Chocolate Creams

Ganache

Ganache is a French term referring to a smooth and velvety mixture of chocolate and cream. To make ganache, pour hot cream (cream with a 35-40% butterfat content) over chopped semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate and stir the mixture until smooth. The proportions of chocolate to cream can vary depending on its use, but the basic form is equal weights of chocolate and cream. Dark, milk, or white chocolate can be used to make ganache with different flavorings added such as liqueurs and extracts. Butter, oil, or corn syrup may also be added for a dark shiny glaze.

Ganache is widely used in the pastry kitchen. When barely warm and liquid, pour ganache over a cake or torte for a smooth and shiny glaze. If cooled to room temperature it becomes a spreadable filling and frosting. Refrigerated ganache can be whipped for fillings and frostings or formed into chocolate truffles.

The taste and quality of the ganache is primarily dependent on the quality of chocolate you start with. Not all chocolates are the same. It is important to use a 'pure' chocolate: chocolate that contains just chocolate liquor, sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla, and lecithin. Do not use a chocolate that has vegetable fat listed as an ingredient.

Chocolate begins with the beans from the tropical tree Theobroma, which translates to "Food of the Gods". There are three types of cacao beans (Forastero, Criollo, and Trinitario). The type and/or blend of beans, their quality, and where they are grown all contribute to the quality and taste of the chocolate.

Other factors affecting taste and quality of chocolate are:

• How the beans are roasted
• How the beans are ground into a mass called chocolate liquor
• How much extra cocoa butter is added to the chocolate liquor
• The quality and amount of other ingredients added
• How long the chocolate liquor is conched (processed)

A chocolate with a velvety smooth texture will produce a ganache that is velvety smooth. For semi-sweet chocolate, use a chocolate with no more than 58% cacao content. The cacao percentage tells us the amount of cacao (chocolate liquor and cocoa butter) the chocolate contains in relation to the amount of sugar. Therefore, a chocolate with 58% cacao means it has 58% cacao and 42% sugar.

Chocolate Mousse

Chocolate Mousse is a simple yet elegant dessert. While it uses only a few ingredients, its chocolate flavor is rich, and its texture is silky smooth, airy, almost foamy. Foamy is an apt description as "mousse" is French for 'froth' or 'foam'. The chocolate you pick is very important. Use a good quality semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate that you enjoy eating out of hand.

To make a classic chocolate mousse, start by melting chocolate with a little coffee and butter. Once cooled to room temperature, whisk in the egg yolks. Next, whip the egg whites with a little sugar until stiff peaks form. Then whip heavy cream with a little vanilla extract and sugar until soft peaks form. Then fold the whipped whites and whipped cream into the chocolate, and you are done. This recipe does use raw egg yolks and whites so the eggs should be very fresh with no cracks in the shell. However, if you are worried about salmonella, you can leave out the eggs and still make this dessert. Melt the chocolate with the butter and coffee. However, do not whisk in the egg yolks as stated in the recipe and do not add the beaten egg whites. Instead just whip the heavy (whipping) cream (double cream) (35-40% butterfat content) and gently but quickly fold the whipped cream into the melted chocolate cooled to room temperature. A chocolate mousse without eggs still has a rich chocolate flavor and creamy smooth texture, but the texture does not have the same light and airy (foamy) quality to it.

Chocolate mousse can be used to fill cakes or tarts. It can be either served immediately or refrigerated for a few hours. Some serving suggestions are to scoop the mousse into wineglasses, parfait glasses, teacups, custard cups, or pretty bowls or glasses. In addition, garnish with whipped cream, shaved chocolate, and/or fresh raspberries.