I am currently working at a pastry shop in new zealand that is just getting into the wholesale market for gateaux s and other pastry lines thru the frozen market to our hotels, we have come against a problem with our ganache recipe which is a simple butter,cream and coverture recipe that when it is frozen and covered for protection from condensation it still seems to be breaking down with dewy spots and so forth if anyone can give us some ideas either with a useful ingredient change or packing changes it would be much appreciated.

By Casual Cook on Saturday, August 07, 1999 - 02:37 am: Edit

If this is anything like "weeping" of meringue, there are several ideas (add cornstarch, only place on warm cake/pie, to name two) at the taunton site (http://www.taunton.com/fc)

FC=Fine Cooking, then scroll down to Cooks Talks, and enter "weeping" in the search function.

HTH!

By Susan J. Greene, Esq. on Saturday, August 07, 1999 - 03:30 pm: Edit

I think part of the problem is that you are using couverture rather than real chocolate. I have never had a problem with ganache. Look in Marcel DeSaulnier's book Death by Chocolate or Nick Malgieri's new cookbook, Chocolate. They are great.

By W.DeBord on Saturday, August 07, 1999 - 10:50 pm: Edit

When you say it is covered for protection what exactly are you using? For instance a card board cake box really won't do anything to prevent the moisture on your product that causes wet spots. If your finish is a smooth poured ganache I haven't seen any small company market this style using freezing, most change the finish to hide this problem.It's my thought that you can't avoid this from happening in a normal enviroment. Maybe large producers have a techinque in the freezing process that controls moisture? Sorry

By jeee2 on Sunday, August 08, 1999 - 07:08 pm: Edit

Susan,

if couverture isn't real chocolate...exactly what is?? If you got this from the books mentioned I'd stay away from them. A bit of extra cocoa butter increases quality, flow and gloss .

Michael, you said

>> our ganache recipe which is a
simple butter,cream and coverture recipe>>

Its very susceptible to that, anything frozen would be but it just really shows up on chocolate.
I was doing wholesale cakes like this a few yrs ago and left the ganache until pre-delivery, freeze the cakes without the coating and do it per shipment. Deliver the cakes in good condition and let the customer screw it up.
Strictly for food cost I would omit the butter, its hard to justify at wholesale prices and its not necessary.

Regards, Gerard

By Morgane on Sunday, August 08, 1999 - 09:43 pm: Edit

Michael,

I always made made ganache with heavy cream and chocolate. I neve added butter to it. Could that cause the problem? Just a thought.


Morgane

By mikebel on Sunday, August 08, 1999 - 10:17 pm: Edit

thanx people for the ideas

By the sugar guy C.E.P.C on Wednesday, August 11, 1999 - 04:47 pm: Edit

rule #1 : dont finish frozen cakes with ganache.
use glacage instead!
if you must use ganache , add some glucose to it , otherwise it is too dry for topping cakes.by adding glucose to your ganache you are making it softer and more stable for freezing.
but i sell and make frozen cakes wholesale and i use chocolate glacage:
900 gr. pate a glacer brune(patisfrance)
300 gr. dark chocolate (any kind)
melt togethre
600 gr. heavy cream
400 gr. sugar syrop (1350gr. sugar+1000gr.water)
160 gr. glucose
warm in heavy sauce pan to 70deg.celcius.
mix both chocolate mixture and cream mixture to a shiny wonderful glaze.

By Lory Johnson on Friday, February 11, 2000 - 11:14 pm: Edit

Help. I am making ganache and the chocolate separated. Is there any way to save the ganache?

By PAM on Friday, February 11, 2000 - 11:58 pm: Edit

WHEN DID IT SEPERATE? I'VE NEVER HAD ANYTHING LIKE THAT HAPPEN.DID YOU KEEP STIRRING OR JUST STOP. MAYBE IT HADN'T EMULSIFIED YET. DID YOU BEAT IT BEFORE IT WAS THICK & SHINY?I COVER ALOT OF MY CAKES W GANACHE. IT'S SO MUCH EASIER THAN BUTTERCREAM. I JUST USE CREAM ,CHOCOLATE & LIQUOR. CHOP CHOCOLATE. HEAT CREAM TO SCALD(LESS THAN SIMMER)POUR OVER CHOCOLATE. LET SIT A FEW MINUTES TO MELT,START IN CENTER W WISK.GO IN LARGER CIRCLES. AS YOU STIR IT SHOULD START TO CHANGE & THEN BECOME SMOOTH & SHINY. THIS IS PERFECT FOR POURING OVER A THIN LAYER OF BUTTERCREAM. I USUALLY JUST MIX WHIPPED CREAM & COCOA TO SAVE MY BUTTERCREAM FOR THE LAYERS.IF I'M MAKING CANDY I WILL SOMETINES ADD SOFT BUTTER WHEN ITS PRETTY COOL,BUT USUALLY I FIND NO NEED.

By Mikeh (Mikeh) on Saturday, February 12, 2000 - 02:53 am: Edit

Do you mean that the cocoa butter separated out, or that it siezed? I've had cocoa butter separate out from chocolate plastique, but never from ganache. The biggest mistake I see people making with ganache is not adding the one component to the other all at once. If you are adding hot cream to chocolate, don't pour it in a slow stream. Same with adding corn syrup for chocolate plastique. If it siezed, you can either add a bunch more cream to it to make creme parisienne (chocolate whipped cream). I've also read that you can add a little vegetable oil to it to try to bring it back.

By Panini (Panini) on Saturday, February 12, 2000 - 08:52 am: Edit

If you didn't boil it, the cream seperated.Try to bath the bottom of the bowl with hot water adding a little liquor or oil.
This can happen. dirty bowl,old cream,.
Guess I'm saying the same as Mikeh.Sorry I just noticed.

By momoreg on Saturday, February 12, 2000 - 10:36 am: Edit

Ganache is one of those things that each pastry chef has his/her own secret for. It may take some time before you develop a method that works for your ingredients and measurements. I boil my cream and let it rest for a couple of minutes before I add it to the melted choc. But I've seen people make it with chopped choc. and boiling cream. If I were to do that, it wouldn't come out the same way.

By Steven (Steven) on Wednesday, February 21, 2001 - 07:49 pm: Edit

I`ve always just put cream chocolate and liqour in a double boiler(cold)let it melt down stirring until immulsified.
I use it to coat chocolate tortes and freeze them.
No problems.

By Meandjoeg (Meandjoeg) on Sunday, May 13, 2001 - 03:45 pm: Edit

I've always scalded the cream in an enamel pan, and then poured it over fine-quality chopped chocolate, off the heat. I then cover it with a dishtowel and let it sit for 5 minutes, then stir it with a wooden spoon until it become of desired consistency. It works every time.

I'm also partial to Valrohna chocolate- I'm a big fan of Maida Heatter.

By W.DeBord on Monday, May 14, 2001 - 08:14 am: Edit

Meandjoeq....Hum, I have several of her books (I think all of them, actually)....but I rarely bake out of them. I've made only a few items that I'd describe as "good" but I haven't found "great" in her pages. What's been a home-run for you that made you a "big fan of Maida Heatter"?