Dark Chocolate Ganache
Aug 12, 2020, Updated Feb 23, 2022
Ganache: frost a cake, top on ice cream, roll into truffles, eat with a spoon. Ganache is simply liquid chocolate thickened with cream.
Growing up, spoiled me would get a homemade birthday cake every year. My parents would ask me what kind of cake I wanted, and although I’d change up the cake flavor, the frosting was always “chocolate ganache.”
Here’s how I eat my ganache in every season (because I love it so much). Spring: roll ganache into chocolate truffles. Summer: top on ice cream. Fall: cake, cake, cake on my b-day! Winter: heat ganache in the microwave until warm and consume via large spoon.
Makes: about 1.5 cups of ganache (double the recipe to frost a layer cake!)
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 0 minutes
Total time: 5 minutes
The Ingredients
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy whipping cream
Optional: 1 tablespoon melted butter for extra richness and a glossy finish. Do not add butter for truffles. You want stiff, not soft, ganache!
The Steps
In a microwave safe bowl, add chocolate chips. Microwave chocolate until melted, stirring every 30 seconds to ensure chocolate doesn’t burn.
Once chocolate is microwaved, add heavy cream. Stirring vigorously until cream is completely incorporated and chocolate returns to its dark color. You may need to microwave ganache for an additional 30 seconds after mixing in cream if cream is cold and starts to solidify chocolate! Add melted butter (optional).
For frosting: allow ganache to sit out at room temp for 30 minutes before frosting.
For truffles: refrigerate ganache for at least an hour. Use a spoon or ice cream scoop to portion out a ball of chocolate and roll chocolate in cool hands.
For molten chocolate sauce: heat in microwave until chocolate softens, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
For storage: keep in refrigerator for up to one week!
Steps with Pictures
In a microwave safe bowl, add chocolate chips. Microwave chocolate until melted, stirring every 30 seconds to ensure chocolate doesn’t burn.
Once chocolate is microwaved, add heavy cream. Stirring vigorously until cream is completely incorporated and chocolate returns to its dark color. You may need to microwave ganache for an additional 30 seconds after mixing in cream if cream is cold and starts to solidify chocolate! Add melted butter (optional).
For frosting: allow ganache to sit out at room temp for 30 minutes before frosting.
For truffles: refrigerate ganache for at least an hour. Use a spoon or ice cream scoop to portion out a ball of chocolate and roll chocolate in cool hands.
For molten chocolate sauce: heat in microwave until chocolate softens, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
For storage: keep in refrigerator for up to one week!