Why we love chocolate ganache - Carême Pastry

Why we love chocolate ganache

Why we love a chocolate ganache tart

Whether you’re a beginner in the kitchen or an experienced cook, a chocolate ganache tart is one of the simplest and most delectable tarts you can serve your guests. It’s perfect for dinner parties and special occasions, and we think of it as the ‘little black dress’ everyone should have in their cooking repertoire.

Another reason to love a ganache tart is that it can be made in advance – the tart shell can be baked a day ahead and the filling can be prepared on the day (a 5-minute job while you sip your morning coffee). You can put it together in the morning, then leave it in the fridge to set while you get on with your day.

A basic ganache consists of two ingredients: cream and chocolate. In the simplest terms, you heat the cream, pour it over the chocolate, and you’re done! If you’re a lover of extra richness and texture, you can also whisk in some premium butter.

A ganache’s texture depends on the ratio of cream to chocolate – more cream means a looser ganache, while less cream results in a firmer ganache.

We opt for a 170g cream to 400g chocolate ratio, which creates a silky-textured ganache that’s best served at room temperature, so you should remove from the fridge at least 30 minutes before serving. View our chocolate ganache tart recipe here.

We always recommend you choose a good quality coverture chocolate for your ganache – we opt for a minimum of 70% cocoa solids, but if that’s too dark for your taste, try a 55% version.

Accessorising your ganache

If you want to keep things simple, you can serve your tart ‘as is’ with a scant dusting of cocoa powder and a delicate quenelle of thick cream or crème fraiche. If you like your desserts to be a little fancier, you can accessorise – a simple fleck of fleur de sel (sea salt) or a nut praline does the trick, but if you’re feeling particularly glamorous, a touch of gold leaf will elevate your tart well beyond the ordinary.

Here are three of our favourite topping options to dress up your ganache tart… enjoy!

Almond Crunch

Ingredients

  • 80g blanched almonds
  • 80g demerara sugar
  • 40g plain flour
  • 60g unsalted butter, melted.

Method

  1. Place the almonds in a food processor and pulse to a coarse crumb, add sugar and plain flour and pulse again to form a finer crumb. Transfer to a bowl.
  2. Add the melted butter to the almond crumb and mix until combined. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Spread crumb mixture on tray.
  3. Place into oven at 150°C fan-forced (170°C conventional) and bake for 25 minutes. Remove and leave to cool. Once cool, sprinkle over tart and serve.

Main recipe: Chocolate Ganache Tart

Chocolate Ganache Tart with Almond Crunch

Candied Orange & Pistachio

Ingredients

  • 2-3 oranges, thinly sliced
  • 1 cup caster sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 60g pistachios

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C fan-forced (200°C conventional). Spread pistachios evenly on a baking tray and bake for 10 mins until fragrant and toasted, then set aside to cool. Roughly chop pistachios.
  2. In a large frypan, combine sugar and water and place over medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved and syrup has come to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and add the orange slices in an even layer. Cook for 15-20 minutes, turning every so often, until the orange slices are translucent.
  3. Remove from heat and set aside to cool, removing the slices from the syrup. You won’t need the syrup for this recipe, but you can keep it in your fridge for cocktails or soda.
  4. Place the orange slices on top of the ganache tart and sprinkle with chopped pistachio.

Main recipe: Chocolate Ganache Tart

Chocolate Ganache Tart with Orange Pistachio

Drunken Muscatels

Ingredients

  • 150ml rich sweet sherry (eg. Pedro Ximinez*)
  • 150g bunch of dried Muscatels, cut into small clusters.

Method

  1. Heat the sherry to just below boiling point. Place muscatels in a medium bowl and pour the hot sherry over the top. Cover the bowl and leave to soak overnight until muscatels have softened and plumped up.
  2. Place the muscatels on top of the ganache tart and serve.

*Pedro Ximinez is a rich sweet style Spanish Sherry, can be substituted for Australian Muscat or Tokay.

Main recipe: Chocolate Ganache Tart

Chocolate Ganache Tart with Drunken Muscatels
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