Photo: Institute of Culinary Education
The Institute of Culinary Education is one of the largest culinary schools in the world, offering both professional and recreational programs in New York City. Here, ChefJenny McCoy, chef instructor in their School ofPastry & Baking ArtsgivesPEOPLEher insight into the technique behind chocolate ganache. From glazing cakes to making truffles, ganache is a versatile recipe that will keep your pastries delicious year round!
Ganache—which calls for only two ingredients, heavy cream and bittersweet chocolate—is one of the easiest and most fundamental recipes in a pastry chef’s repertoire. Chop chocolate finely, add hot heavy cream, mix them together and voilà, you’re done! While the concept for ganache is quite simple, there are a few basic principles you should know. Once mastered, you’ll find that the uses for ganache are nearly endless, providing plenty of room for creativity in the kitchen.
Institute of Culinary Education
The Golden Ratios
The ratios listed below are for bittersweet chocolate, not for milk or white chocolate. Milk and white chocolate have a lot of added sugar and/or milk, which means they react in an entirely different way.
Choose Your Ingredients
The type of bittersweet chocolate you choose will have a direct effect on the texture and flavor of your ganache. Typically, the more simple a recipe is, the more important it is that you use the best quality ingredients you can find.Fine chocolates, like wine, have a variety of subtle and bold flavors layered within them. Some chocolate might have a bright and fruity flavor while others might have an earthy or smoky flavor. Considering these subtle flavor qualities will make a big difference—particularly if you plan to make truffles, which are essentially a single bite of ganache.
You should also consider the cocoa percentage in the chocolate used. The higher the percentage, the more cocoa solids are present in the chocolate. A higher percentage essentially indicates that less sugar is in the chocolate and vice versa for chocolate with lower percentages. These percentages will affect the texture of your ganache. Like eating a bar of intense 80%chocolateversus a bar of 60% cocoa, the texture of a ganache made with darker chocolate will be more firm, whereas ganache made with lighter chocolate will be softer. Scientifically, this is because added sugar softens chocolate and acts like a liquid when chocolate melts.
Key Techniques
There are a few key guidelines for preparing ganache, all of which are very easy to follow.
Add Extra Flavor
Ganache can be flavored with just about anything! Here are a few methods for developing your signature recipe.
With these guidelines in mind, it’s up to you to experiment and discover what ganache preparations you like best. Try using a whisk and a spatula. Infuse flavor into your cream. Or simply play around with the ratio of chocolate to cream. Take copious notes when you do! You never know when you’ll make a batch that comes outjust right.
source: people.com
