The bittersweet chocolate hazelnut torte is in the oven, and just because I feel like gilding the lily, I decided to make chocolate ganache glaze. I’ve done this a few times before (I’ll take a cake-baking and -decorating class one of these days, I swear!), and never had a problem, but this time the glaze seems to be curdling/separating.
It’s a very simple recipe; take 1 cup heavy cream, heat until simmering, add 7 oz. finely grated semisweet chocolate, stir until melted, add 1 T cognac (or brandy in this case, because that’s what I have in the house). I followed it precisely, just like last time, so why is it misbehaving? And more importantly, what can I do to fix it, preferably without any weird ingredients, because it’s a schoolnight and I’m in my jammies?
(Ordinarily I’d just give up on the ganache and serve the cake with a dusting of powdered sugar, but I want to write something on top - tomorrow is my boss’ first day back from maternity leave, and boy, have we missed her!)
Oh well - having no time, I think the torte will be unadorned but for a dusting of powdered sugar and cinnamon. But I do have abunch of strawberries that would taste lovely dipped in bittersweet ganache, so maybe I’ll go get some more cream after work and give it a shot.
If anyone else has ideas, though, I’d lve to hear them in case this ever happens again.
Mmm…I melt everything together rather than heating the cream first. Maybe you had the heat too high? Anyhow, here’s a good recipe - the corn syrup makes it shiny:
8 oz (1 1/3 c) chocolate chips
½ c cream
2 T butter
1 T light Karo
This is probably too late, but if the cream curdled you’re boned. If the cream and the chocolate aren’t mixing at all there are a couple of potential issues:
What kind of chocolate are you using? If you are using a wilton’s decorative or something like that all the stabilizers make ganache that falls apart.
I see you.ve used this proportion before? Usually I am around 12oz bittersweet chocolate per cup for a light ganache. 7oz to a cup is practically equal proportions of each, which might be on the far side of stable. So mixing in some more chocolate might help.
Did you put the chocolate in the hot pan with the cream? If so, It is entirely possible it got burned, which would kill a whole batch. Removing it to a cool container to combine works well to lower that risk.
How are you mixing it? Generally the cream sits on the chocolate and looks icky when you start. If you are stirring with a spoon you could spend a good 15 minutes trying to get the lovely glossy look going. A wire whisk can do the job in a couple of minutes.
It helps to add the alcohol after letting the glossy ganache cool for a few minutes. Otherwise a lot of the alcohol will evaporate out. But that is not the root of your problem.
Here’s hoping all you lost was some ghiradelli or Hersey’s.
I followed the recipe precisely as the last time; pulverize chocolate in food processor, heat cream in saucepan just until simmering, stir in chocolate (Ghiardelli bittersweet), stir gently until melted over very low flame. The chocolate didn’t burn, but the cocoa butter seemed to separate out, and the portion of the cream that did combine with the chocolate didn’t do so smoothly.
The cream was ultrapasteurized and well within the expiration date (plus is smelled fine), so I don’t think that was the problem. The cream itself didn’t curdle; it just isn’t combining properly with the chocolate. I suppose I could warm the whole mess up again and try throwing it in the food processor; the result couldn’t be any worse than what I got, but then if I’m just going to dip strawberries into it, then who cares?
I’m still taking suggestions, in case this happens again.
I swear, normally my kitchen and I are the best of friends. But for some reason, this week my kitchen hates me. I’ve curdled ganache. I scored some relatively cheap fresh basil yesterday, and just started to make pesto, before realizing that I’d forgotten one rather vital ingredient - the pine nuts. Rummaged through the freezer, and yes, there was (because my freezer is weird that way) a spare pound bag of pine nuts. Saved!
But no, the olive oil ran out. I had another bottle, but the damn thing wouldn’t open. Nearly sliced my finger open trying to pry the cap open with a knife. But success was mine!
Maybe I will pour a glass of wine to chill out…but no, I can’t do that, because I broke my metal corkscrew on Saturday. (The part that goes into the cork somehow unscrewed itself from the body of the corkscrew, and is currently stuck inside the cork.)
Decided to try to cut the cork off from around the metal piece and screw it back in - but instead, the knife slipped and I nearly whacked off my fingertip. Considering I finally bought decent knives after wathcing an interview with Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, the famous violinist, talking about how she nearly ended her career by shopping an onion with a dull knife, that would be kind of ironic, so I gave up.
Sheesh, it’s like my kitchen is telling me that someone else should cook for a change. I was going to sautee some mushrooms and red, yellow, and orange peppers and make some pasta to go with that pesto, but I think I’ll stop tempting fate for the evening and eat a nice peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
You mean I should try unsalted butter, or you’re asking if I used unsalted butter? The former seems counter-intuitive if the problem is largely the fat separating out of the chocolate.
Sounds like it split. The rescue techniques described in the article might save it. Failing that you could pour off the liquid, put it in tarts, and cover it with whipped cream.