Ganache Icings

As a chocolatier who's main product is truffles, I use a lot of ganache. I mean a lot! Ganache is wonderful, I love it. It can do and be a variety of things AND it tastes delicious. What is not to love?!

Lately I've been playing around with whipped ganache. I have always been afraid to whip my ganache because of how it might set up. Even though ganache is wonderful and can be used for a variety of things, it is also finicky and moody. I have had enough problems with it in the past, that I have decided not to chance going the whipped route. That is, until I became super curious. So one fine day I took my ganache and gave it a good whip! What do you know, it actually worked, nothing funky happened to it. So now I am a believer in a good whipped ganache icing.

When making a cake/cupcakes, regular icing is always a tasty and safe route to go, but why not try using ganache next time? It is a rich chocolatey alternative to a sugary icing. You can easily make one ganache and have two different icing types. There is the glaze type, and the whipped type. Both are very easy.

When making a ganache icing, there is usually a 1:1 ratio of chocolate to cream. This makes it nice and pliable for pouring onto cakes, or whipping into a texture that can be piped onto cakes. Below is a good recipe for ganache icing:

Ganache Icing:
(makes about 4 cups)
-2 cups bittersweet chocolate (chopped finely)
-2 cups heavy whipping cream

Place the finely chopped chocolate into a bowl. Bring the cream to a boil and take it off the heat. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it sit without stirring for a few minutes. Then, stir with a whisk until smooth. (Be careful not to stir too much or too fast.)

At this point you have a glaze ganache. You can either pour it over your cake/cupcakes, or you can go the whipped route instead. For a whipped ganache, you will need to put the completed ganache into the refrigerator until it has cooled, but not solidified. (about 45 minutes) When the ganache is cool, whip it with a mixer until soft peaks form. Now it is ready to be piped onto your cake/cupcake, or you can use a knife or spatula to wipe it on for a different look.

And there you go, two different ganache icings from just one recipe!