Ganache: Tips, Techniques & Troubleshooting

[MikanPotatos]

@pastrygirl@Jim D.Yes the goal is to keep the original fruit flavor as much as possible. I did not enjoy some of the fillings I made when I had to dilute it with cream/white chocolate.

 

Ill explore the pate de fruit and pdf guide that has recipes for fruit fillings, thank you.

[pastrygirl]

35 minutes ago, MikanPotatos said:

Yes the goal is to keep the original fruit flavor as much as possible. I did not enjoy some of the fillings I made when I had to dilute it with cream/white chocolate.

 

What did you use to flavor them?

 

Do look at Valrhona, the raspberry and yuzu are particularly intense. 

[Vojta]

On 5/18/2021 at 4:40 AM, MikanPotatos said:

Does anyone have any advice when creating a ganache with sour flavors such as fruit and you dont want to combine it with cream and chocolate. How would you be able to make a filling thick enough for it to be piped into a shell.

I agree with Jim. If you don't want cream, nor chocolate it's no longer a ganache. You could try to make a fruit 'ganache' from fruit puree with cocoa butter (and sugar) with the help of an emulsifier. Your best option is to make pate de fruit (PDF), which you can make both liquid and solid. Or fruit gel or syrup. Usually PDF is made solid into frames, then cut, then enrobed.

[Kerry Beal]

On 5/17/2021 at 10:40 PM, MikanPotatos said:

Does anyone have any advice when creating a ganache with sour flavors such as fruit and you dont want to combine it with cream and chocolate. How would you be able to make a filling thick enough for it to be piped into a shell.

How about a buttercream filling

 

[Jim D.]

I make a filling that aims to mimic the tastes and texture of crème brûlée.  To get the crunch, I make a caramel (just sugar and water), let it harden, then grind it in a small food processor.  I put a 1/2 tsp. or so in the bottom of each cavity, then cover it with melted chocolate (with a little coconut oil to keep it from hardening too much).  On top of that I add a vanilla butter ganache (Greweling's eggnog but with no nutmeg or rum, just more vanilla).  The issue is the caramel bits.  In my notes on this recipe, I say sternly, "Don't attempt this on a humid day."  But recently it seems, regardless of the humidity, the ground caramel sticks together and forms a more or less solid mass in the bottom of the cavities before I can seal it with the white chocolate.  It makes for a less than ideal mouthfeel, more chewy than crunchy.  Can anyone think of something that might keep the bits separate?  Confectioner's sugar maybe?  I tried it, and it made a mess.  Am I simply limited to making this only in the dead of winter when the humidity is something like 30%?

[Kerry Beal]

22 minutes ago, Jim D. said:

I make a filling that aims to mimic the tastes and texture of crème brûlée.  To get the crunch, I make a caramel (just sugar and water), let it harden, then grind it in a small food processor.  I put a 1/2 tsp. or so in the bottom of each cavity, then cover it with melted chocolate (with a little coconut oil to keep it from hardening too much).  On top of that I add a vanilla butter ganache (Greweling's eggnog but with no nutmeg or rum, just more vanilla).  The issue is the caramel bits.  In my notes on this recipe, I say sternly, "Don't attempt this on a humid day."  But recently it seems, regardless of the humidity, the ground caramel sticks together and forms a more or less solid mass in the bottom of the cavities before I can seal it with the white chocolate.  It makes for a less than ideal mouthfeel, more chewy than crunchy.  Can anyone think of something that might keep the bits separate?  Confectioner's sugar maybe?  I tried it, and it made a mess.  Am I simply limited to making this only in the dead of winter when the humidity is something like 30%?

Spread out and spray with plain cocoa butter?

[Jim D.]

14 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

Spread out and spray with plain cocoa butter?

 

Good idea.  It would be a mess, but part of what we do for our art!  Thanks.

[jbates]

5 hours ago, Jim D. said:

 

Good idea.  It would be a mess, but part of what we do for our art!  Thanks.

What I've done for pop rocks is to put the pieces in a fine sieve and pour thinned chocolate over the top. Shake it around while the chocolate sets up.

 

I'm sure caramel bits would work similarly.

[Jim D.]

8 hours ago, jbates said:

What I've done for pop rocks is to put the pieces in a fine sieve and pour thinned chocolate over the top. Shake it around while the chocolate sets up.

 

I'm sure caramel bits would work similarly.

 

That is an excellent idea.   Thank you.

[pastrygirl]

@Jim D. You could try adding fat to the caramel, making more of a butter crunch or English toffee. I think that would help. 

[Jim D.]

40 minutes ago, pastrygirl said:

@Jim D. You could try adding fat to the caramel, making more of a butter crunch or English toffee. I think that would help. 

 

Thanks, I'll look into those ideas.  I ate one of the crème brûlée bonbons.  Once the caramel bits and buttercream plus dark chocolate shell get into the mouth, it all melts together.  To my relief (since these bonbons were requested for a wedding), there is some crunch and not too much gumminess.  I can tell it isn't exactly what was intended, but I don't think most people will notice.  I have some time to explore this before I do it again.  Sometimes, I should add, it works beautifully.  Those times must have been in January or February!

[SweetSymphonybyM]

Does anybody have an idea on the shelf life of this tangerine jelly recipe for a bon bon from the world chocolate masters website?

[jbates]

16 hours ago, SweetSymphonybyM said:

Does anybody have an idea on the shelf life of this tangerine jelly recipe for a bon bon from the world chocolate masters website?

I suspect it won't be long, since the water in the purée is not being boiled out like in a jam. The acid might help though. I don't have access to a similar recipe with a known aW value that I could use as a reference either, unfortunately.

 

I'd suggest contacting your local university/college culinary school and asking if they have an aW meter. If so, make up a batch and let us know the result.

 

BTW got a link to the full recipe?

Edited March 13, 2022 by jbates (log)

[Kerry Beal]

Yeah - stuff made with Pectin NH is pretty soft. I can't run through Prochoc precisely because Pectin NH and gelatin are not an ingredient - but using regular pectin - this comes up with an Aw of 0.97 - about a 1 day shelf life. 

[pastrygirl]

Have we talked about fluidity anywhere? 

 

Now that I have an aW meter I've been working on my bonbon centers and trying to get them within a certain range.  I'm finding that my white and milk chocolate ganaches are more fluid at a given aW than my darks.  I'm guessing this is a function of higher sugar and milk fat?  If I get the dark ganaches down to a low enough aW, they are very thick and don't flow easily or level off in the mold at appropriate working temp. 

 

So, any insight on increasing fluidity in dark chocolate ganache without also increasing aW?  Is my dark chocolate too high fat?

[Altay.Oro]

18 hours ago, pastrygirl said:

Have we talked about fluidity anywhere? 

 

Now that I have an aW meter I've been working on my bonbon centers and trying to get them within a certain range.  I'm finding that my white and milk chocolate ganaches are more fluid at a given aW than my darks.  I'm guessing this is a function of higher sugar and milk fat?  If I get the dark ganaches down to a low enough aW, they are very thick and don't flow easily or level off in the mold at appropriate working temp. 

 

So, any insight on increasing fluidity in dark chocolate ganache without also increasing aW?  Is my dark chocolate too high fat?

 

With a little bit more sweetness, adding some sugar syrups - glucose, invert etc. - works ... and with added sugars, you may now add more cream or any other watery ingredient for additional fluidity without increasing aW ... approximately 1 unit of %35 cream with 3 units of glucose/invert would not change the original aW level.

 

Another solution would be to convert to a dark chocolate having a smaller cocoa solids percentage.

 

[pastrygirl]

11 hours ago, Altay.Oro said:

 

With a little bit more sweetness, adding some sugar syrups - glucose, invert etc. - works ... and with added sugars, you may now add more cream or any other watery ingredient for additional fluidity without increasing aW ... approximately 1 unit of %35 cream with 3 units of glucose/invert would not change the original aW level.

 

Another solution would be to convert to a dark chocolate having a smaller cocoa solids percentage.

 

thank you. I added a bunch more honey and tiny bit more cream to a dark chocolate earl grey ganache that’s been frustrating me, looks promising!

[Rajala]

I think I searched in this thread but couldn't find any hits. Did anyone ever tried making a ganache with Zéphyr Caramel or any other caramelized white chocolate other than Callebaut Gold? It gets so thick - must be something with the caramelized milk?

[Kerry Beal]

2 hours ago, Rajala said:

I think I searched in this thread but couldn't find any hits. Did anyone ever tried making a ganache with Zéphyr Caramel or any other caramelized white chocolate other than Callebaut Gold? It gets so thick - must be something with the caramelized milk?

I've made ganache with various caramelized white chocolates - including stuff I've caramelized myself. You have to add a lot of cocoa butter to get the right texture. Not noticed any particular issue with thickening, 

[Rajala]

9 hours ago, Kerry Beal said:

I've made ganache with various caramelized white chocolates - including stuff I've caramelized myself. You have to add a lot of cocoa butter to get the right texture. Not noticed any particular issue with thickening, 

 

I'll try some extra cocoa butter next time. It actually went well in the end - the ganache were more like a caramel in its viscosity, but it leveled out in my shells on its own in the end.

[pastrygirl]

Anyone have success with vegan ganaches they'd like to share? 

 

I just confirmed a large custom order and promised them two vegan, nut-free flavors.  I've played around a bit before but nothing made it into production.  I'm thinking one dark chocolate with olive oil and salt or salted caramel and one strawberry or raspberry inspiration, maybe with oat milk and extra cocoa butter?  Maybe I could do something with vegan marshmallows? 

[mmlstarr]

Question about inverted sugars: I have a recipe for ganache: 200g chocolate, 300g cream, and a tbsp of inverted sugar (maple syrup, honey, etc.) THe ganache is poured over the cake when slightly cooled (15 or so minutes) and then, after about 20 mins refrigeration, is scooped up and used to frost the sides of the cake.

 

If I were to substitute a tbsp of white sugar for the inverted sugar, would it drastically affect the consistency?

 

Thanks all!

 

[Jim D.]

On 9/6/2021 at 4:23 PM, Jim D. said:

I make a filling that aims to mimic the tastes and texture of crème brûlée.  To get the crunch, I make a caramel (just sugar and water), let it harden, then grind it in a small food processor.  I put a 1/2 tsp. or so in the bottom of each cavity, then cover it with melted chocolate (with a little coconut oil to keep it from hardening too much).  On top of that I add a vanilla butter ganache (Greweling's eggnog but with no nutmeg or rum, just more vanilla).  The issue is the caramel bits.  In my notes on this recipe, I say sternly, "Don't attempt this on a humid day."  But recently it seems, regardless of the humidity, the ground caramel sticks together and forms a more or less solid mass in the bottom of the cavities before I can seal it with the white chocolate.  It makes for a less than ideal mouthfeel, more chewy than crunchy. 

 

I had forgotten about this particular topic in this thread, but thought I should add my latest discovery.  Since I took a couple of Kalle Jungstedt's online courses and discovered his technique for a "cookie layer," I may have solved the crème brûlée quandary.  This technique is by no means unique to Chef Jungstedt, but I hadn't tried it before.  He calls for melting cocoa butter and chocolate, then mixing that with a little sea salt and finely ground cookie crumbs.  It can be piped on top of a ganache or any other filling (if done quickly enough) and hardens into a crunchy layer.  It's much neater than my previous method of making little cookies and surrounding them with a "moisture barrier" (a meltaway essentially).  The cookie layer is not quite as crunchy as the whole cookie is, but it's a lot easier and looks better.  So I tried the technique with the ground-up caramel bits plus a little feuilletine added to melted white chocolate plus cocoa butter.  It worked and provides almost the same crunchy experience as just the caramel did.  This method is much like some of the other ideas in this thread (such as spraying the caramel bits with cocoa butter or chocolate).

[Kerry Beal]

1 hour ago, mmlstarr said:

Question about inverted sugars: I have a recipe for ganache: 200g chocolate, 300g cream, and a tbsp of inverted sugar (maple syrup, honey, etc.) THe ganache is poured over the cake when slightly cooled (15 or so minutes) and then, after about 20 mins refrigeration, is scooped up and used to frost the sides of the cake.

 

If I were to substitute a tbsp of white sugar for the inverted sugar, would it drastically affect the consistency?

 

Thanks all!

 

It won't be the same - you'd be better off adding glucose or some other liquid sugar.

[Jim D.]

I'm having difficulty with a ganache and lack of sufficient crystallization.  I have made Wybauw's pear ganache with almond praliné.  It's intended to be piped on top of disks, which are then dipped in chocolate.  I assumed that technique meant that it would be firm enough to dip, so I decided to pour it into a slab, then cut it on the guitar, and dip each piece into dark chocolate. to be topped with a chocolate-covered almond.  The finished ganache was extremely fluid.  Although it has a sufficient amount of cocoa butter, I added some cocoa butter silk to help it crystallize.  After a day it was still too fluid to cut.  So I refrigerated the slab until it was firm enough and managed to cut it on the guitar, even though the pieces were softening as I worked with them.  I put the cut pieces in my cooling room (60F) and left the container open so that a crust would form (this has worked many times in the past).  Today the pieces are still sticky to the touch.  As an experiment I enrobed a few in dark chocolate and am looking for signs of sugar bloom or something like that; so far they are OK, but they stuck to the dipping fork and had to be removed from it with a small knife.  That technique is a pain, but it does work.  I am afraid that the experimental pieces will eventually develop bloom and ruin the dark chocolate coating, but I can't wait forever.

 

Any ideas on what to do?  I am certain I followed the recipe as written (except for the added silk), but in the past I have always piped the ganache rather than slab it.  Obviously Wybauw intended it to crystallize sufficiently.

 

Following my primary rule for chocolate (always have a backup plan), I can melt down the cut pieces and turn them back into a pipeable ganache, but that is a last resort since I was counting on this item to be frozen for my Christmas assortment.