One of my favorite easy things to dress up a cake is to do a chocolate ganache drip finish. Over the years, my ability to create the drip look has definitely grown, and I get tons of questions asking what my secret is. The truth is, chocolate ganache has definitely put me through the wringer before (especially white chocolate ganache, which used to be my absolute nemesis). After figuring out the perfect ratio for chocolate to heavy whipping cream and learning the do’s and don’ts of drip cakes, I’ve got it down to a science these days. And now you will too!
How to Make Chocolate Ganache for Drip Cakes
This chocolate ganache recipe has been my go-to forever, and it involves only two ingredients: chocolate and heavy whipping cream. There’s no need to be intimidated with this one. First, measure out the chocolate chips (or quality chocolate bar chopped into bits) into a glass or metal bowl. I like to measure these by weight for precision, but I’ve provided both metric and Cups measurements in the recipe below.
Next, bring the heavy whipping cream to a soft simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. Then, pour it over the chocolate and let it sit for about 30 seconds. This gives the chocolate a chance to soften up before whisking.
Whisk the cream and chocolate together until it’s uniform. It will look thin and resemble chocolate milk before it starts to come together, but keep whisking until it’s smooth.
Finally, let the chocolate ganache cool until it’s room temperature or slightly above. I recommend testing out a drip on an inverted glass to make sure it doesn’t drip too far (if it does, keep cooling it) or not far enough (if this is the case, warm it back up slightly in 5-second intervals in the microwave until it’s perfect drip consistency).
The type of chocolate you use will determine the amount of heavy whipping cream to incorporate for the perfect consistency. Although semi-sweet chocolate is the most common type I use for drip cakes, I’ve listed the ratios I use for all different types of chocolate below.
Although the recipe seems straightforward enough, there are quite a few tricks to learn before mastering the art of the drip. I’ve listed out a basic step-by-step tutorial and some troubleshooting tips below, but first, here’s a detailed video to show you how to make the recipe and everything you need to know about the technique I use for drip cakes:
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Chocolate Ganache For Drip Cakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup (185g) semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips, or a bar chopped up into bits
- 1 cup (240ml) heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Place chocolate chips into a heat resistant bowl (glass or metal). If you’re starting with a chocolate bar, chop it into small pieces until they’re about the size of chocolate chips.
- In a saucepan over medium-high heat, warm heavy whipping cream until it just starts to simmer. I always look for small bubbles forming around the edge and a soft simmer starting in the middle. When it's reached this point, pour the cream into your bowl of chocolate and let sit for about 30 seconds.
- Whisk it together until it’s uniform in consistency and there are no bits of chocolate left on your whisk. Cool ganache at room temperature for 10-20 minutes, or until the ganache itself is room temperature or slightly above.
Notes
Tips For Perfect Chocolate Ganache Drip Cakes
Tip 1: Be Patient With The Cooling Process
Once you’ve whisked the ganache together, it’s crucial to let it cool on your countertop until it’s room temperature or slightly above, about 10-20 minutes depending on how cold your environment is. Trying to speed up this process by placing ganache in the refrigerator doesn’t usually end well – I’ve found that it cools unevenly, leading to thick, globby drips.
Cooling in the fridge also leads to the urge to stir it too often. Ganache (especially white chocolate!) does not like to be stirred too often, and the end result can mean that your whipping cream starts to separate from the chocolate. You’ll know that this has happened because the ganache will look grainy and dull, or even separated like oil and water. To fix situations like these, you’ll need to reheat the ganache to 92ºF to melt the fat crystals and re-whisk to bring it back together.
Tip 2: Make Sure Your Buttercream Is Chilled
There’s a science to this tip. Since molecules move more slowly at cooler temperatures (and warp speed at higher temperatures), it makes a lot of sense that you can better control how far the chocolate ganache drips when the buttercream is chilled. Make sure that after you do your final coat of buttercream, you chill the cake in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
Tip 3: Always Do A Test Drip
When your buttercream is nice and chilled, do a test drip by letting the ganache run down the side of your cake. If it travels rapidly and pools at the bottom, your ganache is too warm. Continue to cool the ganache for another 5-10 minutes and try your test drip again. If it’s globby or doesn’t travel very far down the side of the cake, it’s too cold. Reheat the ganache in the microwave for about 10 seconds, stir, and try again. Repeat the reheating process as needed until you get the perfect consistency.
The good thing about a test drip is you’re able to see how the ganache will behave. That way you don’t have to commit until you like what you’re seeing.
Tip 4: Drip The Sides Before Filling In The Top
When I first started caking, my initial thought was to just dump ganache over the top of the cake and let it run down the sides naturally. If you’ve ever tried that before, you’ll know it doesn’t end up looking good. You’ll have a lot more control over the appearance if you start by dripping the sides until they’re aesthetically pleasing before filling in the top of the cake.
Try not to add too much ganache to the top when filling it in, because if you add any more to the drips you’ve created, it will make them travel farther than you’d like. Instead, try to use just a little ganache and spread it so that it just touches where your drips begin. The ganache on the top should self-level a bit, so don’t worry too much about getting it super smooth.
Tip 5: Don’t Touch Those Drips
If you’ve ever made a drip cake with ganache before, you’ll know that it’s a little sticky to the touch when it’s room temperature. When the drips have been refrigerated, they’re a little less fragile, but try not to touch the drips at all during the decorating or boxing-up process.
Chocolate Ganache Troubleshooting Tips
Since the consistency of your ganache is pretty much everything when it comes to a successful drip cake, I wanted to take a moment to talk about what to do if your drips are too thick or too runny. Most of the time, it doesn’t take a whole lot to bring your ganache back to ideal drip consistency. Here are some common problems and ways to solve them:
Problem 1: The drips are pooling at the bottom of the cake – this typically means your ganache is too warm, in which case I recommend to give the ganache 5-10 more minutes to cool down before attempting your next test drip on your chilled buttercream cake.
If you’ve let the ganache cool for a significant amount of time and the drips are still too runny, it means that too much liquid (heavy whipping cream) was incorporated into the recipe. To fix this problem, you’ll need to thicken the ganache with more chocolate. This will mean melting about 1-2 additional oz of chocolate in the microwave, warming the existing ganache to the same temperature as the melted chocolate, then whisking it all together before letting it cool back down to ideal drip consistency.
Problem 2: The drips are thick and gloppy – this means your ganache is too set (or too cold). To fix this, gently warm the ganache in the microwave in 5-10 second increments until it’s ideal drip consistency.
Problem 3: The ganache has split – this has never happened to me with this recipe, but if your ganache looks grainy or seized, it means that for some reason, the fat is separating from the liquid. To fix it, gently reheat the ganache in the microwave or over a double boiler to 92ºF to melt the fat crystals, then re-whisk to bring it back together.
Is there anything else you’d like to know about drip cakes? I’m certainly not an expert per se, but if you have more questions, let me know in the comments below and I’ll do my best to answer!
Thanks for this recipe. I used it today and results were perfect. I am not a practised Baker, but the result was perfect.
Hi Tina! That’s amazing!! I’m so happy to hear that you loved the recipe 🙂
Hi I’m in the UK and I’ve used whipping cream, it seems fairly runny. I’ve just read the comments above and it says double. Should I redo??
Hi Sam! I use Heavy Whipping Cream for this recipe, and I believe that is called Double Cream in the UK. Not sure if the Whipping Cream over there is the same as Heavy Whipping Cream/Double Cream or not. The ganache is usually really runny when it’s hot (right after it’s made), but should become more thick as it cools to room temperature. If it’s too runny at room temperature, I would redo with a 2:3 ratio (1 cup chocolate and 2/3 cup cream). Hope that helps!
Hi Whitney,
i was wondering how long do I wait to add sprinkles to my drips?
Hi Maria! After dripping the cake, I place it in the fridge for just five minutes to let it set up a tiny bit, then place the sprinkles. You’ll find a full tutorial for sprinkle drip cakes here: https://sugarandsparrow.com/sprinkle-drip-cake/
Can you share your buttercream recipe?? Thanks
Hi Muna! You’ll find my go-to vanilla buttercream recipe here: https://www.sugarandsparrow.com/vanilla-buttercream-recipe and more buttercream recipes in the recipe section of the blog.
Hola tengo una consulta a que te refieres con crema? Creo que en mi país nos e vende, será crema doble? Es la crema de leche batida, o chantilly? Muchas gracias
Hi Alyson! Heavy Whipping Cream is also called Double Cream (crema doble). <3
Hello I have a question, can I fix a cake where to many drips pooled at the bottom?
Hi Susana! The only way to fix that would be to scrape the chocolate ganache off, fix the frosting, and try again. It sounds like the ganache didn’t have enough cooling time before you started dripping the cake though, so next time I would let it cool more and do a test drip to make sure it doesn’t pool at the bottom before dripping the whole cake.
Hi is it possible to add gin and food colouring to the white chocolate recipe you previously mentioned, im planning on making a floating bottle gin drip cake so just wondered if its worth attempting. Thankyou
Hi Hanna! I have never tried adding alcohol to white chocolate ganache, but I know you can add it after pouring the cream over the chocolate. Make sure you decrease the amount of heavy whipping cream by however much gin you’re adding (to keep the liquid ratio the same). And then you can definitely add food coloring once all the ingredients have been incorporated and the ganache is ready to begin the cooling process.
Hi thankyou for your post…ive tried this before (not your recipe) and found the ganach had set but not too hard. when trying to cut a slice the ganach almost lifted off the cake each time the knife went up nd down. Im assuming ganach should not set at all and stay a watery consistency? I also found dark chocolate was a little bitter. If i use milk chocolate would that stop it from setting and have a better? Last question, Would your recipe create a large amount. Or just enough for an 8 or 10″?
Thankyou in advance
Hi Haleema! To answer your questions: 1) the ganache should set and be a little bit tacky, but not watery in consistency, after you refrigerate it for about ten minutes. This process helps the drips from not traveling too far down the cake (if they were watery, they would keep dripping down the cake). What you experienced previously with ganache is considered normal. 2) You can totally use milk chocolate with the same recipe ratio as above, and it will be much sweeter than dark chocolate. I almost always use semi-sweet chocolate, but have tried milk chocolate before and it’s delicious. 3) My recipe creates about 1 cup of ganache, which is sufficient for dripping up to a 12 inch cake. I hope you try my recipe!
Hi yes ofcourse, i aim to try his in near future. I probably shouldnt of said watery consistency because ofcourse itll just keep running♀️ , i suppose im looking for a recipe where it sets but probably not as hard, that it lifts off the cake. your receipe will be just right consistency.
Many thanks
Hi Haleema! Let me know when you try this recipe. I think you’ll be happy with the results! It sets, but is still semi-soft, so it won’t lift off the cake. It definitely doesn’t set hard like a chocolate shell or anything 🙂
Hi just thought id let you know how it went. It set perfectly! Its looks and tastes great. The only downside is the quantity is way too much ill try halfing it next time. But yes very happy with results. Shame i cant post a picture.
That’s awesome, Haleema! So happy you love the drip recipe!
Hi Mandy! I have never had a problem with my ganache appearing dull the next day, so I’ve never tried adding glucose syrup or anything besides what’s in the recipe.
Hi! I’m planning on doing a drip for the first time and am really excited about it! I’m glad I found your tutorial. I’m making it a day a head and wanting to put fresh raspberries on top. I plan on keeping it in the refrigerator over night. Have you ever done this? Just wondering if the raspberries will make the ganache kind of wet underneath them from the juice? TIA
Hi Andrea! I don’t think storing the cake overnight with the raspberries on top will be a problem. If you’re worried about the raspberries leaking I would drip the cake, store it overnight in the refrigerator, and add the raspberries on top the day of. The ganache will be set (not super sticky) after the refrigeration process, so if you need it to be sticky you could always add a tiny bit more ganache to the top the day of (see the recipe notes for how to store ganache overnight) and stick the raspberries on.
can I use this on a fondant drip cake??
Hi Alice! I’ve never tried the drip technique on fondant-covered cakes, so I can’t entirely recommend it. You can totally try it with fondant as long as the ganache is room temperature (so it won’t melt the fondant!) but in my experience it works best with a chilled buttercream finish.
Hi, Whitney, I want to decorate my drip cake with sweets (candy), is it possible to decorate the day before? I have to travel in the car for two hours and I had thought of decorating when I got there. I will have dripped the cake the day before and left in fridge overnight. Thanks
Hi Christine! It shouldn’t be a problem to decorate your cakes with candy the day before deliver, as long as the candy you’re using is good in the fridge (chocolate, etc). The only problem I have ever had with candy melting in the fridge is with cotton candy. That’s the only thing I really recommend leaving until the last minute.
I had black candy melt into my frosting before, turning my cake grey. Sometimes I think those last details should be applied last minute.
I’ve never really used Candy Melts for drip cakes, so maybe the color runs when you use those? In my experience with Chocolate Ganache and even colored White Chocolate Ganache I have never had problems with the colors running. I hope you give ganache a try!
Hi – I want to do a white chocolate drip over a lemon drizzle cake (iced with lemon buttercream). I see you’ve put a recipe tip about using 3 parts to 1 part chocolate to cream when using white. Sorry if I’m being stupid but could you possibly explain how that translates to actual measurements? I.e. how many cups/grams do I need of each? Also, I’m in the UK – is ‘heavy whipping cream’ the same as ‘double cream’?
Did you ever do your post on white chocolate ganache that you mention above?! Just wondering if I should be reading that!
Hi Helen! That’s not a silly question at all. When making white chocolate ganache, I usually use 1 Cup (185g) of white chocolate chips and 1/3 cup (79ml) of heavy whipping cream, which is the same as double cream. The steps in the above recipe will work perfectly. I haven’t yet done a specific post for white chocolate ganache drips but I definitely will in the future!
hi. ive done drip cake with white chocolate beFOre but when it reach the customer, the cake melt.. did i do anything wrong?
Hi Rose! At what point did the cake melt? If it was during the dripping process, the ganache was probably too warm. It’s essential to chill your cake before dripping it with room temperature ganache. Then I recommend keeping the cake in the refrigerator until you deliver it, especially if you live in a warmer climate. That way, the cake will be cold during the delivery process and the chances of it melting will be very slim.
Hi. Thanks for the helpful information. I want to do a drip with candy melts (since I already happend to have some). Would I use the same ratios that you mentioned above for regular chocolate? Would the instructions change at all?
Hi Kimberly! I have only used candy melts for a drip cake once, and didn’t like the taste as much as white chocolate or the consistency (it dries much harder!) but you can totally try it to see what works for you. I would use 12 oz of candy melts, chop them into smaller bits so they melt easier, use 1/3 cup heated heavy whipping cream and follow the instructions in the recipe above. Let me know how it goes!