Chocolate ganache is simple and delicious, easily elevating your dessert-life with the use of prepared chocolate and a milk/cream of your choice. There are a few ways to go about chocolate ganache, and I thought it would be nice to share all three of my methods in one post: Quick One-Cup, Drizzling, and Thick Firm-Setting.
Ganache is a staple recipe I make at least once a week (especially for my dessert catering work via Mili’s Sweets). This is a naturally gluten free food that can be made vegan.
Let’s do this!
For a quick, no-fuss way to make chocolate ganache with little leftovers, I recommend the One-Cup method.
Mili’s Quick One-Cup Chocolate Ganache
Ingredients
Classic Chocolate Ganache
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup semi sweet choclate chips
Vegan Chocolate Ganache
- 1 cup all fat vegan milk – soy, coconut, etc.
- 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips
Instructions
- Pour one cup of heavy whipping cream (or vegan milk) into a glass container. Put into the microwave for 2 minutes. Pour the half-cup of chocolate chips into the hot cream.
- Allow the mixture to sit for 30 seconds to one minute.
- Stir with a spoon. You have one cup of choclate ganache, ready for the world. Spoon it onto your dessert.
- When using vegan milk, add half of the chocolate until mostly melted and then add the other half cup until totally combined. These ingredients will allow a few more minutes before the chocolate has melted and your ganache is ready.
- If you're looking to drizzle, take a gallon sized storage bag, fill one corner and then cut a small hole at that corner. The smaller the hole, the smaller the drizzle. The large the hole, will make for a dollop effect.
If you’re looking for a full recipe of ganache that flows, try my Drizzling recipe.
Mili’s Drizzling Chocolate Ganache
Equipment
- saucepan, bowls, whisk
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream For a vegan alternative, try using a milk that has a similar fat percentage content, such as soy milk.
- 3 cups chocolate chips or cut chocolate pieces For a vegan alternative, use dark chocolate that does not have dairy additives, or try a vegan-processed chocolate.
Instructions
- Place the chocolate chips or cut chocolate pieces in a large bowl.
- Pour the whipping cream into a saucepan, place at medium heat, and heat until small bubbles form around the edge of the cream.
- Pour the warm heavy cream over the chocolate. Allow to sit for about 30 seconds. Whisk the ingredients for about 2 minutes, by hand. The end result is gorgeous, glossy ganache. You can save the extra ganache in an sealed container and refrigerate for up to five days.
- For the drizzle effect, use a piping bag, or a large plastic storage bag, with a small hole cut at one corner.
Last, but not least, Thick-Set is the most technical form of ganache.
This ratio has the least amount of liquid. The end result is a firm-setting chocolate that is great for fillings and is what I use to seal and crumb coat chocolate-based cakes.
Mili’s Thick Firm-Setting Chocolate Ganache
Ingredients
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream For vegan, try a non-dairy milk that has approximately the same fat percentage as the dairy version.
- 2 1/2 cups chocolate chips This ratio is only for real chocolate – not white chocolate. I tend to use a combination of dark and semi sweet chips, that do not have soy additives.
Instructions
- Place chocolate chips in a large bowl.
- In a saucepan, heat one cup of heavy whipping cream, at medium heat, until you see bubbles along the edge of the cream.
- Remove heavy cream from heat, and pour strait onto the top of the chocolate chips. Allow to sit untouched for 30 to 60 seconds.
- Whisk by hand constantly, until the chocolate has melted and you have a smooth ganache. This process will take no more than two minutes.
- Allow it to cool a bit by placing plastic wrap over the top and having it out at room temperature. In an hour or so – once whatever you have baked has completely cooled, you'll be ready to work with it with a piping bag.
- Allow it to come to room temperature before storing in the refrigerator. For up to 5 days, you can spoon amounts into a glass bowl and re-heat when you want to use it for topping ice cream or piping as filling into more desserts.
A couple notes since there may be questions… Ganache is not tempered in a way that sets hard and to the touch like the chocolate preparation methods used to dip strawberries and pretzels. The ganache methods I shared in this post are for use with only milk, semi sweet, or dark chocolate varieties. The same recipe ratios will not apply for making white chocolate ganache.
So there you have it: all three ganache methods in one place. Hope you enjoy them!
