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THE name
alone is flamboyant, and if you know ganache or have dug
a spoonful into it...the chocoholic sleeping within you
will be awakened. Ganache is rich, chocolatey and
utterly creamy. It can be used to make truffles, as an
icing for cupcakes or big cakes, for topping an
ice-cream sundae, for filling a cake or a doughnut, as a
base for chocoloate soufflé, as a soft center for
truffles, as a filling for fancy barquillos, as a
coating for cookies, as a base for chocolate mousse, and
for many other uses where chocolate is welcome. The most
basic manner of intake is the way a chocoholic purist
will consume it: ganache in a glass jar, with spoon in
hand, swoop in and eat ASAP! One can also incorporate
cognac into the ganache—and it will be like you bit off
the chocolate coating of a truffle and are about to bite
into the soft, exquisite center of the truffle. Sheer
pleasure.
 ‘Tableroy’
MANY of
us still think it’s a complicated recipe to follow.
That’s a myth! There are only two ingredients to make
ganache but these two ingredients have to be the best!
Chocolate tablea or semisweet chocolate chips that are
used for baking, plus heavy cream—whipping cream or
all-purpose cream. If you have these right ingredients,
the ganache is all yours!
In this
recipe, we used cubes of Chocolate “Tableroy”(see photo)
produced by a certain Mr. Roy from
Davao. He proudly announces his dark chocolate tableas are
of pure
Davao cacao—the best in the country. It is so rich that when
melted in hot water, the crema or cocoa butter floats as
a yellow film on the drink, showing how rich it is.
How
exactly is ganache made? The chocolate is chopped into
small bits, as small as chocolate chips or smaller even.
The cream is heated on low heat till just simmering.
This means the bubbles are very small and gather on the
sides of the pan. When the cream is scalded or has
reached simmering point, take off the heat and pour into
the bowl with the finely chopped chocolate. The heat of
the cream will melt the chocolate and incorporate it
into a creamier paste. At this point, you can add a
tablespoon of cognac or other flavoring to piggy-back on
the already chocolatey treat!
Here’s
the easy recipe.
Basic
Ganache
For 2
cups or more
■ 2
heaping cups chopped or minced chocolate chips or tablea
(if using unsweetened tablea, add amount of sugar
desired; some suggest to use muscovado sugar)
■ 1 cup
heavy cream
You can
grind the chocolate in a food processor, or grate it in
the big holes of a cheese grater, or chop by hand while
still semifrozen. Bring the cream to a gentle boil on
low heat. (But if you’re already an experienced cook,
use medium heat). Pour over the chocolate bits and let
it rest as it melts down the chocolate. When slightly
cooled, stir gently to incorporate. Cool further before
using. By cooling, the ganache becomes thicker. To
store: keep in a glass jar, tightly sealed.
(Absolutely keep it from “predators”!!!)
Nancy’s Notes
1.
Chocolates to use: chocolate chips for baking,
50-percent to 60-percent cacao content.
2.
You can
use dark bitter chocolate—the taste experience is haute
cuisine!
3.
Dark
bitter chocolate is healthy and contains the natural
“happy” chemical.
4.
Don’t
sweeten it too much.
5.
To spike
ganache: add 1 tbsp cognac.
6.
To add a
unique spike: add ½ piece of seeded, finely minced red
chilli.
7.
The
homemade chocolate tablea in the photo is the “Tableroy”
brand made by hand.
8.
To make
hot chocolate: 1 cup fresh milk + 1/3 cup ganache and a
pinch of salt to round out the two. To make a simple
chocolate drink: 1 cup boiling water and 2 cubes of
Tobleroy + muscovado sugar, as desired.
9.
Whenever
you come across good tablea that’s handmade, homemade in
our country, buy and support the industry.
10.
Make
ganache and teach the kids how to make it, too. It’s so
easy to make, the kids will gain confidence in cooking. |
