ISO help/tips with ganache

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LT72884

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So i just made some ganache but i have never made it before so ido not know if it is the right thickness or thinness. it was 12oz raspberries reduced and then 7oz cream and then strain cream mixture over 20 oz semi sweet chocolate. melt over double boiler and add 3oz butter. then cool for 6 hours. i just barley put it in the fridge and i hope i did it right. it tastes good. is there a way to tell if it is going to turn out alright. i personally think it is.
 
So i just made some ganache but i have never made it before so ido not know if it is the right thickness or thinness. it was 12oz raspberries reduced and then 7oz cream and then strain cream mixture over 20 oz semi sweet chocolate. melt over double boiler and add 3oz butter. then cool for 6 hours. i just barley put it in the fridge and i hope i did it right. it tastes good. is there a way to tell if it is going to turn out alright. i personally think it is.
:)It should be fine as Ganache needs no tempering since you added the cream.What are you using it for?
 
i am using it for truffles. its kinda hard to roll into balls so i dont know what to do. i can get them to roll up i just mess my hands up pretty bad. LOL
 
since I'm not an aficionado on ganache, I wouldn't say one way or the other. the only way I've even done it is equal parts cream to chocolate over the double boiler. yours sounds yummy
 
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i am using it for truffles. its kinda hard to roll into balls so i dont know what to do. i can get them to roll up i just mess my hands up pretty bad. LOL
:)If you have time time its best to chill overnight have you the cocoa or nuts etc ready to put the balls on.If you are like me you might have hot hands some peoples hands are cold and some have hot hands which makes it hard to pipe icing etc as everything starts to melt as soon as you try to work with it.It helps to run cold water over your hands and dry them before making them it helps.If you dont want the mess on you hands use some of those throw away disposable gloves like they use in restaurants.
 
i chilled it over night and now its out gettin ready to be made. they taste pretty good. really rich. i mixed equal parts coca and powdered suger together to roll them in. plain cocao makes it to biotter so i have to sweeten them. maybe i will crush some peanuts to roll them in also
 
ok im back. i made some ganache last night but i think this time i did something i was not supposed to. It has been in the fridge for over 8 hours and it has not hardened. its in the stage of almost hardened but soft enough to scoop out with my finger. its almost like the filling in trifles not truffles. its not super soft but not hardened. my fist batch i made back in december hardened up pretty good. i hope it will still work. i decided to let it saty in the fridge for another 10 hours tell i get fome from work and a movie. i followed the recipe pretty much the same way as last time except i used milk chocolate rather than 55% semi sweet. all i did was take 12 oz raspberries and cook them in a pan for about 25 minutes with 3 Tbls of sugar. i did this to reduce them. then i added 7 oz cream and broiught to a simmer. poured it over the milk chocolate chips in a double boiler and mixed it all up with 3 oz butter. thats the only difference was the chocolate chips, rather than chocolate squares. I sure hope i can roll them up and form them into there shape. i hope it will hold up. they are for a birthday party and i have to bring them along with a cheese cake. any ideas would help out.
 
I imagine with the chocolate substitution it is not going to harden up as you want. You may be able to temper is so the chocolate will set up..
 
You may try adding more milk chocolate. Try 2 or 3 oz. more milk choc. When using milk chocolate instead of semi sweet you need to reduce the cream or add more milk choc.
 
You may try adding more milk chocolate. Try 2 or 3 oz. more milk choc. When using milk chocolate instead of semi sweet you need to reduce the cream or add more milk choc.

ok will do. I had to freeze them for an hour before the party because left at room temprature they are really soft. They really liked em. Said it was the best truffles they have ever had. The cheese cake was a hit to. any way im gonna try it again and liek you said, im going to add less cream and more chocolate. maybe 6 oz cream rather than 7
 
I realize this is rather late but I think I can help. I am a candymaker so I make truffles a lot. Ganache is pretty simple but there are some things most people don't know. With a couple of small pieces of advice I think you will be on your way to even better truffles.

First of all, when making ganache for truffles, there is a ratio of liquid to chocolate. I say liquid and not cream because you must add the weight of any liquid flavoring (raspberry puree, liquor, etc. (butter does not get calculated as a liquid)) to the weight of the cream to get a total weight of liquid. The weight of the chocolate should be about 2 times the liquid amount for dark chocolate (semisweet, bittersweet, etc.) and 2.5 times the liquid amount for milk and white chocolate.

A second thing most people don't know is that even though it has cream in it, ganache does not need to be refrigerated. It can be stored at room temperature with no ill effects. In fact, refrigerating ganache usually makes it softer when you try to roll it at room temperature.

If you get pretty close to the ratios I gave you, and don't refrigerate or freeze the ganache, you should be able to roll the ganache into balls at room temperature without much mess even bare handed. You also should dip them at room temperature, there isn't a need to refrigerate or freeze them before dipping.

I hope this helps.
 
It has been in the fridge for over 8 hours and it has not hardened. its in the stage of almost hardened but soft enough to scoop out with my finger. its almost like the filling in trifles not truffles.
I worked with a girl years ago who brought the office each o jar of home made hot fudge sauce. But it wasn't her intent. She'd tried to make truffles the night before mixing a batch of ganache, it never hardened either, but was thickish and sort of runny so she jarred it and called it hot fudge sauce. Some times chocolate is an odd duck to figure out.
 
I realize this is rather late but I think I can help. I am a candymaker so I make truffles a lot. Ganache is pretty simple but there are some things most people don't know. With a couple of small pieces of advice I think you will be on your way to even better truffles.

First of all, when making ganache for truffles, there is a ratio of liquid to chocolate. I say liquid and not cream because you must add the weight of any liquid flavoring (raspberry puree, liquor, etc. (butter does not get calculated as a liquid)) to the weight of the cream to get a total weight of liquid. The weight of the chocolate should be about 2 times the liquid amount for dark chocolate (semisweet, bittersweet, etc.) and 2.5 times the liquid amount for milk and white chocolate.

A second thing most people don't know is that even though it has cream in it, ganache does not need to be refrigerated. It can be stored at room temperature with no ill effects. In fact, refrigerating ganache usually makes it softer when you try to roll it at room temperature.

If you get pretty close to the ratios I gave you, and don't refrigerate or freeze the ganache, you should be able to roll the ganache into balls at room temperature without much mess even bare handed. You also should dip them at room temperature, there isn't a need to refrigerate or freeze them before dipping.

I hope this helps.
i think it had something to do with the chocolate this time.. the first time i made this stuff, it worked out because i used 55% cocoa baking chocolate rather than half semisweet chips and half milk chocolate chips. im thinking the milk in the chips added more liquid.
 
Ephrem, thanks so much for the valuable info on making ganache. I live in a warm and humid (tropical) environment. This time of year, cream does not whip well, so I was thinking about making a ganache frosting for a special cake I want to make. Any special issues with humidity/heat? Do you think it is possible? Thanks - we told you we'd put you to work here!
 
I will reply first to LT2884's comment before Karen's.
The milk in the milk chocolate is not liquid milk like whole milk or 2%. Chocolate has a long shelf life, about 1 year for milk chocolate and 2 years for dark. The milk that is in the chocolate is a dehydrated powder of some kind usually. Chocolate on its own contains almost no moisture whatsoever. The problem with half semisweet, half milk chocolate is the ratio I mentioned. The first time probably worked because you had close to the right ratio of dark chocolate to cream (liquid). This time if you made it half milk and half semisweet but did not change the amount of cream it will make the ganache softer. Perhaps an example will help:

I said in my earlier post that dark chocolate should be two times the amount of liquid. I also said that milk chocolate should be 2.5 times the amount of liquid.

Suppose you have a dark chocolate ganache that is 8 oz. cream and 16 oz. semisweet chips. If you decide to make it half milk chips and half semisweet the ratios must be calculated for each type.
The new ganache would be 8 oz. cream, 8 oz. semisweet chips, and 10 oz. milk chocolate. This is because your 8 oz. of semisweet chips would be 2 times 4 oz. of the cream (50%). The 10 oz. of milk chocolate chips would be 2.5 times 4 oz. of the cream (the other 50%).

If you wanted the semisweet and milk chocolate to each be half of the chocolate amount you would have to adjust the amount of cream. If you had 8 oz. of semisweet and 8 oz. of milk chocolate the cream would have to be reduced to 7.2 oz.

It is difficult to explain with out being able to talk to you in person but I hope this helps.
 
Karen,

Humidity and heat are both enemies of chocolate and, by extension, ganache. In a perfect world the temperature should be below 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Celsius). The humidity should be below 50%. Depending on your budget and the size of the room you work in, it would be worth considering the purchase of a window air conditioner and/or a dehumidifier. In my own work I work in a small room with both of these. I can hold the ideal temp and humidity very well even when it is over 100 degrees outside! Even without either of these, the closer you can get to the ideal, the better.

As far as a ganache frosting goes I would need more information. I don't know much about cake decorating so I hope you can excuse my ignorance. Is it a butter or a cream ganache? What are the steps involved in making the ganache frosting? Also what are the temperature and humidity in the room you are working in? Keep me posted.
 
Oh Brother Ephrem, I think I'd better find an alternative. Our house is a Mexican style house, i.e., parts of it are open and there is no practical way to air condition it. I do have ocean and mountain breezes flowing through every day, and lots of ceiling fans, but the indoor temp this time of year is seldom below 80-85F and the humidity is the same, maybe even higher. The recipe I was looking at was a cream ganache, and was actually for cupcakes.

Here is the recipe:
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

3/4 cup heavy cream

optional flavoring:: coffee liqueur, framboise, rum...

FOR THE GANACHE, put the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream to a boil. Pour the cream over chocolate and shake the bowl gently so cream settles around the chocolate. Set mixture aside until chocolate is soft, about 5 minutes. Whisk gently until smooth, taking care not to incorporate too many air bubbles. Stir in one of the flavorings, if desired.



DIP the tops of the cooled cupcakes into the frosting. Let cakes stand on rack until frosting is completely set.

Do you think it would just never set? Probably I'd better stick with buttercream.

Thanks so much for helping!
 
Even though the temperature and humidity are high, I think I would give it a shot anyway. It isn't a large amount of ingredients and you could always half it again with no ill effects. If you were working with just chocolate I would be more concerned about the humidity but I think the heat is more of an issue. Semisweet chocolate melts and tempers at around 85-90 degrees as does a ganache made with semisweet chocolate.
I would try to make the ganache at the coolest part of the day. It is also good to have a good airflow over the setting ganache, once it is on the cupcakes. Even if the ganache works initially, you must at least keep the cupcakes below 85 degrees. If the temperature climbs above 85 the ganache may melt and run.
If you decide to try it let me know how it went.

Good Luck!
Ephrem
 
I will reply first to LT2884's comment before Karen's.
The milk in the milk chocolate is not liquid milk like whole milk or 2%. Chocolate has a long shelf life, about 1 year for milk chocolate and 2 years for dark. The milk that is in the chocolate is a dehydrated powder of some kind usually. Chocolate on its own contains almost no moisture whatsoever. The problem with half semisweet, half milk chocolate is the ratio I mentioned. The first time probably worked because you had close to the right ratio of dark chocolate to cream (liquid). This time if you made it half milk and half semisweet but did not change the amount of cream it will make the ganache softer. Perhaps an example will help:

I said in my earlier post that dark chocolate should be two times the amount of liquid. I also said that milk chocolate should be 2.5 times the amount of liquid.

Suppose you have a dark chocolate ganache that is 8 oz. cream and 16 oz. semisweet chips. If you decide to make it half milk chips and half semisweet the ratios must be calculated for each type.
The new ganache would be 8 oz. cream, 8 oz. semisweet chips, and 10 oz. milk chocolate. This is because your 8 oz. of semisweet chips would be 2 times 4 oz. of the cream (50%). The 10 oz. of milk chocolate chips would be 2.5 times 4 oz. of the cream (the other 50%).

If you wanted the semisweet and milk chocolate to each be half of the chocolate amount you would have to adjust the amount of cream. If you had 8 oz. of semisweet and 8 oz. of milk chocolate the cream would have to be reduced to 7.2 oz.

It is difficult to explain with out being able to talk to you in person but I hope this helps.

thanx...

I appreciate the huge amount of info that i never new exsisted for making this stuff. LOL. glad you could share this. I am going to have to read this a few times to grasp the concept.
 

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