Ganache (; ) is a glaze, icing,

sauce In cooking, a sauce is a liquid, cream, or semi-solid food, served on or used in preparing other foods. Most sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to a dish. ''Sauce'' is a French word t ...

, or

filling Filling may refer to: * a food mixture used for stuffing * Frosting used between layers of a cake * Dental restoration * Symplectic filling, a kind of cobordism in mathematics * Part of the leather crusting process See also * Fill (disambiguati ...

for

pastries Pastry is baked food made with a dough of flour, water and shortening (solid fats, including butter or lard) that may be savoury or sweetened. Sweetened pastries are often described as '' bakers' confectionery''. The word "pastries" suggests ...

, made from

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civ ...

and

cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

Preparation

Ganache is a chocolate preparation, normally made by heating equal parts by weight of cream and chopped chocolate, warming the cream first, then pouring it over the chocolate. The mixture is then typically left to rest for a short period (between 3 and 10 minutes generally, dependent on volume) before it is stirred or blended until smooth, with

liqueur A liqueur (; ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-aged beyond ...

s or

extract An extract is a substance made by extracting a part of a raw material, often by using a solvent such as ethanol, oil or water. Extracts may be sold as tinctures, absolutes or in powder form. The aromatic principles of many spices, nuts, h ...

s added if desired. The resting period allows the hot cream to increase the temperature of the bowl and its contents. If one were to blend immediately this would introduce air reducing the temperature and preventing the chocolate from melting consistently. Butter is generally added to give the ganache a shiny appearance and smooth texture. Adding corn syrup also gives it a shiny color and is used to sweeten the ganache without the crystallization side effect that comes from other sugars. Depending on the kind of chocolate used, for what purpose the ganache is intended, and the temperature at which it will be served, the ratio of chocolate to cream is varied to obtain the desired consistency. Typically, two parts chocolate to one part cream are used for filling cakes or as a base for making

chocolate truffle A chocolate truffle is a type of chocolate confectionery, traditionally made with a chocolate ganache centre coated in chocolate, cocoa powder, coconut, or chopped and toasted nuts (typically hazelnuts or almonds), usually in a spherical, conica ...

s, while one to one is commonly used as a glaze. If using white chocolate, a ratio of 3 parts chocolate to 1 part cream is standard. Heavy whipping cream is generally preferred, to make a creamier, thicker ganache. This pairs well with dark chocolate between 60 and 82%. If the chocolate should seize while being mixed with the warm cream, adding tablespoon by tablespoon of hot water to the mixture can remedy the problem. Cooled ganache can be whipped to increase volume and spread as icing to cover a

cake Cake is a flour confection made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients, and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elaborate, ...

. It becomes thicker as it cools. Ganache is also poured into a mold or terrine while warm, and allowed to set or cool. Once cool, it can be removed from the mold and sliced similarly to

pâté ''Pâté'' ( , , ) is a paste, pie or loaf filled with a forcemeat. Common forcemeats include ground meat from pork, poultry, fish or beef; fat, vegetables, herbs, spices and either wine or brandy (often cognac or armagnac). It is often served ...

History

It is said that ganache was originally invented in the 1850s in France during an accident in which water was poured over chocolate. Ganache or ''crème ganache'' was originally a kind of

introduced by the Paris playwright-turned-confectioner

Paul Siraudin Pierre-Paul-Désiré Siraudin (18 December 1812 – 8 September 1883) was a French playwright and librettist. He also used the pen names Paul de Siraudin de Sancy, Paul Siraudin de Sancy and M. Malperché. Biography He wrote many plays, mai ...

, and first documented in 1869.'Jeanne', "Correspondance: Jeanne à Florence", ''Journal des Demoiselles'' 37''
27
(1869) Siraudin named the sweet after a popular

Vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

comedy debuted in that year by his contemporary

Victorien Sardou Victorien Sardou ( , ; 5 September 18318 November 1908) was a French dramatist. He is best remembered today for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, of the well-made play. He also wrote several plays that were made into popular 19th-centur ...

called ''Les Ganaches'' ("The Chumps").''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...

'' 3rd edition online, 2015
''s.v.''

Gallery

File:Blueberry Papaya Cucumber Juice and Chocolate Cake with Ganache 1.jpg, Ganache being poured atop a cake File:PBfudge ganache.jpg,

Peanut butter Peanut butter is a food paste or spread made from ground, dry-roasted peanuts. It commonly contains additional ingredients that modify the taste or texture, such as salt, sweeteners, or emulsifiers. Peanut butter is consumed in many countri ...

fudge Fudge is a type of confection that is made by mixing sugar, butter and milk, heating it to the soft-ball stage at , and then beating the mixture while it cools so that it acquires a smooth, creamy consistency. In texture, this crystalline cand ...

covered in ganache File:Chocolate cake with ganache frosting.jpg, A chocolate cake with ganache frosting File:Ganache.ogg, A video of making ganache File:00 Ganaché de chocolate.jpg, Shiny appearance of ganache

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ganache Chocolate Food ingredients French cuisine Articles containing video clips