This chocolate ganache recipe is 8 ounces (225 g) of chopped semi-sweet or dark chocolate melted into 1 cup (240 ml) of hot heavy cream, with a spoonful of butter for shine if you like. It takes 10 minutes to make and up to an hour to cool, and it gives you a little under 2 cups. Pour it warm as icing, spread it once it thickens, or chill it firm and roll truffles.
The whole trick is patience at two moments. Let the hot cream sit on the chocolate for 3 to 4 minutes before you touch it. Then stir slowly from the center. Rush either one and the ganache turns grainy or oily.
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Try the Recipe Converter →What Goes Into Ganache, in Numbers
- Ratio: about 1 to 1 by weight, 225 g chocolate to 240 ml cream
- Chocolate: semi-sweet or dark, ideally 60 to 70% cocoa, chopped from a bar
- Cream: heavy cream, heated only until it starts to simmer at the edges
- Optional: 1 tablespoon unsalted butter for shine, 1 teaspoon vanilla for flavor
- Time: 10 minutes hands-on, about 1 hour to cool to a spreadable texture
- Makes: a little under 2 cups, enough to glaze or frost one 8 or 9 inch cake
Chopped Bar or Chocolate Chips?
Use a bar and chop it yourself. Chips are made to hold their shape in a hot oven, and many brands add stabilizers that resist melting. In ganache that shows up as a thicker, slightly dull mixture with tiny specks that never quite melt. Chips will still work if they are all you have. Expect a thicker result and stir a little longer.
Chop the bar fine, to the size of peas or smaller. Big chunks stay solid in the middle after the cream has cooled around them, and then you are tempted to reheat, which is where most ganache trouble starts.
For flavor, I like 60 to 70% cocoa. Below that, the ganache tastes sweet and sets softer. Above 70%, the extra cocoa solids make it firmer and more bitter, and at a 1 to 1 ratio it can look grainy, so add a spoonful more cream if you go darker.
Hot Cream, Then Hands Off for 3 to 4 Minutes
Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it steams and small bubbles appear around the edge. Pull it off the heat right then. A full boil drives off water and can push the fat out of the mixture, which is how an oily, split ganache begins.
Pour the cream over the chocolate so every piece is covered, and leave the bowl alone for 3 to 4 minutes. The heat needs that time to reach the center of each piece. Stir too soon and you cool the cream down before the chocolate has melted.
Stirring for Shine Instead of Air
Start in the middle with a spatula or whisk, using small circles. For the first minute it looks streaky and thin, almost broken. Keep going. A dark, glossy patch forms in the center and spreads outward as you widen the circles. That shine means the cocoa butter and the cream have come together into a smooth emulsion.
Stir, but never whip. Air bubbles dull the surface and leave pinholes in a poured glaze. Once it is smooth, stir in the butter and vanilla if you are using them. The butter gives a softer, mirror-like shine and a silkier feel on the tongue, and the vanilla rounds off a very bitter chocolate.
Pour, Spread or Scoop: Timing the Cool-Down
The same bowl does three jobs. Only the temperature changes.
- Pourable: use it warm, 10 to 15 minutes after stirring, when it coats a spoon and falls off in a thick ribbon. This is the stage for topping a chocolate pie, glazing a cake or dipping strawberries.
- Spreadable: left at room temperature for about an hour, it thickens to the texture of soft peanut butter. Spread it over a cake, a pan of brownies or a loaf of chocolate zucchini bread.
- Scoopable: chilled until completely cold and firm, it scoops and rolls into soft truffles. Work with cold hands and keep them chilled. For firmer, rich centers, my creamy chocolate truffles use their own recipe.
Chocolate Ganache Icing for Cakes and Cupcakes
Chocolate ganache icing is this ganache at the pourable stage. Chill the cake first so the ganache starts to set on contact, then set it on a rack over a tray. Pour the warm ganache into the center of the top and nudge it toward the edges with an offset spatula so it runs down the sides on its own.
For drips, test one on the side of a cold cake before you commit. If it races to the board, wait 5 minutes and try again. Cupcakes are even simpler: dip each top straight into the bowl, lift, and turn it upright with a small twist. A thin glaze sets to the touch in about 30 minutes at room temperature.
If you want icing you can pipe, cool the ganache and beat it into the whipped version in my chocolate ganache frosting. For tall swirls on cupcakes, a buttercream style chocolate frosting gives more height.
White Chocolate Ganache: Change the Ratio, Keep the Method
White chocolate has no cocoa solids, only cocoa butter, sugar and milk solids. It sets far softer than dark chocolate, so made at this 1 to 1 ratio it stays a sauce even after a night in the fridge. For a white chocolate ganache that holds on a cake, use about 3 parts white chocolate to 1 part cream by weight: 12 ounces (340 g) of white chocolate to ½ cup (120 ml) of cream.
Two more changes help. Heat the cream only until it steams, because white chocolate scorches and turns grainy at a lower temperature than dark. Chop it very fine, too, since there is less hot cream to melt it. The full white version, with timings for filling and covering a cake, is in my white chocolate ganache filling.
Rescuing Split, Lumpy or Runny Ganache
- Oily or split, with fat pooling on top: the cream was too hot or the mixture got overworked. Stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons of warm cream, slowly, from the center outward, until it pulls back into a glossy mass.
- Lumps that will not melt: warm it in 5 to 10 second bursts at 50% power, or over barely simmering water, stirring between each one.
- Still runny after an hour: give it time in the fridge, since it firms as it cools. If it stays loose, melt in 1 to 2 ounces more chopped chocolate.
- Dull and streaky: it was whipped or cooled unevenly. Warm it gently and stir slowly until the shine comes back.
Keeping Ganache in the Fridge or Freezer
Press plastic wrap right onto the surface so it does not form a skin, seal the container and refrigerate it for up to 5 days. It sets hard when cold. Let it come to room temperature, then warm it for a few seconds at 50% power and stir gently.
Ganache also freezes. I have kept it in an airtight container for up to a month. Thaw it overnight in the fridge, then stir until smooth. Do not rush the thaw with high heat, because a sudden jump in temperature can split it.
More Ways to Use a Bowl of Ganache
Warm ganache is the topping on my chocolate mousse cake and a natural fit for a chocolate raspberry tart or a tray of chocolate eclairs. Cooled truffles taste good rolled in crushed chocolate covered pretzels for crunch.
Small leftovers rarely go to waste here. I dip strawberries, banana slices or pear into the warm bowl, swirl a spoonful into morning oatmeal, or drizzle it over pancakes. My favorite is ganache on toast with a pinch of sea salt. And the last tablespoon gets eaten cold from the jar.
What Bakers Ask About Ganache
What is ganache made of?
Chocolate and heavy cream. This recipe uses 8 oz (225 g) of semi-sweet or dark chocolate and 1 cup (240 ml) of cream, with butter and vanilla as optional extras.
How do I make ganache shiny?
Do not boil the cream, stir slowly instead of whisking hard, and stir in 1 tablespoon of butter at the end. Pour it while it is still warm for the glossiest finish.
Can I use milk instead of heavy cream?
Not with good results. Milk has too little fat, so the ganache stays thin and is more likely to split. Use heavy cream.
Chocolate Ganache Recipe
This chocolate ganache recipe is a smooth, glossy mix of 8 oz of chopped semi-sweet or dark chocolate and 1 cup of hot heavy cream, with optional butter for shine and vanilla for flavor. It takes 10 minutes to make plus up to an hour to cool, and makes a little under 2 cups. Letting the hot cream sit on the chocolate for 3 to 4 minutes before stirring slowly from the center keeps it silky instead of grainy. Use it warm as chocolate ganache icing for cakes and cupcakes, thickened as a spreadable frosting, or chilled for truffles, tarts and fruit dipping. For white chocolate ganache, use about 3 parts white chocolate to 1 part cream. It keeps 5 days in the fridge or 1 month frozen.
Ingredients
- 8 oz (225g) semi-sweet or dark chocolate, finely chopped
- 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter (optional, for shine)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional, for flavor)
Instructions
- CHOP THE CHOCOLATE: Use a sharp knife to finely chop the chocolate into small, uniform pieces and place them in a heat-safe bowl. Smaller pieces melt more evenly and quickly.
- HEAT THE CREAM: In a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream over medium heat until it just begins to simmer. Do not allow it to boil, as boiling can cause the cream to separate.
- POUR AND WAIT: Immediately pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate. Let the mixture sit without stirring for 3 to 4 minutes to allow the heat to begin melting the chocolate gently.
- STIR UNTIL SMOOTH: Using a rubber spatula or a whisk, slowly stir the ganache starting from the center and working outward in small circles until the mixture is completely smooth and glossy. If using, add the butter or vanilla extract and stir until fully incorporated.
- COOL OR USE: For a pourable ganache, let it cool slightly and use while still warm. For a spreadable consistency, allow it to cool at room temperature or refrigerate until thickened. For truffle filling, refrigerate until fully firm, then scoop and roll as needed.
Notes
Chop a chocolate bar finely; bars melt more smoothly than chips. Heat the cream only until it begins to simmer, since boiling can split the ganache. Wait 3 to 4 minutes before stirring, then stir slowly from the center without whipping in air. For pouring, use it warm; for spreading, let it cool at room temperature for about 1 hour; for truffles, chill until firm. If it splits or looks oily, stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons of warm cream from the center. White chocolate needs about 3 parts chocolate to 1 part cream by weight. Store sealed in the fridge for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 1 month and thaw overnight in the fridge.
