Ganache

Ganache is a great coating or frosting for cakes, cupcakes and brownies, even broccoli, okay maybe not, but it is really good. This recipe makes enough to coat two 9 inch cakes or two pans of brownies. Leftover ganache is great for making truffles.

Ingredients:
  • 16 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped or in chips
  • 1 ½ cup heavy cream
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons cognac or brandy (optional if making this for an adult dessert)
Directions:
  1. Put the chopped chocolate or chocolate chips into a heat proof bowl and set aside.
  2. In a small sauce pan, heat the cream and butter until it just comes to a boil.
  3. Pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate right away and let stand for 3-5 minutes to melt the chocolate.
  4. Whisk the chocolate and cream together until smooth. Add the liquor, if using and stir in.
To Cover a Cake or Brownies:
Note: Make sure whatever you are covering is cold before you cover it with the ganache. This way the ganache will not dull when stored in the refrigerator.
  1. Brush any loose crumbs from the cake the place it onto a wire rack. Put the wire rack on a baking sheet to catch all the drips.
  2. Using a cake spatula or butter knife, cover the sides and top of the cake with about 2 tablespoons ganache. This prevents crumbs from showing up in the finished product. You don’t have to do this with brownies. Refrigerate the cake for 5 minutes to set the ganache.
  3. To finish covering the cake, pour the remaining ganache into the center of the cake and gently work it over the sides with a spatula covering the entire cake surface. If there are bare spots, use more ganache to cover.
Tip: Strain the leftover ganache to remove all the air bubbles and crumbs and continue working. Reheat the ganache gently over a double boiler if it is starting to set. Use the leftover, strained ganache to make truffles.