Pastry Ganache - Fillings and Glazes

[bripastryguy]

which i have used many times, great recipe! not for a newbie it does take some skill to get it right especially on a cake

[alanamoana]

also, please make sure you have much more glaze than you think you'll need.

you need to pour a ton over the top of your cake/torte in order to get a nice smooth even layer over the top and sides (edited to add: at least while you're learning how to do this). if you follow brian's advice, and keep parchment under your rack and make sure your crumbs are secured, you can just scoop up the excess to use again. strain if necessary.

also, stir with a spatula, not a whisk...you don't want air bubbles.

if you have a couple of small air bubbles on top, flash very quickly and gently with a torch to pop them.

Edited May 18, 2007 by alanamoana (log)

[MightyD]

hey robert - can a cake covered with your recipe be chilled, then brought back to room temperature? i find that some ganache glazes will crack when subjected to temperature changes.

[Lior]

Hi! I told my local forum members to check out egullet but I guess English is a problem for some! I promised a forum member I would ask for him. So here is the question:

Someone made ganache from 400ml chocolate (part supermarket that was a bit grey and part Callebaut...) and 100ml cream plus one tablespoon of honey. The ganache looked great and shiny and normal. Upon spreading it on yeast dough that had risen on the counter, not fridge, the ganache seized or became solid and hard. I thought that there was too much chocolate and thaT THE TEMP DIFF BETWEEN THE GANACHE AND DOUGH COULD BE A PROBLEM BUT THE GANaCHE WAS ROOM TEMP AND SO WAS THE DOUGH. Any explanations would be nice.

Thanks!!

[alanamoana]

if you want a spreadable ganache, the ratio of liquid to chocolate should be closer to 1:1, shouldn't it?

were they spreading the ganache on the dough to roll up and bake like a cinnamon roll or something? i would worry about the ganache burning during the baking process unless it was completely insulated by the dough.

[Lior]

I don't know where that came up with this recipe or what they planned on doing with the dough-I will ask but I assume to roll up. Thanks for the reply!

[Lior]

So I asked her and she wants or did (?) to make the ones that look like @ this sign, which by the way is referred to here not as "at" but "shtreudel". I guess the result is like a cinnamin roll swirl but filled with ganache and so she things 1:1 would be too runny??

[lebowits]

So I asked her and she wants or did (?) to make the ones that look like @ this sign, which by the way is referred to here not as "at" but "shtreudel". I guess the result is like a cinnamin roll swirl but filled with ganache and so she things 1:1 would be too runny??

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I would try a 2:1 or 2.5:1 ganache depending on if you're using milk or dark chocolate, temper the ganache to stiffen it, then spread it on the dough and roll it. I would also suggest that the ganache be spread such that there is 2 - 3 cm of space left around the edges so that the chocolate is protected during baking.

Alternatively, you might have your friend try simply putting shaved chocolate on top of the dough. Chocolate "batons", which are sticks of chocolate, are often used in pastry, such as chocolate croissant but shaved or chopped chocolate will work well too.

[gfron1]

Right - the shavings make much more sense to me. But, she could do the ganache (for a thicker chocolate layer) and then seal the ends so it doesn't ooze out. Then once it has chilled, she could cut the ends and have the effect she is looking for.

[Lior]

I sent my forum friend all the comments and I will let you all know the final results. Thanks so much-as usual! You are all fantastic!

[gfron1]

I need a white chocolate shiny glaze. Can I use this recipe but substitute white chocolate?

[Tri2Cook]

Rob - the white mirror glaze from dejaq's demo is nice and shiny.

Shaloop - so is the dark glaze from the same demo.

I use both frequently. I haven't managed that beautiful swirl work he shared in the demo to a level I was happy with, gonna keep working at it though.

[gfron1]

Yes, but that calls for more toys than I have time or money for right now. I'm hoping to do something simple like white choc, cream and corn syrup...won't that work for a decent effect?

[Tri2Cook]

Yes, but that calls for more toys than I have time or money for right now.  I'm hoping to do something simple like white choc, cream and corn syrup...won't that work for a decent effect?

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I don't see why it wouldn't other than cream might give you something a little thin and difficult to work with unless you're really careful with the amount. I've used white chocolate, butter and corn syrup and that has a nice shine but it's not actually white, it's more ivory.

[gfron1]

I can do ivory - not needing perfection. I'm thinking a basic genoise layered with strawberry, coated with celery cream (of course) and coated in this white chocolate topping. Its for a friend's birthday. I just won't tell them its celery and they'll love it. Thanks - I'll give it a go.

[Kim Shook]

I can do ivory - not needing perfection.  I'm thinking a basic genoise layered with strawberry, coated with celery cream (of course) and coated in this white chocolate topping.  Its for a friend's birthday.  I just won't tell them its celery and they'll love it.  Thanks - I'll give it a go.

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Rob, will you please let me know if this works? I make a wonderful roasted strawberry cheesecake that I've enrobed in white chocolate, but it's a mess and doesn't look very pretty:

I tarted it up with white jimmies, chocolate shards (I still can't make nice curls) and strawberries to cover up my ugly white chocolate coating!

[gfron1]

I'll definitely let you know and I expect to be done on Thursday. I'll be doing my cheat method - the Orange Exotic, frozen upside down thingy, so I'll have an advantage since I won't need to rely on my skill for making a perfect surface on which to pour the coating.

[shaloop]

Since I started this thread and used the great suggestions I thought I'd update on how things turned out. This is the recipe I use:

12 oz chocolate

8 oz heavy cream

4 oz butter

This covers a 3 layer 9" chocolate cake with some to spare. I chill the cake well, and cool the ganache to almost room temp. Works great. Covers smoothly and evenly. Save the excess, rewarm and add to next batch. Thanks for everyone's help.

[oli]

Since I started this thread and used the great suggestions I thought I'd update on how things turned out.  This is the recipe I use:

12 oz chocolate

8 oz heavy cream

4 oz butter

This covers a 3 layer 9" chocolate cake with some to spare.  I chill the cake well, and cool the ganache to almost room temp.  Works great.  Covers smoothly and evenly.  Save the excess, rewarm and add to next batch.  Thanks for everyone's help.

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So, after all the suggestions, where did you end up getting the recipe from, and why this one instead of the ones posted?

[paulraphael]

I'm interested to hear that this is thinner than a regular ganache ... the butter based ganaches i've made have had a smaller proportion of butter and quite a bit of added liquid in order to match the consistency of ganache made with cream.

It looks like a good recipe.

The Glaze of all Glaze....I got this recipe from my chef in Culinary school and it will give you a brilliant shine everytime...it's thinner than most other ganaches but its shine is great....

12 oz.  Butter

2 oz. Corn Syrup

1 Pound Chocolate

Dont tell anyone

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[Lisa2k]

Rob - the white mirror glaze from dejaq's demo is nice and shiny.

Shaloop - so is the dark glaze from the same demo.

I use both frequently. I haven't managed that beautiful swirl work he shared in the demo to a level I was happy with, gonna keep working at it though.

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Could you please link me to that demo, Tri2? I did a search, but only came up with some large threads that didn't refer to it in the title or first few pages. Thank you, in advance

[gfron1]

HERE you go.

[Lisa2k]

HERE you go.

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Thank so much Rob. Fortunately, I came to my senses prior to your response and checked the pastry and baking demo..lol Still getting settled in here.

[shaloop]

Since I started this thread and used the great suggestions I thought I'd update on how things turned out.  This is the recipe I use:

12 oz chocolate

8 oz heavy cream

4 oz butter

This covers a 3 layer 9" chocolate cake with some to spare.  I chill the cake well, and cool the ganache to almost room temp.  Works great.  Covers smoothly and evenly.  Save the excess, rewarm and add to next batch.  Thanks for everyone's help.

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So, after all the suggestions, where did you end up getting the recipe from, and why this one instead of the ones posted?

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I basically adjusted the recipe I was already using to add more butter and use more ganache in general. This was based on the above suggestions.

[gfron1]

And to clarify since I complicated things...yours is a brown chocolate version, correct? Not white?