Frank's Recipes! How To Make Ganache Page 2

Ganache recipes often call for pasteurized heavy cream; ultrapasteurized cream, the type most commonly available at the supermarket, can have a caramelized taste, so seek out pasteurized cream if you wish to avoid this. Since heavy cream is approximately 35 percent butterfat, combining it with chocolate that has a high cocoa-butter content yields a mixture that, depending upon the chocolate, may feel too oily. Once you're comfortable working with ganache, you can try mixing heavy cream with half-and-half to bring down the fat content.

The chocolate must first be chopped into small pieces, so that it will melt evenly. If you leave it in large chunks, the outside surface will melt long before the center begins to soften, and the melted portion will stay hot too long which can ruin it. Use a heavy serrated knife (or a chocolate chopper) to shave off shards of chocolate; these can then be chopped again with the knife, or transferred to a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulsed briefly; be careful not to let the chocolate melt in the processor bowl.

Next, the hot cream is poured onto the chocolate (some cooks prefer to pour the chocolate onto the cream), and the two are gradually blended by stirring. Treat this process as gently as you would a mayonnaise, incorporating the cream into the chocolate steadily, without over-working. The molten chocolate and cream will blend slowly, and then become smooth and glossy: This glossiness is a good sign that the suspension is stable. But don't mix your ganache for too long or you will drive the cocoa solids out of suspension and wind up with a dull, gray, grainy mess - a "curdled" ganache. There are a variety of tricks for fixing a separated ganache. The whole batch can be put into a food processor and whirled for a few seconds, for example. Other methods include mixing in a couple of tablespoons of hot cream or whisking the broken ganache with the whisk submerged (so that no air is incorporated).

Flavorings can be added at several points in the process. Some herbs and spices (like rosemary, lavender, and fennel seeds) can't be used whole; their textures would spoil a satiny ganache. These should be infused into the cream after it is heated, then strained out before it is poured onto the chocolate. Or try the method preferred at Bouley for many of their flavored ganaches: cold infusion, where the ingredients is ground or chopped and blended with cold cream, then allowed to sit overnight. This modern technique, used with mint, Earl Grey tea leaves, and coffee beans, is believed to eliminate bitter flavors that may develop during traditional hot infusion. Liquid flavorings, like fruit purées, liqueurs, and alcohol-based essences like vanilla extract, should be added to the warm blended ganache; their flavors would be altered by the hot cream.

To the chocolate lover, however, flavorings are beside the point. A pure, plain ganache is luxury enough. There is no compromise, no adulteration, only the welcoming acquiescence of cream-softened chocolate.

NEXT : HOW TO MAKE GANACHE (STEP-BY-STEP) >>
PAGE 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Cooking Hints and Tips