Coffee Ganache Food

GANACHE I

Steps:

• Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place it in a large stainless steel bowl.
• In a large, high sided saucepan, heat cream over medium high heat, stirring frequently, until it starts to boil. At this point, the cream will want to boil over, so keep an eye on it! Immediately remove from heat and pour over chopped chocolate.
• Stir until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is smooth. Cool completely and then store in refrigerator. Ganache can be reheated in a stainless steel bowl over hot, but not boiling, water.

COFFEE GANACHE

Steps:

• Stir together the instant espresso and boiling water until smooth. Set aside.
• Combine the cream and the corn syrup in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the espresso. Pour the mixture over the chocolate and let sit, covered, for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir until the chocolate is completely melted and the sauce is very smooth.
• Keep warm until ready to use, or let cool to room temperature and store in a container with a tight-fitting lid in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Reheat chilled sauce over very low heat on the stovetop or in the microwave until warm enough to pour easily.

CHOCOLATE GANACHE

Steps:

• Cook the chocolate chips, heavy cream, and instant coffee in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally.

GANACHE FOR HOT CHOCOLATE AND MOCHAS

Steps:

• Put the chocolate in a small bowl or 2-cup glass measuring cup. Pour the boiling water over the chocolate and stir until smooth and the chocolate is melted. If you have an immersion blender, use it to fully emulsify the mixture.
• The ganache can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Reheat gently in a microwave before using.

ALMOND-COFFEE GANACHE (VEGAN)

Steps:

• In a small (and looking at the quantity here, the smaller the better) saucepan, scald the milk.
• Remove from heat and whisk in the instant coffee powder.
• Add margarine, chocolate chips and almond extract and whisk till deliciously smooth.
• Taste, swoon, refrigerate until set.

ESPRESSO-INFUSED WHIPPED CHOCOLATE GANACHE

Steps:

• Place your chopped chocolate into the bowl of your stand mixer.
• Place the espresso beans in a sealable gallon-size bag (or between two pieces of parchment) and crush them with a rolling pin. Combine the heavy cream and espresso beans in a small pot and heat over medium-low heat until simmering. Remove from the heat, cover the pot and allow the cream to infuse for 10 minutes. Strain the cream through a cheesecloth-lined sieve into a clean pot. Return the cream to medium-low heat and bring back to a simmer.
• Pour the warm cream into the bowl of chocolate. Add the coffee liqueur if using and the salt. Gently stir the mixture with a spatula until smooth. Allow your ganache to cool until the outer edge of the ganache is a spreadable consistency; the center of the ganache may still be a bit loose.
• Fit your stand mixer with the whip attachment and whip the ganache on medium-high speed until the ganache lightens in color, 2 to 3 minutes. Don't over whip or you run the risk of breaking your ganache. Use immediately as a filling or frosting.
• Once the whipped ganache sets up it can be rewarmed in the microwave in 20 second bursts. Rewarmed ganache can be re-whipped or poured.