Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

Hi madeitwithlove

I normally use your ganash recipe from the chart on Paul’s website but I’d like to achieve a glossy finish, as not applying sugar paste. Can you advise best way to achieve this please? I’d also like the ganash to have a firm set too.

Many thanks xx

Hello bellscakes

What you need is a pouring ganache. Paul has a tutorial for glossy ganached cake here:
http://www.cakeflix.com/online-cake-decorating-courses/easy-chocolate-wedding-cake
You’ll see all the ingredients in the ingredients list below the video. If you need help converting the amounts, let me know as you haven’t said how many tiers it’s for. To make coverage easier, have the cake on a turntable. Pour and rotate gently, use the palate knife to help the sauce cascade down the sides of the cake. Don’t touch the sauce once the cake is covered as it will loose it’s gloss. If you find your coverage is uneven/lumpy, use the medium heat of a hair drier to even out the surface. Keep a distance between the drier and the cake, you just need enough heat to make the sauce flow and not to melt or burn it. xx

Hi madeitwithlove

Thanks very much for your swift reply. I will take a look at the video. It is to be a single cake which is to be filled first with the ganas,h and then covered in the ganash and have a swirly gently roughed up effect to keep it simple. But it doesn’t sound as though this would be possible with the pouring ganash on Paul’s video. Also would the pouring ganash actually set firm? The cake has to be transported so ganash needs to stay firm.
I have looked at the ganash for the ultimate chocolate cake on the BBG good food website and it is glossy and has a slightly swirled pattern. Too many choices.

Many thanks xx

The pouring ganache which Paul has made will set up if you swirl it. Alternatively you can add butter to your made ganache which will also give it a gloss. Let me what size cake it is and how many layers and I’ll let you know the amount to butter to use. xx

Hi madeitwithlove

Thanks very much. I did have a look at Paul’s pouring ganash and it looks lovely, I will give it a try at some point. However for now I would like to just add butter to mine so if you can please tell me how much to add for:

6 – 12 inch amounts of ganash for round cakes please.

Hope you are keeping well and many thanks. xx

Hi bellscakes

I’m sorry for missing your post, can’t believe I missed it! I take it this ganache is only for covering and not for filling? For pouring over your cakes you should use 10% butter of the total ganach amount for covering only.
I’ve based the amount on a 7″ cake in my answer in the following question here, instructions there how to pour it on:
http://www.cakeflix.com/questions/glossy-ganache
For covering only amount of ganach look at my chart here:
http://www.cakeflix.com/carry-on-ganaching-new-charts-and-recipes

Work a small amount first as an experiment to see whether you like the result.
Let me know if this helps ….. and thank you for asking, I’m ok, 8 weeks now post op but still a long way to go. I’m on the road to some kind of recovery so can’t moan too much, got to be grateful for what I’ve got. xx

EDIT: Use your normal cream.

Hi madeitwithove

No worries about missing my last post. You must have loads to answer. But glad to hear you are getting better hope things keep going well for a speedy recovery. Well the ganash would be for filling and covering but I can easily fill with the non pouring ganash and then use pouring ganash for covering. I will take a look at the link for your chart thanks. It seems that there are so many different ganash recipes out there it can be quite confusing really.

Many thanks. xx

I’m going to be putting up some different recipes as soon as some of this swelling goes down. Unfortunately I have been advised by hospital to stand no longer than an hour at a time which makes wanting to do things a bit awkward. Please try a little of the butter ganache first before making up loads. You do need to see the shine and the set. I’ve never had any problems with it, usually sets hard enough to decorate with flowers and models. x

Hello again

The ganache sounds very nice. I will try out a little to see first as you suggested to see how it goes but it sounds perfect particularly as it sets firm and even can even take flowers etc. Aww I hope swelling goes down very soon and you hurry up and get better. It must be so frustrating for you particularly when you want to get on and do things.

Take care

xx

Thanks bellscakes, I hope the butter ganache works out for you. xx

Thanks very much madeitwithlove, I will let you know how it goes once I have made the ganash. xx