How do I make a chocolate ganache that does not split?

Ganache is an emulsion of fat and water, exactly like mayonnaise. It splits for the same reason: the fat and liquid separate when the balance or the temperature is wrong, and the same principle rescues it.

Step by step

1. Choose the ratio for the job.Equal weights of chocolate and cream gives a soft ganache for filling and glazing. Two parts chocolate to one cream gives a firm truffle or a whipped ganache. One part chocolate to two cream gives a pouring sauce.
2. Chop the chocolate finely.Small even pieces melt in the residual heat of the cream. Large chunks need extra heat, and extra heat is what splits ganache.
3. Heat the cream to just below boiling.Steaming, with bubbles at the edges. Boiling cream is hotter than the chocolate needs and can seize it.
4. Pour it over and wait.Two minutes without touching it. The heat does the melting and stirring too early cools it before the chocolate has melted through.
5. Stir from the centre outwards.A small circle in the middle first, which forms a glossy core, then gradually widen. This builds the emulsion from a stable centre.
6. Use a spatula, not a whisk, at first.A whisk incorporates air, which dulls the shine and can destabilise the emulsion. Stir rather than beat.
7. Add butter at the end if you want gloss.A knob of soft butter stirred in once the ganache is smooth and slightly cooled. It adds shine and softens the set.
8. Rescue a split ganache immediately.A tablespoon of cold milk or cream whisked in hard usually brings it back within seconds. If not, a stick blender almost always will.
9. Let it set at room temperature.The fridge sets it hard and can dull the surface. Room temperature gives a better texture and a glossier finish.

Tips

• Wait two minutes before stirring. Impatience is the commonest cause of a grainy ganache.
• Cold milk plus a stick blender rescues almost any split ganache.
• Adjust the ratio to the chocolate — white and milk chocolate need more chocolate per unit of cream than dark.

Common mistakes

• Boiling the cream and pouring it straight on — Chocolate seizes above about 50°C, and boiling cream carries far more heat than the melt needs. The cocoa solids clump and the fat separates out into an oily layer.
• Whisking hard from the start — It beats air in and cools the mixture unevenly, so the emulsion never forms properly and the ganache turns dull and grainy. Stir gently from the centre and let it come together.

If it doesn't work

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