37. doi:10.1016/j.ijgfs.2018.05.003. S2CID 139756329. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  11. ^ ‘Jeanne’, “Correspondance: Jeanne à Florence”, Journal des Demoiselles 37:27 (1869)
  12. ^ Oxford English Dictionary 3rd edition online, 2015, s.v.
  13. ^ Larousse Gastronomique (Third English language ed.). Hamlyn. 2009. p. 488. ISBN 978-0-600-62042-6.
  14. ^ Mayer, Susann (January 2021). “Rekonstruktion der ersten Milchschokolade gelungen”. Technische Universität Dresden. Retrieved 16 June 2023. Die Kakaomasse so fein zu mahlen wie heute war z.B. damals nicht möglich. Milchpulver gab es damals nicht, so wurde Flüssigmilch verwendet. „Bei den ersten Versuchen hatte die Masse eher die Textur eines Kaubonbons. Am Ende sind wir bei 60 Prozent Kakao, 30 Prozent Zucker und 10 Prozent Milch angelangt”, erzählt Schneider. [For example, it was not possible to grind the cocoa mass as finely as it is today. There was no powdered milk back then, so liquid milk was used. “In the first attempts, the mass had more the texture of a chewy candy. In the end, we ended up with 60 percent cocoa, 30 percent sugar and 10 percent milk,” says Schneider.]
  • Wikimedia Commons logo Media related to Ganache at Wikimedia Commons