Ingredients:
8 oz. of chocolate (dark, milk, or white, whatever you prefer)
8 fl. oz. heavy cream
| Chop the chocolate into chocolate chip sized pieces, or smaller, so that later it will melt quickly and evenly, and place it in a bowl. Yes, you may use your food processor to do this. |
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| Pour the cream into a small pot. |
At this point you can add ingredients to infuse the cream and flavor the finished ganache, like ground coffee, tea leaves, peppermint leaves, ginger, cinnamon sticks, or citrus zest, if you'd like. If you've added flavoring ingredients, boil the cream, remove it from the heat and let it cool and steep. Strain it. Now put it back on the heat. |
| Heat the cream to a simmer ‚ just before it starts to boil. |
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| Remove the cream from the heat. Immediately pour the hot cream over the chocolate. |
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| Let it sit 30 seconds, then gently stir the mixture (don't beat it) with a whisk until it's smooth. Try not to introduce any air bubbles. |
You may stir in a tablespoon of liqueur to flavor it if you like. |
| Now you have ganache. It will still be rather hot and runny. |
At this point it makes a great sauce for ice cream or fruit, or a quick and easy chocolate fondue. |
| Let it sit at room temperature and it will cool and thicken. |
Your ganache should be smooth and glossy. If, by some chance, it looks a bit dull and a little curdled, your cream was most likely too hot. It will still taste fine, and thicken properly, it just won't be as pretty. If appearances are important to you, let it thicken enough to spread with a knife and use it as a sandwich filling for cookies. A spoonful or two also makes a wonderfully decadent addition to an otherwise ordinary cup of cocoa. Or you could make it into a flourless chocolate cake. |
| Eventually it will thicken enough to pour without running into a puddle on the plate. |
Now you can use it as a thick, rich, glaze for cakes, or you can pour it into pre-baked tart shells to make chocolate tarts. A friend tells me a quarter cup of seedless raspberry jam stirred into the ganache before pouring makes them especially delicious. |
| When the ganache has thickened completely it will be firm and spreadable. |
You can now use it to fill those cookies. |
| Pop it into the refrigerator for a couple of hours until it is cold and firm. |
Scoop out spoonfuls, roll them into balls, roll the balls in cocoa powder, and you have chocolate truffles. For variety, try rolling the ganache balls around a center of marzipan, a toasted almond or hazelnut, or a well drained cherry. (If you do intend to use the ganache for truffles, a couple of tablespoons of softened butter stirred into the room temperature ganache will make them richer and more unctuous.) At this point the ganache can also be whipped and used as a cake filling. For a lighter, airier filling make your ganache with 2 cups of cream per 8 ounces of chocolate. Do it by hand, with a whisk. It whips up quickly, and overwhips even faster. |
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