Video:Chocolate Ganache Recipe

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Transcript:Chocolate Ganache Recipe

Hello, I'm Michele Manfredi for About.com Food. Today, I'd like to show you how to make chocolate ganache, the pastry world's most famous chocolate confection!

Chop Ganache Chocolate

Chocolate ganache is a really easy recipe to make. It's simply equal parts chocolate and cream. I'm going to start of by chopping 4oz. of dark chocolate. I like to use a serrated knife for this, which I think, does the best job. When your chocolate is chopped, transfer it to a heatproof bowl.

Add Cream to Pan

Next I'm going to add 1/2 cup of heavy cream to this pan. As I said, ganache is half chocolate and half cream, so since we used 4 oz. of chocolate, we need 4 oz. of cream. Place it over medium heat and as soon as it comes to a simmer quickly pour it over your chopped chocolate. Make sure all of your chocolate is covered with the cream and just let it sit there for a minute.

Whisk Together Chocolate and Cream

After a minute, take your whisk and slowly start to stir. Now I have to warn you, when you start making ganache, it's going to look really bad, but don't worry, you didn't do anything wrong. If you keep stirring, you'll see how it comes together and forms a beautiful, thick, glossy chocolate sauce.

You're done when all the chocolate is completely melted. You'll want to use a really good dark chocolate in this, because the ganache is only as good as the chocolate you'll be using.

Add Salt and Flavorings

At this point, I like to add, a little bit of salt, which really brings out the chocolate flavor. You could also add some flavorings if you'd like. You could add a few drops of orange, almond, or mint extract. But for me, I like it plain, with just a pinch of salt. At this point you have the worlds greatest hot fudge sauce!

Let Ganache Cool

Now as chocolate ganache cools, it begins to thicken. You'll see here I let it cool slightly, and I'm using it to glaze these beautiful cream puffs. This is the most common use of chocolate ganache. If you let it cool even further, it gets thick like this and you can use it as a filling between layers of a cake. If you refrigerate it, and it cools completely, you can actually scoop it and form truffles. Just roll them in cocoa and you have incredible chocolate truffles!

And that's all there is to making chocolate ganache at home. If you have extra, simply store it in the refrigerator and warm it in the microwave to use it again. I hope you give this chocolate ganache recipe a try. Enjoy!

Thanks for watching. For more information, visit us on the Web at About.com.