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 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 used with so many dessert recipes as a filling, dip, spread, frosting, topping, or layer in a cake. The uses are virtually endless!
It’s not as syrupy and caramel-like as hot fudge sauce, but it does thicken considerably.
Uses for Chocolate Ganache
- Topping for chocolate cupcakes, cream-filled chocolate cupcakes, or no-bake cheesecake jars
- Filling for layer cakes
- Topping for this showstopping chocolate chip cake
- As a frosting for chocolate peanut butter cake or dark chocolate mousse cake
- Swirl in chocolate marble banana Bundt cake
- Topping for homemade brownies, pound cake, vanilla cake, or ice cream
- Swirled throughout chocolate swirl pistachio ice cream
- Filling for chocolate hand pies
- As a layer in crème de menthe pie
- 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 striped fudge cookies and peanut butter fudge puddles
- Topping for marble loaf cake (with slightly reduced cream for a thicker ganache!)
- As a layer in peanut butter banana cream pie and peanut butter pie
- Filling inside of Easter cupcakes or your favorite cupcake recipe (see my How to Fill Cupcakes post for exact details on how to do so)
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 roughly a 1:1 weight ratio of cream to chocolate. (226g of chocolate for 240g of cream.)
Did you know that chocolate ganache is the base for chocolate truffles? I actually use less cream when I make chocolate truffles. Instead of a 1:1 weight ratio, use 8 ounces of chocolate and 2/3 cup (160ml/g) 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—save them for chocolate chip cookies instead. 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 of the whipped buttercream from this vanilla sheet cake, 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 silicone 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
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowl | Small Saucepan | Double Boiler | Silicone Spatula | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) if whipping the ganache
- 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 Baker’s 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.
- Yield: 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.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Hi Sally- If i want to use this as a ganache over a 3 layer – 8 in cake. I am looking for a nice sheen over the top and sides (not a drip) Is this the right recipe for this, and is 1.5 cups enough to do this?
Hi Mary Pat, yes, this is enough ganache to cover the exterior of a 3 layer 8 inch cake.
I am so glad found this recipe. It’s easy, delicious and has such a rich chocolate favor!!
I made a mocha ganache with some instant espresso powder in the cream and it tastes EXACTLY like a chocolate covered espresso bean. I’m planning to whip it and use it to ice cupcakes for my brother-in-law’s wedding. His fiancee LOVES coffee.
Hi can we use this as a filling in your 3 layered choclate cake instead of the choc buttercream?
Absolutely. Let it cool and thicken before using as a filling.
Hello, if I am pouring this over a cheesecake, how long do you recommend letting the Ganache cool before pouring/spreading?
Hi Cindy Joy, let it cool until you are pleased with the consistency– you also don’t want it too hot. For a cheesecake, I recommend about 20-30 minutes.
I used metal bowl over simmering water and bottom of bowl not anywhere near water (3 inches at least) to remelt ganache….2x. 2nd time even lifted bowl off the pot for a good part of time. Used a heat proof spatula to stir it. Separated both times. Did not melt it completely 2nd time over heat but stirred it and it melted within 20 seconds maybe. Any thoughts?
Hi Jo, Be sure that you are using high quality pure chocolate. Anything else won’t melt properly.
Hi Sally. I want to use your ganache recipe to drip over the top of a traditional Chocolate Wafer Icebox Cake, the kind with a whipped cream frosting. I thought it would be OK to use after the cake has set overnight in the fridge. Do you think that will work?
Hi Ellen, It should work as long as the frosting is very cold and you let the ganache cool down a bit before using. Enjoy!
Thank you for the non-dairy alternative!!!!
Hi sally! Love all your recipes – I am making a chocolate orange cake and am wondering if you think I could use Terry’s dark chocolate oranges for this ginache? Thanks
Hi Carolanne, This ganache will only set if the correct chocolate is used. You can use high quality chocolate chips if needed (I prefer Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips), but I recommend using pure chocolate baking bars.
Try adding a few drops of concentrated essence of orange. You’ll find it with the vanilla extract in the baking aisle. Might have to go to Walmart because I can never find it in Food Lion or giant. Addit wow still warm and it mixes in nicely
Hi Sally , I am a big fan of your cake recipes.All of them have turned out to be amazing when I baked. Just a small doubt though can we make ganache with fresh Cream or just stick to heavy cream? I have made once with fresh Cream though and it turned out well jus had to cool a bit since it was lil runny. What do you suggest?
Hi Nimisha, Heavy cream usually contains around 36% fat while fresh cream is only 25%. Your ganache may not set up properly if using fresh cream.
Can I rewarm my cooled refrigerated ganache if I want to drizzle on something another day? Wondered if I did it over a double boiler type of set up and did it gently?
Hi Jo! See the last step about re-warming.
Hi Sally,
Do I use this 1:1 ratio if I’d like to pipe the ganache in grape-size dots between a number cake? Or do I use a 3:1 (chocolate to cream) ratio? Is it the more chocolate, the firmer the ganache? Thanks in advance.
Hi Christine, To pipe this follow the instructions in the post above for Whipped Ganache. Enjoy!
THANKYOU for sharing the best ganache recipe everrrr.
If I might make an addiction, add one table spoon of rum to make it extra shiny and a little more bitter. It’s really nice.
Hi Sally
1st attempt at baking a birthday cake for my 2 year old. I plan to use this for both the filling and the frosting. I want to cover the whole cake with a thin layer of this and then place smarties etc into (top and sides). Would you recommend drizzling and spreading over the cake while the ganache is still warm, or letting it cool completely and spreading it on? I understand that it won’t set totally – does it have a bit of a sticky texture?
thanks
Hi Rebecca, It really depends on the look you are going for. If you want a super smooth surface or a drip side then use the ganache while it’s still warm. For more of a traditional frosting look you can let it cool (and even whip it) and then spread like frosting.
Hi Sally,
So I had a question. At one point I found a recipe for a cheesecake with a caramel layer between the crust and the batter. A friend of mine is graduating and wanted a cake like this but with chocolate instead. I was wondering if you thought using a ganache layer would be doable and if you had any tips for that.
Thanks.
Hi Catherine, do you mean a layer of chocolate ganache in a cheesecake? I don’t recommend it baking it– the ganache under the cheesecake layer will be too wet. Additionally, the crust will likely be soggy from the layer of ganache on top.
Hello Sally,
I am an amateur baker. This would be my first time trying to frost a cake. I am planning to do a 4 layered 6 inch cake with your whipped ganache for filling and frosting. Will this recipe yield enough whipped ganache for this requirement, or would you suggest increasing the ingredient quantities? Please advise…
Hi Gayatri, for a 4 layer 6 inch cake, I recommend 1.5x the recipe just to make sure you really have enough for each layer and plenty to work with for the exterior as well.
Hi Sally, I am planning to make a chocolate cake for my mom’s birthday, and cover it in ganache. Can I fill between the layers of cake with whipped ganache and pour regular ganache over the top? Or do I need to frost the cake first before pouring ganache on top? My mom isn’t a big fan of too much frosting, and she loves ganache, but I have never made it. Thanks!
Yes that would work well! I hope she loves it!
Hi Sally,
I made this today (100g of milk chocolate and 120g coconut milk) and let it stand for 2hours but it was still really runny, I tried whipping it to see if it thickened but ended up having to add some flour
Is there something I can do better next time? X
Hi Lisa, This won’t set up with regular coconut milk that comes in a carton. Are you using full-fat canned coconut milk?
Hello Sally,
Yea I used the canned full fat kind, it was my first time making any kind of ganache though so I may have done something a bit wrong? I just wasn’t sure if you had to leave it longer or anything? X
Love how easy this is 🙂 thank you!
If you whip the ganache does it go further than if you don’t?
I only had 100g of chocolate so haven’t been able to make a lot of ganache.
Hi Lisa, Yes you are incorporating air into it when you whip it so the volume does increase.
Hi Sally – can this ganache be used to fill macarons? Thanks!
About to frost a cake that is cooling and I was a little concerned it was going to be too thin. I used 12oz chocolate, about 9oz of heavy cream and added 1/2 tsp vanilla. I have had it in the fridge for about 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so. To my surprise the consistency is perfect! If your a choc-a-holic this is the recipe for you!
Hey! Can I use this ganache recipe to drip my cake? If yes, what are the changes should I make?
Definitely! Let the ganache cool for at least 15 minutes before using as a drip.
Hi Sally,
How to explain how much I love your recipes and how you share of yourself in all of the notes, it is so comforting to have a friend in the kitchen and one who guides us methodically through all of your incredible food and recipes Impossible to say how consistently solid your recipes prove to be with their detailed notes and instructions. I have made soooo many things from your website and every time my family moans with delight during the first forkful!!! I love it. Wish I would have commented on all of them but I am new to this commenting thing.
This is a request for a simple thing but not so simple as last night I had to go to another website because you didn’t have hot fudge sauce. It was terrible, once again reinforcing why I only use your recipes. They didn’t test the simmering time enough. I don’t think it should have have been simmered at all because the cocoa separated from the fat 🙁 awesome homemade ice cream ruined by this bad sauce. Maybe sometime down the road you could devise a hot fudge sauce?? And best method for shaving chocolate chips for chocolate chip ice cream.
Sorry for such a long note for a small thing!!
Thank you for all you do!
Hi Jennifer! Thank you so much for the kind and thoughtful comment! I appreciate it so much. I don’t have a hot fudge recipe on my website at this time but that’s a great recipe suggestion. Thank you for sharing it and I’m sorry the recipe you tried was disappointing!
Hi Sally,
Can I make the ganache ahead and freeze it? Can it be later on thawed and whipped into whipped ganache for filling a cake? Or should I whip it and then freeze it till I need it?
Hi Kirti, you can freeze the ganache– see the last step. You can whip it after it comes back to room temperature after thawing.
Have you experimented with using 100% cacao and sweetening the ganache yourself? I was curious about trying this, but I wasn’t sure if it would be worth it.
I haven’t, though I’m sure you can make a chocolate ganache substitute with cacao, cream, and your desired sweetener.
Love this recipe! Is it possible to add sugar to sweeten the ganache before whipping?
Adding sugar isn’t necessary. If you are looking for a sweeter frosting I highly recommend my Favorite Chocolate Buttercream!
Tried this whipped pipable ganache because I really dont like the sweetness or texture of buttercream. It tasted amazing. Made an error by putting the whipped frosting back into the fridge because I wasnt using it for a couple of hours and it chilled into a really hard almost truffle like texture. Managed to save it by whipping in more cream but I think it split, it still tasted nice and piped but was grainy (disappointing after I made such a silky smooth ganache). What’s your advice on chilling once its had the first chill and been whipped?
Hi Sally! I love your recipes and I always read every part even when you say “you can skip“ , I never skip anything lol, I love the way you write it . About this ganache I want to try a “ Piggy mud bath cake” but I’m not sure the temperature of the ganache to use it. Thank you
Hi Viviana, Depending on the look you are going for you can either use it right away for a thinner drip look or let it cool a bit so that it’s thicker. I hope enjoy it!
Hi Sally,
Is it possible to make ganache using cocoa powder for a more intense chocolate taste?
Just wondering if I can add more chocolate to the 240 ml cream to get a thicker consistency ganache
When I used yr measurements of ganache it yielded a nice tasting frosting but it was a very thin frosting. Looked like there was not enough ganache. I did a 2 layered cake. How do I overcome this without doubling the ganache recipe
Hi Asha, yes you can either reduce the cream or add more chocolate for a thicker consistency. Remember that the ganache thickens considerably once it’s fully cool and set.
Hi Sally – I’ve read I can use 3 parts whole milk, 1 part butter to substitute for heavy cream. I know here you’re saying here whole milk on its own won’t set. Will the butter help that?
Hi Robert, I haven’t tried it that way – let me know if you do!
I haven’t tried it for Ganache, but I did for caramel and it seems to have worked!