Think of it as the gift that keeps on giving. Start with one easy and irresistible chocolate recipe and adapt it for all kinds of uses.
Chop. Pour. Stir. Those three basic steps are all there is to making an irresistible batch of ganache.
Despite its French name, ganache is nothing elaborate: chopped chocolate melted in heated heavy cream, with just a bit of salt to bring out the flavor.
Your first impulse will be to sit down and eat this luscious concoction with a spoon. But if you can restrain yourself, that’s when the real magic happens, since ganache can be used in a multitude of ways.
While it’s still warm, ganache can be poured directly from the bowl over a cake for a can’t-fail glaze. Or piped into tartlets. Or it can be cooled to room temperature and whipped into a fluffy frosting or whoopie-pie filling.
Mixed with some peanut butter, chilled and rolled, it turns into truffles.
Just when you think you’ve run through all the possibilities, there are more: You can alter the richness depending on the percentage of cacao beans in the chocolate. And not a drop should go to waste.
When you glaze a cake and some spatters off to the side, scoop it up and serve it over ice cream or crepes. Or mix it with warm milk, and tuck into a nice cup of hot chocolate.
Ganache
8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
1 cup heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon coarse salt
Coarsely chop the chocolate (we like 61 percent cacao). A serrated knife is best for the job.
Bring the heavy cream just to a boil over medium-high heat. Pour over chocolate and add the salt. Let stand for 10 minutes (don’t stir).
After 10 minutes stir with a whisk until smooth and shiny. Scrape the dish with a rubber spatula to incorporate all of it.
Makes 1 1/2 cups
Tip: If the fat starts to separate from the cream, fret not. To bring a “broken” ganache back, whisk in water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the mixture is smooth and emulsified.
Resist the impulse to add cream, which will disrupt the ratio of chocolate to fat: generally, 1 ounce chopped chocolate for every fluid ounce of heavy cream (plus 1/8 teaspoon coarse salt for every 8 ounces chocolate).
Use it warm: While ganache is still hot and fluid, it makes a showstopping pour-on cake glaze or a glossy filling for tartlets.
Make a glaze: Before pouring the ganache, set cake on a wire rack over a baking sheet. The excess will pool in the tray and you’ll be able to cleanly lift the cake away (and equally important, reuse any leftovers).
Make a filling: For more precise applications, such as filling tartlets, use a disposable pastry bag with a small opening, which will provide control as you pipe the liquid.
Use it at room temperature: When beaten at room temperature, ganache fluffs up like whipped cream (which, given its heavy-cream content, makes perfect sense). For a smoother and denser frosting, whip the ganache less; for a fluffier, lighter one, whip it longer.
Make a whipped filling or frosting: Let ganache cool to room temperature, stirring often, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Beat it with a mixer on medium-high speed, until paler and fluffy, 2 to 4 minutes. (This will yield about 2 cups.)
Transfer to a disposable pastry bag with a large opening and use it as a filling for mini whoopie pies. Alternatively, spread it over cupcakes.
Use it chilled: Refrigerated and firmed up, ganache has the perfect texture for rolling into truffles. We flavored our batch with peanut butter. Adding liqueur or a flavored extract is another option, as is rolling chilled ganache straight-up.
Address questions to Ask Martha, care of Letters Department, Martha Stewart Living, 601 W. 26th St., Ninth floor, New York, NY 10001. Send email to mslletters@marthastewart.com.
&Copy; 2011 Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc.
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