The best weigh to make ganache is to weigh (not measure) the chocolate and cream using the 2:1 ratio for dark and semi-sweet chocolate, and the 3:1 ratio for milk chocolate. I have to honestly say that I am confused about white chocolate. I have read that some people use the 2:1 ratio and others use the 3:1. On this cake, I used a 2:1 ratio and it worked fine.
Here, I used 40 oz Nestlé’s Toll House Premium White Chocolate Chips to 20 oz Heavy Whipping Cream (a little more than ½ qt). It was just enough to fill and cover the 9” round cake 4” high. It set a little softer but it still worked out perfectly. I do want to try a different brand of white chocolate and see if the consistency varies.
For the filling, I whipped ½ cup heavy cream, added 1.5 Tbsp of the Ganache, and whipped a little more = super delicious and easy chocolate mousse.
Below are the step by step photos showing the process as well as my wordy descriptions. It’s been a learning journey and with each and every cake, I’m learning more…for now, this is how it’s done; at least, this is how it’s done the SugarSweet way :)
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Step 1: Make the Ganache: Heat the heavy cream until it just starts to bubble, remove from heat then add the chocolate. Let it sit undisturbed, for about a minute for the chocolate to start melting on its own. Use an emulsifier (Immersion Blender
) to blend it all together for about 30 seconds. The immersion blender will quickly smooth out the ganache and blend away any lumps. Set the ganache aside to cool. After it has cooled down, cover with plastic wrap and let it sit overnight at room temperature for the ganache to set. The Ganache will set into a thick but smooth peanut butter consistency that makes it perfect to spread across a cake with. It could take about 1-2 hours for it to set but I like to prepare everything the night before and work on cakes the following day.
Step 2: Torte and level the cake. Smear a little bit of Ganache on the cake board, to act as a glue and hold the cake in place, and lay the 1st cake layer on it (the cake will bake slightly smaller than the board but that’s ok – a 9” cake = 9” board). Pipe a ½” snake of Ganache around the edge of the cake layer to create a dam, pop the cake into the fridge for the dam to harden (about 5 min – this step isn’t necessary but I like to do it this way since it makes it easier to spread the filling without having to worry about mashing the dam accidentally), remove from fridge, then fill with the filling. Top with the next layer of cake and repeat if you are using more than 2 layers of cake. I then piped more Ganache around the outside seams to fill in any gaps then smoothed that out as you can see in the photo above.
Step 3: Cover the top of the cake with a thick layer of Ganache (I like using the upside down method to get the top of the cake smooth and leveled). Smooth the ganache out a bit, place a piece of wax paper over it.
Use a scraper to smooth out any air bubbles trapped under the wax paper. Add a larger cake board over it (in this photo, I used a 14” board with a piece of foil over it – you can also use cling wrap or parchment paper…anything to keep the board clean and reusable) and carefully flip the cake over so that it is now upside down.
Check to see if it’s leveled, if not, gently press down around the cake until it is.
Step 4: Cover the sides of the cake with Ganache: You want to always add more than you need at the beginning because it is so much easier to just scrape off the excess and be done rather than to keep adding then scraping, then adding then scraping…etc. As you can see, the 9” cake board is slightly larger than the cake (9” cake shrinks a little after cooling). I like using the extra lip of the board as my guide to the thickness of the Ganache. Once you have added the Ganache along the sides, use a metal scraper or similar tool, to scrape the excess off the sides a thin layer at a time until your scraper hits the side of the cake board. You would want to use some type of turn table to help with spinning the cake around while keeping the bench scraper in one place to scrape off the excess ganache.
Step 6:You can either let the cake sit a few hours before decorating or let it set overnight at room temperature. The Ganache will dry and develop a nice, hard shell (it will give a little if you press into it, just be careful not to poke a hole through it. Before covering in fondant, you can either brush or spray the cake with a little bit of water or vodka (which evaporates away) or use some type of syrup (apricot jam diluted with water). I personally like to rub the surface with a very thin layer of shortening before laying the fondant over it. Then, lay the fondant over, smooth away and finish decorating.
Why I like this particular pastry dough scraper (Sur La Table Dough Scraper):
- It's stainless making it easy to clean or heat over a low flame or with a hot, moist towel
- It has measurements on BOTH sides for easy measuring (this comes in handy when you're trying to get a cake centered over a cake board and need to quickly measure out even spacing between the outside edge of the cake and the edge of the cake board)
- It's sturdy and has a straight edge on all 3 sides
- It's been worth every penny and is used often
There is a comparable one I found on Amazon HERE (Pro Dough Pastry Scraper).
Here is an example of an Immersion Blender. I bought mine years ago but this is similar to the one I use to emulsify the chocolate and cream together. A few quick short zaps with this tool, and everything blends nicely and you have a smooth ganache, lump-free. The whisk attachment can be used to whip the ganache to use as a filling.
Side note: My typical cake schedule starts in the evening after the kids are in bed… Day 1 bake & make the Ganache, Day 2 torte/fill/cover the cake in Ganache, Day 3 final assembly and decorating….I love my evenings - peace and quiet…and of course, nothing but cake.