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Tuesday 5 April 2011

Help, my ganache has separated!

Every cook has had the agonising moment when they pour the cream over the chocolate and as they whisk it together it separates. The ganache changes from a smooth creamy mixture to a  grainy mixture with an oil/fat liquid on top of the chocolate mixture in a matter of seconds.

When I make ganache I either melt the chocolate and pour over room temperature cream (not straight from the fridge as this will cause the ganache to separate) or I boil the cream and pour it over the broken chocolate. I find the results of both of these methods are very hit and miss. This is due to that fact that it is very difficult to get the cream and chocolate at the correct temperatures.

If the very cold cream is poured over the melted chocolate than it will seize. If the ganche is put straight in the fridge after it is made then it will also seize. The key is to get similar temperatures between the chocolate and cream. Chocolate has a low melting point between C31 - C32 (average room temperature is C27) so the cream doesn't have to be that hot.

My grandmother's method of making a ganache is to heat the cream first. Once it starts to boil take it off the heat and let is cool for about a minute or two (so it is at a luke warm temperature to the skin). Then the slightly cooled cream is poured over the broken up chocolate and whisked together. She also showed me a way to save a separated ganache. Pour the cooled separated ganche into a food processor and whiz it, slowly pouring in some more cool double cream until the ganche comes together again as a smooth mixture (think of the lint ads!)

36 comments:

  1. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!! My ganache separated I followed your tip for putting it back together and it worked, disaster averted, cake covered!

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  2. Glad to be of assistance!

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  3. me too - your advice on how manage a separated ganache saved the day
    thank-you!

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  4. I could have cheerfully hugged you for this advice. After a day of cooking Christmas biscuits and making my first Yule log for Christmas Day tomorrow (yes, I know that was silly!) I was about to throw a fit, when my ganache split. Your help made me leap about the kitchen :-)

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  5. Thank you so much for the advice of how to get the ganache back together. Making a bitter chocolate tart for a New Years Eve party and a moment too long on the stove made me think I'd have to start again from scratch. Your method worked perfectly. I didn't even need to add more cream.

    Thank you x 1000 !

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  6. I have a big 80th birthday party to go to in a few hours, it is also New Years day (so the shops are shut) and the ganache for the birthday cake has separated... about to try your advice!!! Praying too...

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  7. Thank you! Your grandma is a genius! And thank you for sharing the tip, you saved my separated ganache.

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  8. Thank you so much for posting the "fix", it worked on my ganache!!

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  9. Used the fix for the separated ganache. Thanks so much xxx

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  10. Genius! I used an immersion blender and did not add cream- but I had thought it was a lost cause- now it is perhaps my best batch of ganache yet!

    Thank you!
    Elizabeth

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  11. Thanks for the info on how to bring a ganache back from the brink of doom. You have saved my Chocolate Cranberry Torte from misery. Merry Christmas.

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  12. Let me add to the big Thank You's! My ganache went from tragic to triumphant in a few short minutes with your "fix." FYI: I noticed that my ganache only separates when I use 60% cacao Ghirardelli, as opposed to Hershey's or the store brand. Of course, the Ghirardelli's tastes fantastic.

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  13. You just saved my dinner party. I had a messy, grainy oily mess ... you fix turned my very expensive experiment into something I can serve tomorrow night!

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  14. Thank you so much! My separated ganache is back together again. I used the immersion blender like Elizabeth did above (August 2012), and it did the trick!

    I thank you and my son's birthday cake thanks you....

    Michael
    Lusaka, Zambia

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  15. AnonymousJuly 27, 2013

    This is the second time my ganache split on me. The first time was a lost cause, the party had already started and I was just desperate to get the cake finished, and had the ganache on the cake before I realized it had separated. This time, I noticed first because I was in fear of it happening again. I was almost in tears and wanted to just start again but didn't want to waste 6 oz of good bittersweet chocolate so I searched on Google and your page was the first to pop up and it saved my day and my mother's birthday cake! Your grandma is a genius and thank you, thank you, thank you for posting this.

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  16. Thank you so much. Grandma just saved my day.

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  17. I HAVE NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER AND LOTS OF EVERS!!! SUCCESSFULLY MADE A GANACHE !!!! They all say it's easy, but it's rocket science to me and it's just never happened. So today I tried it again, for a cake I was preparing and relying on for this evening ... and as expected, a mass of oil and lumps and yuk yuk yukkiness ! So I jumped on this computer, screamed help at it and you popped up - a million failed ganaches or ganach'i' ;o) .. I obviously didn't expect the fix to work, not for me anyway, in fact, I'm so bad at ganache that I don't know what it's really supposed to look like - they say silky, glossy, lots of wow ... nope, not mine .. so back to it, I tried your gran's fix, bunged it all in the blender, added the cream................. OH MY GOD !!! CAN YOU HEAR ME !!!! IT'S GLOSSY, IT'S SILKY AND IT'S EDIBLE !!! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH !!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU !!! You deserve an award for rescuing me !!! you're no doubt a genius and I naturally will be glued to your blog. Genuinely, you and gran are total geniuses and ditto to the last comment, you saved my day and taught my something valuable. Many sincere thank you ! sending you a big chocolate ganache hug !!!xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx!

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  18. you and Grandma are cake GODDESSES!!! Thank you so much for this you saved my day and my grandson's birthday cake!!! xxxxxx

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  19. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! My ganache has been saved by your tip from your grandmother. They always know best!! Thank you and thank her. Thank you again

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  20. I make ganache all the time without any issues except for yesterday.... I was horrified at how it separated and just like everyone else am so grateful at your miracle fix.. it was perfect after processing with a bit more clean and I was able to finish filling my macarons that I spent a whole day making after 3 attempts! Thank YOU!

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  21. I could kiss you for this! Your tip to save the split ganache just rescued a big part of my Christmas day dessert for my in laws! Thank you

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  22. I guess I've been lucky so far as I've never had my ganache separate. I've always heated the heavy cream and poured over chocolate chips, chunks or grated. Let it sit a few minutes and melt the chocolate before whisking. I've always also put it straight into the fridge if I wasn't using it directly after making it.
    The biggest problem I have is keeping it. I can just eat it by the spoonfuls! lol

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  23. Oh my gosh...you are a life saver!! my ganache is saved!! Thank you for sharing this fantastic tip...:D :D

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  24. Yes.. my separated ganache now saved too....

    Maybe now I will succeed in understanding why all the chocolate cake recipes online that are too liquid never rise... including black bean choc cake and chickpeas. ..?

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  25. This afternoon ws the first time I have tried making ganache - disaster - all lumpy and oily! I am another person who tried your grandmother's fix and it worked. Thank you so much for posting such a useful tip.

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  26. Thanks so much! Your tip helped save my chocolate! :)

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  27. Adding my voice to the chorus! I discovered my ganache had gone grainy at 11pm the day before my cake was due to a friend's party. Thank you so much for sharing your grandmother's fix! I was still up until 5am but I got SOME sleep and I didn't have to waste 2 lbs of chocolate thanks to you!

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  28. God bless you..back to shiney ganache...knob of butter and a drop of cream in a mixer. X

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  29. Thanks so much for posting this. I just made a devil's food cake and was preparing the chocolate ganache frosting when it separated terribly. I popped it in my Vitamix blender and gave it a whiz for a few seconds. It came together beautifully! Thanks so much for saving my cake. I have to bring it to a friend's house in an hour or so.

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  30. I'm not sure whether you'll be able to answer this in time.....but would this 'fix' work after leaving the ganache overnight to set into the correct consistency for coating a cake before icing?

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  31. Warm it in the microwave first, that will do it. Many thanks to Nuala for the advice and congratulations on your posts up and coming 5th birthday.

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  32. Wow! My ganache is saved! Thank your gran

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  33. I had the same problem so used an electric hand mixer and dribbled a little bit if cream in and to my relief it came back together and went on the cake easily. It was white chocolate ganache too. Thanks Granny!!

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  34. Your Grandma is BRILLIANT!!

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  35. you saved my day! I'd just reached melt down when I decided to google. I now have a beautiful cake for a dinner party tonight thank you!

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  36. THANK YOU!!!!! This worked perfectly. Just added a couple tablespoons of heavy cream and it came out smooth. Saved close to $45 in chocolate!

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