We have seen those beautiful chocolate coated desserts, as we walk down the streets of New York. The smell of freshly baked breads filling the side walks, it just tempts us to walk in sit down, have a piece of that finely decorated desserts, with a cup of expresso. The clean silvers neatly arranged on the table, just welcoming you to join them to enjoy the freshness. It would be good to know how those shiny neatly coated chocolate desserts are made. The sheen of the chocolate depends on the tempering process. Usually tempering is done on a marble surface with the temperature being monitored. The ideal temperture for tempering dark chocolate is 84-86*F and in the case of white chocolate it would be 82-84*F.
There are different ways by which a dessert can be coated with chocolate and one of them is ganache which in french translates to: an emulsion of chocolate and cream. Ganache may also be made with butter or other liquids in place of cream.
There are two types of ganache (soft and hard).
Soft ganache:
Dark chocolate 1#4oz
Heavy cream 32floz
- Place the dark chocolate in a bowl
- Heat the cream to a simmer
- Pour the hot cream over the cocolate. Allow to stand for 1 minute, stirr until it is mixed thoroughly.
- It can be refrigerated for further use (needs to be melted on a double boiler when it is ready to be used again).
Hard ganache:
Dark chocolate 4#
Heavy cream 32floz
- Place the dark chocolate in a bowl
- Heat the cream to a simmer
- Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Allow to stand for 1 minute, stirr until it is mixed.
- It is recommended to use the hard ganache immedietly (as it hardens quickly)
- Also can be stored in refrigerator for further use (needs to be melted on a double boiler when it ready to be used again).
