Why does ganache go grainy

Discover the many ways you can use ganache in our recipe collection: When Chocolate Meets Cream. The ratio of chocolate to cream determines the consistency of ganache. At a ratio of two parts chocolate to one part cream, ganache cools to a firm and smooth texture, perfect for rolling into chocolate truffles. For the greatest precision, measure the chocolate and cream by weight rather than volume.

Ganache is a fat-in-water emulsion. The emulsified chocolate and cream remain blended, creamy, and smooth. Cream itself is also a fat-in-water emulsion, consisting of butterfat globules suspended in water. Casein, a group of proteins in milk, acts as an emulsifier in cream, helping to keep the fat and water from separating. In ganache, casein also helps to keep the chocolate and cream emulsion smooth and creamy.

To make a uniformly smooth and creamy ganache, always add chopped or melted chocolate to warm cream, rather than the other way around. Or let it cool and set, then use a whisk to whip air into the ganache and make it fluffier and thicker for cake fillings and frostings. Many classic ganache recipes call for adding hot cream to a bowl of chopped chocolate and stirring until smooth. However, this mixing method can cause the ganache to separate, giving you tiny specks of chocolate within the ganache.

This will help to prevent tiny specks of chocolate from appearing in the finished ganache. Chocolate is sensitive to temperature changes. Ganache has the added advantage of warm liquid cream to help envelop the chocolate in even heat as it melts. Simply stir finely chopped chocolate into the warm cream until they blend into a smooth, creamy emulsion.

After mixing chopped chocolate into hot cream and stirring it until smooth, the fluid mixture may still be quite warm. As it cools, cocoa-butter crystals begin to form and the ganache begins to set. To ensure smooth, creamy ganache, cool it gradually.

Chocolate liquor, a key component in chocolate, is a mixture of cocoa solids and cocoa butter. Chocolate around 70 percent, usually called bittersweet or dark, is ideal. Above 75 percent, the cocoa solids can absorb so much liquid from the cream that there is not enough left to keep all the solids and cocoa butter suspended in emulsion, making the ganache prone to breaking and becoming greasy.

Repeat the process of heating and whipping the ganache intermittently until the grainy texture disappears and it appears smooth and fluffy. Pass the ganache through a tea strainer to remove any bubbles that may have formed.

Re-strain until the ganache is clear and without any bubbles. Use as desired to decorate your baked goods. By: Esperance Barretto. Pour the grainy ganache into a stainless steel bowl.

Set a double boiler on medium-low heat. How to Make a White Decorator Icing. How to Harden Up Whipped Cream. In the future you can reduce the total fat content in your recipe by cutting butter and replacing with milk or going with a lower fat chocolate. But first try the recommendation of adding unmelted chocolate to the heated cream mixture and stirring constantly. This likely will solve your problem.

Couverture Belgian Milk Chocolate. Chocolate Liquor. Unsweetened Chocolate.