Chocolate Ganache is made with just 2 ingredients- chocolate and cream but has so many practical uses as a dip, frosting, filling, and topping.
I have made this chocolate ganache recipe countless times as frosting for Chocolate Cupcakes, a dip for Eclairs, or poured over Poppyseed Cake. See our video below to learn how to master this ganache recipe.
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Easy Chocolate Ganache Recipe
The first time I made this chocolate ganache recipe, I messed it up because I stirred it too soon. I also measured the chocolate all wrong so be sure to measure your 8 oz of chocolate bars by weight (230 grams). If you don’t have a kitchen scale, you can measure chocolate chips with level dry ingredient measuring cups (1 1/3 cups). Measuring correctly is critical here.
Luckily, I’ve made the mistakes in the past so you can start with a master recipe for perfect ganache.
Chocolate Ganache Video
See how simple it is to make this amazing chocolate ganache recipe at home. Soon you’ll be pouring this chocolate sauce over everything you can get your hands on,
Tips for Making the Best Ganache
- 1:1 Ratio – you only need two ingredients measured in equal WEIGHT proportions. Measure the chocolate using a scale (or the package weight) and the cream with a scale or measuring cup meant for liquids.
- Good Quality Chocolate – For a classic ganache, use high-quality semisweet chocolate bars or chips (35-55% cacao) or bittersweet chocolate (60% cacao). It also works with milk chocolate and white chocolate.
- Tools for Ganache – You’ll need a small saucepan to heat the cream, a glass or metal heat-proof bowl to melt the chocolate, and a silicone spatula or metal spoon to stir. Make sure they are all dry because water can make ganache seize.
Only 2 Ingredients
It really is just chocolate and heavy cream, but be sure to measure correctly and use good quality ingredients for the best taste and texture.
- Chocolate – classic ganache is made with semi-sweet chocolate. I recommend using high-quality chocolate bars such as Ghirardelli baking bars which have 40-50% cocoa, chopped into small pieces with a serrated knife. You can also save a step by using high-quality chocolate chips which I get at Costco with 51% cocoa. See substitutions below for bittersweet, milk chocolate, and white chocolate.
- Heavy Whipping Cream – Use heavy cream with 36% milk fat. Heavy cream with 40% milk fat will work, but the ganache will be too thick to pour. Avoid half-and-half or milk because the fat content isn’t high enough for the ganache to set.
Substitutions
- Dairy-free and Vegan – use dairy-free/vegan chocolate and replace heavy cream with full-fat canned coconut milk. Shake the can well then measure 1 cup or 8oz of coconut milk.
- Flavors – once the chocolate is melted, stir in a few drops of extract (vanilla, peppermint, coffee, or orange), peanut butter, instant espresso powder, orange zest, or liqueurs
- Chocolate – you can substitute with bittersweet chocolate but the ganache will be less sweet. If using milk chocolate or white chocolate, decrease the cream by about 2-3 oz.
How to Make Chocolate Ganache
It’s so simple to make chocolate ganache. Follow these easy steps and then see our troubleshooting section below if needed.
- Bring the heavy cream to a simmer in a small saucepan. You will see steam coming from the pot and small bubbles around the outside, but don’t let it boil. As soon as it simmers, pour the cream over the chocolate chips, swirling the bowl to cover all the chips.
- Cover the bowl with a lid to trap the heat and let it sit undisturbed (no mixing) for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and swirl the chocolate chips with a silicone spatula or metal spoon. It will turn into a velvety ganache right before your eyes and you’ll get excited!
Pro Tip:
Keep in mind that the longer the ganache sits, the thicker and more of a frosting or mousse it becomes, but it won’t become hardened. Once it has cooled, or after refrigeration, you can whip it into a frosting (see instructions below).
There are 3 Forms of Ganache
- Ganache Glaze or Dip: Let it sit uncovered at room temperature for about 15 minutes until it coats a spoon nicely before pouring it over a cake (see our tips below)
- Ganache topping or filling: wait until it cools, then cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Use it plain to frost a cake or cupcakes; as filling between cake layers, or inside cupcakes or donuts; or pipe using a wide-tipped piping bag.
- Whipped Ganache: refrigerate for 2 hours then whip on high speed for a few minutes until fluffy and lightened in color. It makes 3 cups of ganache frosting which pipes beautifully.
- Bonus: To make chocolate truffles you need a thicker mixture. Use a ratio of 2:1 (8oz semi-sweet chocolate to 1/2 cup heavy cream). Chill the mixture until firm then scoop into balls. Roll in topping and refrigerate.
How to Glaze a Cake with Ganache
Place the cake on a wire rack over a rimmed platter or rimmed baking sheet. Pour your slightly cooled liquid chocolate ganache evenly over the top of your cake until the desired coverage is reached. You can lift up the wire rack and re-use the chocolate ganache that drips onto the platter.
Troubleshooting Chocolate Ganache
If you notice the chocolate ganache is separated, lumpy, too thin, too thick, or grainy, Have no fear! Here’s how to fix it:
- Lumpy – chocolate isn’t melting. the cream may not be warm enough or the chocolate pieces were too big. Solution: Reheat in a double Double boiler or microwave for 15-second intervals between stirs being careful not to overheat.
- Separated, oily, or seized – cream was too hot or there was water in the bowl. Solution: stir in a tablespoon of warm milk one at a time until the mixture comes back together
- Grainy – you may have used a low-quality variety of chocolate chips, used a whisk (incorporates too much air), or a plastic bowl. Solution: add a tablespoon of warmed milk while stirring. If it gets too thin, add a bit more chocolate.
- Too Thin/Too Thick – the ganache will become thicker as it cools, but if it’s not setting up or thickening, the Solution: try melting more chocolate chips and stirring them in. If it’s too thick, add warmed milk by tablespoons.
So many uses for Ganache!
These are SOME of our favorite ways to use ganache. The uses are endless! Let us know in the comments how you use it:
- Poured as Icing over Cheesecake, Brownies, Poppy Seed Cake Roll, or Chocolate Babka
- Frosting for Chocolate Cake, Tiramisu Yule Log Cake, Mini cheesecakes, or Peanut Butter Cookies
- Filling for Italian Cookies, Pumpkin Cookies, Macaroons, Cream Puffs, Cream Horns, or layered cakes
- Dip for Homemade Marshmallows, Donuts, Apple Fritters, or Shortbread Cookies
- Stirred into regular or Iced Coffee
- Swirled into Banana bread or Zucchini Bread batter before baking
- Served as fondue with strawberries, bananas, or Churros
- Drizzled over Ice Cream, Scones, Pecan Pie Bars, Baklava, Bread Pudding, Baklava Cups, Mini Pumpkin Pies, Crepes, Cinnamon Rolls, Pancakes or Waffles
Make-Ahead
Chocolate ganache keeps well at room temperature on the counter for up to 2 days. Once it’s cooled, cover it with plastic wrap so it doesn’t dry out on top.
- To Refrigerate: cover in an airtight container for up to a week
- Freezing: freeze in an airtight container for 3 months
- To Reheat: thaw in the fridge. If separated, reheat on the stove or in the microwave, adding more warm cream or melted chocolate chips as needed
This decadent chocolate ganache is one of our favorite chocolate recipes. It’s so easy and delicious that you’ll be searching high and low for things to dip, spread, and cover with chocolate sauce. Don’t wait to try this recipe!
Easy Chocolate Ganache Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 oz semi-sweet baking bars, finely chopped, or chocolate chips, 230 g by weight or 1 1/3 cups in dry ingredient measuring cups
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream (36% fat), 8oz or 240 ml by liquid volume
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, bring the heavy whipping cream just to a simmer on the stovetop, stirring occasionally. Just as soon as you see a simmer, immediately remove from heat and pour over chocolate chips. Swirl the bowl to be sure all the chocolate is covered.
- Place a lid on the chocolate chips to trap the heat. Let it sit without mixing for 5 minutes, then remove the lid and swirl the chocolate chips with a silicone spatula. Start in the center and work outward until the mixture is smooth, but be sure not to overmix.
- Let the ganache sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before pouring it over a cake. See more ways to use ganache in the notes.
Notes
- Serving Size is based on 2 Tablespoons of Ganache. The recipe makes 1.5 cups of ganache or 3 cups of whipped ganache. This is enough to glaze one cake roll or frost 12 cupcakes.
- Milk fat matters: Use heavy whipping cream or heavy cream with 36% fat for the best results. Do not substitute with milk, half and half, or light cream.
- For dairy-free or vegan ganache: vegan/dairy-free chocolate and a can of full-fat coconut cream instead of heavy cream. Shake the can well, then measure out 8oz.
- The chocolate ganache will thicken as it cools.
- If you want more ganache, increase the ingredients proportionally.
- How to Use Ganache: To glaze a cake, cool for 15 minutes and then pour over the chilled cake. For frosting, let the ganache cool completely, then cover and refrigerate for 2 hours until mousse-like texture. Spread or pipe as frosting or whip using an electric mixer for whipped ganache.
- How to Store Ganache: cool completely. Cover and store at room temperature for 2 days, refrigerate for 5 days or freeze for 3 months. To reheat, thaw in the fridge.
Nutrition Per Serving
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Omg…just made this came out perfect. I made a brownie layer cake filled with chocolate mousse and wanted to finish with ganache. I’ve never made it and found lots of recipes online but went with yours. So glad I did, it’s delicious. Thanks!
Lisa, thank you for trying out my recipe, I’m glad you liked the ganache 😀 .
I can one make this more shiny? Add butter, or corn syrup? How much?
Hi Pam, I actually haven’t tried either one so I can’t say exactly how much to add of either. One of my readers wrote “I add butter to mine, and the slightest bit of Karo syrup. It makes it have a beautiful finish!” but I haven’t tried it myself.
can i use fresh milk instead of whipped?tnx
Hi Cathy, I haven’t tried that substitution so I can’t say for sure. If it has a lower fat content than heavy whipping cream, then it will take considerably longer to thicken.
Thank you so much for making this post! It’s was so easy to follow and my ganache came out perfectly. Your the best!
That’s awesome!! Thanks for the great review 🙂
Hi. Is there a way to make fans ganache with half and half? Thanks
Hi Tammy, I personally have never tried it so I can’t vouch for it, but I have seen it done online. From what I’ve read, if using half and half, it’s not as creamy so you have to wait longer for it to get to a point where you can spread or pour it over a cake.
I made a quick version of this in the microwave, using unsweetened almond milk. Turned out great! I do have a question tho.. I plan on making this for a cheese cake. When its finished I will send a pic. Lindsey (life, love, sugar) gave shared turtle cheese cake and I plan on making a pool of your ganuach drizzled with caramel and pecans. Yea! Hope it turns out well!
My granddaughter has requested a two layer chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and decorated with fresh strawberries. I’m going to use your panache recipe. It is wonderful. Can you tell me how much chocolate and cream to cover a two layer ten inch cake.
This should be enough to cover it. I usually use it for a 9″ cake but I think you could stretch it for a 10″.
This recipe turned out great. I did not have to wait 15 minutes though. It was ready to pour in 7. Wonderful reviews from family. I will be using this often. Thank you for the helpful advice.
You are welcome and thank you for the great review :D.
Came out perfectly! Directions were extremely easy to follow!
I’m so happy you liked it! Thank you for the great review.
This is awesome! super easy to make and so delicious, Thank you !!!
I’m so glad you liked it! 🙂
This worked perfectly! I was impressed with how precise the time frames were, and spot on! Delicious and delightful!
That’s awesome! Thank you so much for a great review 🙂
In the end, superb result. However, I did not read the recipe accurately and added the chips to the cream… not vice versa. That dramatically increased the cooling time. I ended up putting the saucepan and ganache in the refrigerator. After about a half hour, the results were excellent; richly chocolatey but not too sweet. I think I may add some vanilla extract the next time… and there will be a next time. I want to make this the next time we have friends over for dinner if not for dessert then so they can stir some into their coffee.
Mmm I love the idea of stirring it into coffee. Mocha coffee! 🙂 Thanks Cindy!
Loved the way you described the process!! Makes a beginner feel like she can conquer the world with the Ganache 🙂 thank you Natasha!! Loved the pics too..can’t wait to come back n try all other recipes!
Thank you so much Betsy! I hope you love everything you try 🙂
i tried this for the first time yesterday and it Came out great. So I thought. But it never thickened to frosting just staYed runny. What did I do wrong?
Did you use heavy whipping cream rather than just playing with Ingram? Also, how did you measure out your chocolate chips?
Dear Natasha,
I’m so glad I found your recipe for glazing! I tried making my own, following my grandmother’s recipe from St. Petersburg, Russia. Unfortunately, it never came out! It would clump and burn.
I already used your glaze recipe to make “chocolate colbasi” – I’m sure you have heard of this awesome Russian dessert 🙂
All my best,
Olga
Did you coat your chocolate colbasi with it? I’d love to know how you make your chocolate colbasi! 🙂
I break tea cookies into small ~.5in pieces and add toasted walnuts. I mix it with one egg and then pour glaze over it and let it sit for 5-10 min to absorb. Then I put the mixture out in a strip onto foil, and roll it like a kolbasi. It takes a bit of shaping and rolling of the ends so that the mixture doesn’t spill out. Once shaped, in freezer it goes for at least 2 hours. When ready, you just slice it and all the pieces of cookies and nuts look like kolbasi fat pieces 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing that
This recipe looks great! I add butter to mine, and the slightest bit of Karo syrup. It makes it have a beautiful finish!
can you use this ganache recipe to frost a cheese cake
Yes! I think it would be great on a cheesecake.
I am using this for a boston cream cake that will be served tomorrow– can it sit overnight in the fridge no problem?
Yes that will work fine. Now tell me more about this Boston cream cake… 😉
Good Morning!
Do you know if this recipe would work with Eagle Brand Sweetened condensed milk, or evaporated milk? I have both in the house, but heavy whipping cream would require a trip to the store, and my car is in the shop :(….
Thanking you in advance…
I haven’t tested it with either but I really think it needs the fat in HEAVY whipping cream (make sure it says “heavy”).
I made half of this recipe for the topping for my homemade cheesecake. It is delicious and so easy to make. I am going to use this recipe from now on for my chocolate covered strawberries and all of my chocolate cakes, etc. This is just awesome. So versatile too. Thank you!!!!
Ooooh pouring this over cheesecake sounds so so yummy! Thanks for sharing that with me 🙂
Tried this recipe yesterday. Super simple, yet reliable and yielded perfect results. I used it to glaze two mini pies. Thanks a ton!
Would you mind if I translate this recipe to Mandarin and share it on a Chinese website? I will clearly cite your website and your name 😀
http://www.xiachufang.com/
It’s a place where we share good recipes and post what we made out of them.
If you don’t feel comfortable about this it is completely fine to say no. Thanks again to the nice recipe 😀
Yes that would be perfectly fine. Thanks for asking! 🙂
Thanks for your generous reply! Enjoy the spring 😀
This is my go to frosting for cakes. I usually refrigerate a cake with this frosting because I usually fill the cake with something else. Today I made cupcakes and I will not put them in the fridge until after I serve company. I get concerned if this can stay out but it is not very warm not (my apartment is 63 degrees).
I’m so happy you love the recipe 🙂 Thanks for sharing that with me 🙂