Ganache
Ganache is a glaze, icing, sauce, or filling for pastries, made from chocolate and cream.
In the broad sense of the term, ganache is an emulsion between solid chocolate and a water-based ingredient, which can be cream, milk or fruit pulp. It has a smooth and shiny appearance. Depending on the ratio of cocoa butter and water in the finished product, ganache can be either semi-solid or liquid at room temperature, which allows its usage in a wide diversity of desserts and confectionery items.
Preparation
Ganache is a chocolate preparation containing cream. The ratio between these ingredients varies across preparations depending on the final purpose of the ganache. A 1:1 ratio will produce a relatively hard ganache appropriate for icing or filling foods. More chocolate makes a "heavy" ganache, appropriate for making truffles; more liquid makes a thinner, "pourable" ganache that can then be whipped.In preparing a ganache, cream and sometimes butter are heated. If the ganache is being infused with flavorings such as herbs or a tea, they are added to the boiling cream and left to steep for several minutes. After this, liquid is added to bring the ganache to its pre-boiling volume. The heated cream is added to chocolate, left to stand for a few minutes, and then stirred to combine. Finally, liqueurs or flavored pastes are sometimes added.
History
Ganache was said to have been created accidentally in the 1850s in Paris at a confectionary shop owned by Paul Siraudin, after an apprentice spilled cream on chocolate, prompting his master to call him "ganache". Ganache or crème ganache was originally sold as a kind of chocolate truffle. Siraudin named the sweet after a popular Vaudeville comedy debuted in that year by his contemporary Victorien Sardou called Les Ganaches.Other ganache-like sweets were probably made earlier. Jordan & Timaeus sold chocolate combining cocoa paste, sugar and fresh milk in 1839 in Dresden.