Whipped Chocolate Ganache
This rich and velvety smooth whipped chocolate ganache is the perfect consistency for filling and frosting cakes, piping onto cupcakes, and filling macarons. The perfect buttercream alternative for those who love chocolate and don't want their filling/frosting to be overly sweet!
Servings 4 Cups
Ingredients
- 2 Cups (16oz, 370g) semi-sweet chocolate*
- 2 Cups (16oz, 480ml) heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Place the chocolate chips into a heat resistant bowl (glass or metal) and set aside. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, warm the 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, cover it with a plate, and let it sit for 2 minutes.
- Whisk the chocolate and heavy cream mixture together until it’s uniform in consistency and there are no bits of chocolate left on your whisk. Cover the surface of the ganache with a piece of plastic wrap and refrigerate until the ganache is room temperature. This can take up to 2 hours depending on how deep your bowl of ganache is (the shallower the container the quicker it will set). With my medium sized bowl it took 50 minutes to chill.
- When the ganache is ready to whip it will be about the consistency of smooth peanut butter. Use a stand mixer with the whisk attachment or a hand mixer, whip the ganache on medium-high speed just until it lightens in color and maintains a nice peak (similar to the consistency of buttercream frosting), about 2-3 minutes**.
- Use immediately to fill and frost cakes, pipe onto cupcakes, or fill macarons. If at any point you need to re-whip your chocolate ganache frosting after it's been sitting out, just add it back into your stand mixer with the whisk attachment or use a hand mixer to bring it back to smooth consistency.
Notes
*Chocolate: Make sure you use good quality semi-sweet chocolate (chips or bar!). A good rule of thumb is to check the ingredients list for "cocoa butter" – this indicates that it's an authentic chocolate and not chocolate flavored candy melts. If you'd rather use a different kind of chocolate than semi-sweet, here are the measurements for other types:
- Dark Chocolate: use the recipe above, but add 4 extra Tbsp of heavy whipping cream.
- White Chocolate: use a 3:1 ratio, or 2 Cups (370g) white chocolate chips + 2/3 Cup (160ml) heavy whipping cream.
- You can make the chocolate ganache, cover with plastic wrap, and store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks before bringing it back to room temperature and continuing on with Step 3.
- The already whipped ganache frosting can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you're ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and re-whip until it reaches smooth frosting consistency.