Use this as your complete guide for making homemade chocolate ganache. Chocolate ganache is a 2-ingredient recipe with virtually endless uses. For the best tasting ganache, I recommend using semi-sweet chocolate.
Chocolate ganache is a 1:1 mixture of chocolate and warm cream. Stirred until smooth, silky, and shiny, ganache is a staple in any baker’s kitchen. It’s not only easy and quick, it’s uniquely versatile. Chocolate ganache can be a filling, dip, spread, frosting, topping, or layer in a cake. The uses are virtually endless!
Uses for Chocolate Ganache
- Topping for chocolate cupcakes, cream-filled chocolate cupcakes, or no-bake cheesecake jars
- Filling for layer cakes
- As a frosting for chocolate peanut butter cake or chocolate mousse cake
- Swirl in chocolate marble banana Bundt cake
- Topping for homemade brownies, pound cake, vanilla cake, or ice cream
- Filling for chocolate hand pies
- Dip for strawberries and other fruit (serve with a bowl of whipped cream, too!)
- Topping for chocolate cake or flourless chocolate cake
- Frosting for chocolate raspberry cake (and you can even flavor it with raspberry liqueur)
- Layered in trifles
- Filling for no-bake s’mores cake
- Topping for homemade eclairs, crepes, angel food cake, and peanut butter pie
- Filling for orange butter cookies and striped fudge cookies
- Topping for marble loaf cake (with slightly reduced cream for a thicker ganache!)
- As a layer in peanut butter banana cream pie
Let’s dive into an in-depth chocolate ganache tutorial. If you don’t care to read through the tutorial, feel free to jump straight to the recipe below.
Chocolate Ganache Video Tutorial
2 Ingredients in Chocolate Ganache
- Heavy Cream or Heavy Whipping Cream: Do not use half-and-half, whole milk, or any other liquid because the ganache won’t set up properly. For a non-dairy alternative, use canned coconut milk. See recipe note.
- Pure Chocolate: You can use semi-sweet chocolate (recommended), bittersweet chocolate, milk chocolate, or white chocolate. See recipe note.
When making homemade ganache, you need a 1:1 ratio of cream to chocolate.
Did you know that chocolate ganache is the base for chocolate truffles? I actually use less cream when I make chocolate truffles because the 1:1 ratio is too thin and sticky. Instead of a 1:1 ratio, use 8 ounces of chocolate and 2/3 cup (160ml) cream for truffles.
Best Chocolate to Use in Chocolate Ganache
The best chocolate for chocolate ganache is a pure chocolate baking bar, such as Bakers or Ghirardelli brands. (Not sponsored, just a genuine customer!) These are typically sold in 4-ounce (113g) bars in the baking aisle near the chocolate chips. Do not use chocolate chips because they will not melt into the best ganache consistency. If you absolutely must use chocolate chips, make sure they are higher-quality chocolate such as Ghirardelli or Guittard brand semi-sweet chocolate chips.
For traditional chocolate ganache, I recommend using semi-sweet chocolate. This is the most commonly found chocolate in the baking aisle. Semi-sweet chocolate contains 35–45% cacao and is usually sweeter than bittersweet or dark varieties and darker than milk chocolate and white chocolate. If you like it a little darker, bittersweet chocolate (60% cacao) also makes an excellent ganache.
TIP: The best tool for chopping chocolate is a large serrated knife. The grooves help chip away the hard chocolate bar texture.
How to Make Chocolate Ganache
- Place finely chopped chocolate into a heat-proof glass or metal bowl.
- Heat cream on the stovetop until just simmering. If it’s boiling, the cream is too hot and could separate or even burn the chocolate. Once you see little simmers around the edges, turn off the heat and immediately pour the warm cream over the chocolate.
- Let the 2 sit for a few minutes before stirring.
- Stir slowly until smooth.
After you stir the chocolate and warm cream together, use the ganache right away as a fruit dip or drizzle on top of cakes, cupcakes, pound cakes, ice cream, and more. But if you wait about 2 hours and let it cool completely, the ganache can be scooped with a spoon, spread onto desserts, or piped with piping tips.
Piped Chocolate Ganache
If you’re craving a pure chocolate topping for your desserts, choose chocolate ganache. Once it cools and sets, you can pipe it onto your favorites including chocolate cupcakes. Super intricate piping tips aren’t ideal. Wilton 1M piping tip or Ateco 844 piping tip are my favorites for piped chocolate ganache. I used Ateco 844 in these photos.
Whipped Ganache
Let’s take chocolate ganache 1 step further. Did you know that you can beat ganache into a whipped frosting consistency? Think whipped buttercream, but not as sweet or heavy. Once the chocolate ganache cools completely, whip it on medium-high speed until light in color and fluffy in texture, about 4 minutes. Now you have a decadent mousse-like frosting without an onslaught of extra sugar. It’s REALLY good!
You can pipe the whipped ganache, too. I used Ateco 844 piping tip in this next photo.
These 2 Tricks Make Chocolate Ganache Even Easier
Here are my 2 super simple tricks that make ganache even easier to make.
- Chop the chocolate as fine as possible. The finer you chop the chocolate, the quicker it melts with the cream. If the chocolate is in large large chunks, it won’t fully melt. And if the chocolate is not melting, reference Troubleshooting Chocolate Ganache below.
- Pour the warm cream over the chopped chocolate and let it sit before stirring. After you pour the warm heavy cream over the chopped chocolate, let it sit for a few minutes. During this time, the chocolate will soften and begin to melt which means that you won’t need to over-stir it. I’d rather spend extra minutes doing nothing than extra minutes stirring chocolate that won’t melt. Wouldn’t you?!
Troubleshooting Chocolate Ganache
After writing an entire cookbook (Sally’s Candy Addiction) on chocolate and candy, I’ve seen it all when it comes to making chocolate ganache. Seized chocolate? Yep. Grainy ganache. Yep, that too. Here are 3 problems you could encounter and how to fix each.
- Chocolate Isn’t Melting: If the chocolate isn’t melting, it wasn’t chopped fine enough or the cream wasn’t warm enough. Chop the chocolate into very small pieces and warm the cream until it’s just simmering. The microwave doesn’t evenly warm cream like the stove does, so I always recommend the stove. If you’re left with chocolate chunks swimming in cream, do not microwave it. Instead, place the mixture into a double boiler OR place the (heat-proof!) glass bowl over a small saucepan of simmering water. Do not let the surface of the simmering water touch the bottom of the glass bowl. Stir the ganache constantly over the indirect heat until it’s smooth.
- Chocolate Seized: When chocolate seizes, it creates a gritty and solid mass of chocolate. Simply put, seized chocolate will not melt. Chocolate seizes when it comes into contact with water. Don’t let even a drop of water into the bowl! Here is a wonderful article on overheated and seized chocolate.
- Greasy or Grainy: Use a glass or metal bowl. A plastic bowl could melt or leave you with a dull or grainy ganache. Use real chocolate; cheap chocolate chips result in a grainy ganache. Use a spoon or small rubber spatula to stir the chocolate and warm cream together. Do not use a whisk. The whisk incorporates too much air into the delicate melting chocolate, which could cause the fat to separate and turn greasy.
How to Make Chocolate Ganache
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 and 1/2 cups
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Stirring
- Cuisine: American
Description
You only need 2 ingredients and a few minutes to make pure chocolate ganache. For ganache success, I encourage you to read the troubleshooting tips above and recipe notes below before beginning.
Ingredients
- two 4-ounce quality semi-sweet chocolate bars (113g each), finely chopped (see Note about using white chocolate)*
- 1 cup (8 ounces; 240ml) heavy cream or heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Place chopped chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it begins to gently simmer. (Do not let it come to a rapid boil—that’s too hot!) Pour over chocolate, then let it sit for 2–3 minutes to gently soften the chocolate.
- With a metal spoon or small rubber spatula, very slowly stir until completely combined and chocolate has melted. The finer you chopped the chocolate, the quicker it will melt with the cream. If it’s not melting, do not microwave it. See Troubleshooting Chocolate Ganache in blog post above.
- Ganache can be ready to use as a drizzle or you can let it sit at room temperature to cool and thicken. It will fully cool within 2 hours. Refrigerating speeds this up, but the ganache will not cool evenly. Stir it a few times as it sets in the refrigerator so it remains even and smooth.
- Once completely cool and thick, the ganache can be piped with a piping tip or scooped with a spoon. You can also beat the cooled thickened ganache with a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment until light in color and texture, about 4 minutes on medium-high speed.
- Cover tightly and store ganache in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Once ganache cools completely, you can cover it tightly and freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator. To rewarm or thin out again, stir constantly over low heat on the stove in either (1) a double boiler or (2) in a heat-proof bowl placed over a pot of simmering water. Don’t let the bottom of the bowl touch the simmering water.
Notes
- Chocolate: Ganache will only set if the correct chocolate is used. You can use high-quality chocolate chips if needed (I prefer Ghirardelli or Guittard semi-sweet chocolate chips), but I recommend using pure chocolate baking bars, in either semi-sweet or bittersweet. You can find them right next to the chocolate chips in the baking aisle. They are sold in 4-ounce (113g) bars. I like Bakers or Ghirardelli brands. You can use other varieties of chocolate too, such as milk chocolate (aka German chocolate) or dark chocolate. If using white chocolate, reduce the cream to 2/3 cup (160ml). White chocolate is softer, so you need less cream.
- Halve or Double: You can easily halve or double this recipe. No matter how much ganache you are making, you always need equal parts chocolate and cream.
- Dairy-Free Alternative for Heavy Cream: Use full-fat canned coconut milk. Shake the can well before opening. Whisk on the stove as it heats and bring to a simmer. Measure 1 cup (8 ounces; 240ml). Use instead of warm heavy cream.
- Yields 1 and 1/2 cups liquid/drizzle/scoop-able ganache. This is enough to cover 1 dozen cupcakes. For piped cupcakes, you may want to double the ganache to ensure there is plenty for piping. If whipping the ganache, you’ll have close to 3 cups. This is enough for 1 dozen cupcakes.
Keywords: chocolate, sauce, frosting
Did i just make chocolate sauce ?
So much for the molds 🙁
Hi Julie, the ganache will thicken considerably as it cools. However, if you are trying to make chocolates for chocolate molds, we’d recommend trying our chocolate truffles recipe. It’s basically like chocolate ganache, but includes less heavy cream (so it “sets” a bit more) and a bit of butter and vanilla for taste. Hope this helps!
I’ve tried the recipe and it’s gone Grainy – think it was the bowl I did it in – can it
be rescued?
Hi Sue, did you happen to use a plastic bowl? For best results, use a glass or metal bowl. A plastic bowl could melt or leave you with a dull or grainy ganache. A few other tips… use real chocolate; cheap chocolate chips result in a grainy ganache. Use a spoon or small rubber spatula to stir the chocolate and warm cream together. Do not use a whisk. The whisk incorporates too much air into the delicate melting chocolate, which could cause the fat to separate and turn greasy.
Can I use milk chocolate instead of semi sweet?
You bet!
I used 1/3 cup each of pecan bits, chocolate chips and dried cherries…..amazing!!
★★★★★
How much is a little butter or corn syrup
A teaspoon is a good place to start!
I made this for my husband’s birthday yesterday. Looked beautiful and tasted delicious! But, the ganache was dull and spread more like a frosting. Any tips?
★★★★
Hi Kristin! We’re happy to help troubleshoot. Did you happen to use less cream OR did you use chocolate chips as the chocolate? Both could be the reasons for the dull and hard ganache. Over time, chilled ganache will also lose its shine. If you want it to maintain that shine, a little corn syrup helps. (You could even use a little softened butter, too.) Put either in the bowl with the chopped chocolate and pour the warm cream on top of it all. Thank you for giving this one a try!
Used 4 cups finely chopped chocolate and 1 qt of heavy cream (4 cups) and followed the directions. It turned out like thick hot chocolate and ran off of everything. Even after sitting for 2 hrs it was the same and totally unusable for dipping Paczki tops.
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Hi Karen, I imagine that the volume of ganache you made would need longer than that to fully thicken properly. If you try the recipe again, I would make separate batches or extend the chill/setting time.
Looks great!! I am wondering if I whip it up, will it be firm enough to use to fill/cover a cake? I was thinking to add some Nutella to this as well. I find that whipped cream for a cake is not very firm, do you have any suggestions on how I can make it more firm so my cake doesn’t move around too much? Thank you for the awesome recipe!
Hi Karla, whipping the ganache will work great as a “frosting” between the layers and on the outside of your cake. We haven’t tried adding Nutella to this ganache, but you might be interested in this Nutella frosting recipe. For a bit of extra support, feel free to use cake dowels like we do for homemade wedding cake. Hope this helps!
I have a question for using this gnache on mousse. I have a choc cake with mousse on top and now I want to cover it all with gnache. Shall I try and let the gnache cool till spreadable r wud it be better to do it sooner and drizzle the gnache over top of the mousse and skip speading….
Hi Mon, You can follow the instructions from this recipe for chocolate peanut butter cake if you’re spreading it over a layer of frosting.
This recipe is great. I was always nervous about making a ganache. This was easy and delicious. How can I add other flavors? I added some grand marnier at the end but wasn’t sure how much I could add without ruining the ganache.
★★★★★
Hi Marylou. You can make different flavors of ganache for different desserts. The only other flavor we have published on this site is Red Wine Ganache, but that might help you with the proportions of grand marnier!
I used bittersweet chocolate and feel it’s too bitter. How can I sweeten it?
A touch of liquid sweetener (to taste) such as honey, agave, or light corn syrup will help.
I LOVE this. I have never made ganache before. I followed the directions and it came out like a bakery’s- beautifully. All my chocolate didn’t melt and I just put it over some simmering water (I already had my double boiler out from heating the cream.) It finished melting without a hitch. I whipped it and it is decorating my Valentine’s Day cupcakes. Needing recipes with less sugar, this fills the bill and is so decadent! My new go to! Thanks, Sally!
★★★★★
Does this reheat well if I want to make it to use later?
Hi Nathaniel, to rewarm or thin out again, stir constantly over low heat on the stove in either (1) a double boiler or (2) in a heat-proof bowl placed over a pot of simmering water. Don’t let the bottom of the bowl touch the simmering water.
Will this work with ruby chocolate? I want to ise it as a glaze on a cake but am afraid it won’t harden and set correctly with the ruby chocolate.
Hi Carolyn! We don’t have much experience with ruby chocolate, but it is a softer chocolate and would require less heavy cream. Here’s a recipe specifically for ruby chocolate ganache: https://www.countryhillcottage.com/ruby-chocolate-ganache/
How could I add peanut butter to create a chocolate peanut butter ganache?
Hi Donna, absolutely. I would reduce the cream by 2 Tablespoons and then add 3-4 Tablespoons creamy peanut butter. I would stir in the peanut butter after the warm cream and chocolate have been stirred together.
I’m making my MIL your chocolate cake with her Mom’s caramel frosting recipe. I’d like to drizzle a chocolate ganache off the edges. After making the ganache how long should I wait for it to cool before drizzling on the caramel frosting? Thanks!
Hi Heather, sounds delicious! We’re unsure of the exact amount of time, but check in on it every few minutes while cooling. You’ll want it cool enough that it doesn’t drip completely down the cake, but still warm enough that you can easily spread it to the edges and allow it to drip slightly.
Hello! I love this recipe so much, I use it as a less-sweet alternative for the American Chocolate Buttercream and it is decadent and divine! I’m baking an 9 inch 3 layer cake. And I have a mousse filling, but want to use the “piped chocolate ganache” to frost and cover ONLY the outside of my cake as well as some piping decorations. How much ganache would you suggest me making? Thank you!
★★★★★
Hi Shauna, it depends on how heavily the cake will be covered in ganache/how much piping you plan to do. The recipe as written should be enough since you are not using it between the layers, but you may want to 1.5x the recipe just to be safe!
Love this recipe! If I’m piping and whipping do I still need to double the recipe for 12 cupcakes?
Hi Holly, one batch of the ganache will whip to about 3 cups of ganache, which should be just enough for piping on 1 dozen cupcakes. Enjoy!
Hi I was wondering if anyone has used this for filling in homemade chocolate candies? Once cooled of course
I want to pour this over a cheesecake. How long should I let it sit before doing so?
Hi Debra, it depends on how thin you’d like the ganache layer. For a thicker layer, we’d recommend letting it fully cool before spreading on top. For a thinner layer, you can pour it on after cooling just a bit.
Hi Sally…LOVE this Ganache! Can it be added to american buttercream to make a chocolate buttercream? If so, how much buttercream can be added to this ganache recipe? Thanks!
Hi Lesley, we haven’t tried adding this chocolate ganache into buttercream before, but you can certainly give it a try! It may take a bit of trial and error and tinkering with the ingredients in vanilla buttercream a bit. Or, you can whip up this ganache to make it pipeable like buttercream!
I love this recipe. I am planning to make no bake chocolate eclairs and want to drizzle the tops, but still allow the icing to drip down and harden. My recipe will be made in a 9 by 12 pan and cut to serve 12 people. How long should I wait before drizzling should occur? Many thanks in advance. Jackie
Hi Jackie, we’re unsure of the exact time, but you can test the consistency of your ganache by just seeing how it flows off the spoon. You’ll want it to flow easily, but still be a little thick so that it does not completely cover your eclairs.
I love this recipe. I am planning to make no bake chocolate eclairs and want to drizzle the tops, but still allow the icing to drip down and harden. my recipe will be made in a 9 by 12 pan and cut to serve 12 people. Many thanks in advance. Jackie