Working with Chocolate Ganache

Great question Laura I will be interested in any responses as I would also like to try ganache rather than buttercream to achieve sharper edges xx

Hi Laura,

We’ve been using chocolate ganache for a couple of months so we’re not an expert but have learnt from watching Paul Bradford (www.designer-cakes.com). You shouldn’t have to fridge the cake as once its set unless the temperature is very hot it should stay set. Depending on what ganache you use you should only need to fridge the cake for an hour, if at all. All will set out the fridge. Dark chocolate sets very quickly whereas milk and white take quite a bit longer so do tend to need fridging. When covering in fondant, you just wait till its set and the natural moisture should stick the fondant. If you have any probs sticking the icing if u just rub the ganache with a palette knife it disturbs it making the fondant stick. Ive only used ganache a few times but I prefer using it to buttercream as so versatile plus a nice flavour. Most of the cakes we’ve posted recently are ganached cakes covered in fondant (spiderman, peppa pig). As I said Im not an expert and only know what Ive learnt through that website and experience but hope this helps xx

Hi Laura, Ganached cake can stay out of the fridge 3-4 days (in room temperature), but it’s depend of your filling of the cake…I always put on the fridge all my cake because we are here (Italy) always use fresh cream as a filling for the cake. Until now I don’t find disadvantage of using chocolate ganache….
You can put ganached cake (chocolate ganache not white choco) around 15-30 min before put the fondant ….it’s depend on your fridge if it’s really cool or not…just check when it set than it’s ready to cover with fondant. Hope I can help you :)

Thank you so much for the help and advice!!
I truly appreciate it, I’m pretty sure my next cake will have
chocolate ganache now!! Xx

You will got all your answers here :
https://www.youtube.com/user/InspiredByMichelle

I have recently started to use ganache and I love the finish it gives. I haven’t found any disadvantages yet….except that it tastes so much nicer and you tend to “test” it more :)

I use ganache for 90% of my cakes. Dark and milk chocolate is a ratio of 2/1 with white chocolate being 3/1. I heat my cream until just boiling then add my chocolate in, stir until well combined and smooth. Make sure it’s off the heat! Then I cover with a clean towel and let sit for several hours at room temperature, no stirring!!! Once it’s set I give it a whip up with a knife and it’s good to go, should be a toothpaste like consistency. I never set my ganache in the fridge, I find it hard to bring back to a working consistency. But if I have to make it in advance, I bring it back to temp with short burst in the microwave.
Once your cake is ganached, it will safely keep out of the fridge for a 4-5 days. Once you put fondant on and it’s sealed, it will stay fresh for weeks, as long as you have not used fresh cream in between your layers! I usually ganache between the layers too.
I always ganache, then let the cake sit overnight, at room temperature to properly set the chocolate before covering in fondant. To get the fondant to stick, I dip a pastry brush in hot water and brush all over the ganache.
As a general rule, my cakes never see the inside of a fridge :-)
Ganache is pretty much all we use in Australia, I am trying to master buttercream!

Hi Laura!!

I use ganache in all my cakes as opposed to buttercream and it’s fantastic to work with and tastes awesome!

Just ensure your ganache has set to a peanut butter consistency before applying to your cake; you don’t want it too runny or too hard (or it will tear your cake apart). I generally leave it out on the bench overnight to set or stick it in the fridge a little to harden up. If it goes too hard, you can microwave for 5-10 second bursts to soften.

You don’t need to fridge the cake after it’s ganached unless perishable fillings are added (e.g. fresh fruit) or you need to firm it up a little. Just keep in mind that if the cake has been in the fridge and you then cover it immediately with fondant, condensation may form. When the cake comes out of the fridge, just allow it to come back to room temperature before touching it and covering with fondant and it will go back to normal. That should also help ensure you don’t have lots of air bubbles.

I’ve kept ganache out of the fridge for a few days before and it’s fine (I live in Syd, Australia) – since the cream is brought to boiling point when you initially make ganache, that stabilizes the cream so it’s no longer considered an item that needs to be refrigerated.

It really is fantastic to work with and very easy to make. I’ve only had white chocolate split on me once (the cream was too hot) but otherwise I’ll continue to use it for all my cakes.

I agree with Hajnalka, Inspired by Michelle has some fantastic video’s that will help you out immensly and there’s some good notes on the Sharon Wee Creations blog :

http://weelovebaking.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/the-low-down-on-ganache-guest-post.html

Sorry to have written an essay (this is my first post on here!), hope this helps a little :)

Thank you all so so much for all the help!!
I can finally use Chocolate Ganache in my cakes!! Xx

Thanks Laura for posting this. I am about to embark on making chocolate ganache for the first time also, and just searched the forums and saw this. So many helpful tips. Since it’s been a year since you posted this, how do you like using chocolate ganache. Any tips you can add?