Ganache split

The rescue

Try these in order.

1. Add a splash of warm milk or cream — a tablespoon — and whisk hard from the centre outwards. This alone fixes most split ganache.
2. Blend it. A stick blender in a narrow container, kept below the surface to avoid whisking in air, will re-emulsify almost anything.
3. Rebuild it. Warm a couple of tablespoons of cream in a clean bowl and whisk the broken ganache into it a spoonful at a time, exactly as you would rescue a mayonnaise.
4. If it is too cold and stiff, warm it very gently over a pan of hot water until parts begin to soften, then whisk.
5. If it is too hot, let it cool to about body temperature before trying anything. Whisking hot ganache rarely works.

Why it split

• Too much fat for the liquid. The commonest cause. Very high-cocoa chocolate contains more cocoa butter, so it needs more cream than a recipe written for 50% chocolate.
• Cream too hot. Boiling cream poured over chocolate can shock it. Bring it just to a simmer and pour it over off the heat.
• Stirred too early or too vigorously. Let the hot cream sit on the chopped chocolate for a couple of minutes, then stir gently from the middle outwards.
• Temperature shock. Adding cold butter, cold liqueur or cold cream to warm ganache.
• Water got in. A drop of water into melting chocolate causes seizing, which is a related but different failure — see seized chocolate.
• Overheated. Chocolate held too hot for too long separates.

Ratios by use

Chocolate to cream, by weight.

Pouring glaze

1:1.5 — thin, glossy, sets soft.

Truffle filling or spreadable

2:1 — firm at room temperature, scoopable.

Whipped ganache

1:2, chilled thoroughly then whipped like cream.

Tart filling

1:1 — sets sliceable.

Milk chocolate

Needs noticeably more chocolate — it contains less cocoa butter and more sugar and milk solids. Roughly 1.5× the chocolate for the same set.

White chocolate

More again, around 3:1, and it is the most prone to splitting.

Making it so it holds

1. Chop the chocolate finely and evenly. Large chunks melt unevenly, and the last unmelted piece is what makes people over-stir.
2. Heat the cream to just below a simmer and pour it over the chocolate.
3. Leave it for two or three minutes without touching it.
4. Stir gently from the very centre with a spatula, working outwards in small circles. A tight emulsion forms in the middle and gradually incorporates the rest.
5. Add butter or flavourings only once it is smooth and has cooled slightly, and make sure they are at room temperature.
6. Let it set at room temperature rather than in the fridge, which encourages grainy fat crystals.

Common questions