Ultra rich and chocolatey while still light and fluffy, this whipped chocolate ganache is my new go-to cake topping.
I’m really not a big fan of classic buttercream. I find it too sweet and rich for my taste, and when I eat a slice of cake with tons of buttercream I usually end up scooping a lot of it off. I do, however, looooove whipped cream on a cake. That’s what we used for this eggless first birthday cake for my niece Scarlet. But when it came to decorating this vanilla Oreo cake for Halloween, I knew I couldn’t use whipped cream; it had to be a brown frosting for the dirt around my skeleton. And then I came across this recipe for whipped chocolate ganache, which really is the best of all worlds. Not too sweet, super rich and chocolatey, and light and fluffy like whipped cream. It was the perfect topping for that cake, and is my new go-to frosting for just about everything.
So what exactly is chocolate ganache, you might ask? Well, It’s a super simple simple mixture made up of two ingredients: chocolate and heavy cream. Most often you’ll see classic chocolate ganache used as a glaze or filling for all kinds of sweet treats. But since the base of chocolate ganache is whipped cream, it whips up in practically the exact why that heavy cream does to make a super airy topping. And the reason why this is my new go-to cake topping, as opposed to frosting or buttercream, is because it’s the perfect balance to already sweet cake. Its not too sweet (there’s no extra sugar in this recipe), and just a tiny bit bitter from tons of dark chocolate. And yet it’s still incredibly rich and decadent, making it the perfect topping for any dessert.
MAKING WHIPPED CHOCOLATE GANACHE
I know chocolate ganache sounds like something fancy that you’d find in an artisanal bake shop, but it’s actually one of the easiest things you can make. In my vanilla Oreo cake recipe I mentioned that I’m really not a sweets baker, but even I couldn’t screw up this simple recipe. All you need to do is chop up some chocolate, heat up some cream, and pour it over the chocolate to melt. You will want to really take some time for this step to mix it well so that the ganache turns smooth and shiny. After that, you’ll wait until the ganache is cool, add in a few other flavors if you’d like (I did a pinch of salt and vanilla extract), and then whip it. It whips up in exactly the same way as heavy cream, using a hand mixer or stand mixer with the whisk attachment.
I like to use whole bars of really good quality chocolate for this whipped chocolate ganache recipe. I chop it up into small pieces so that it will melt more easily. You could use chocolate chips, but sometimes they contain extra ingredients (including a lot of sugar) as well as anti-caking agents. It’s easy enough to just buy whole bars of chocolate and chop them yourself. Plus, you can use whatever type of chocolate you like. I prefer a semi-sweet or dark chocolate, because I think the slightly bitter notes are the perfect offset to the already sweet cake. But you can use milk chocolate, or even white chocolate if you wanted a lighter-colored ganache.
Whipped Chocolate Ganache
Equipment
- stand mixer or hand mixer with whisk attachment
Ingredients
- 8 oz semi-sweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Place the chopped chocolate in a large bowl.
- Heat the heavy cream over medium-low heat until just starting to steam. Pour over the chopped chocolate and stir well until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth; this may take a few minutes.
- Let the mixture cool, either on the counter for one hour or in the fridge for 30 minutes, being sure to stir the mixture every 10 minutes if you leave it in the fridge.
- Once cooled, add in the salt and vanilla and stir well to combine. Then use a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment to whip the cream until it is light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
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