How to Tuesday :: How to Make Chocolate Ganache
Learn how to make Chocolate Ganache in a few easy, quick steps! It’s so elegant and sure to impress! This goes great with Brown Butter Toffee Shortbread!

There really isn’t anything that isn’t made better by chocolate. Let alone chocolate ganache. It’s like chocolate on creamy steroids. So yeah – it doesn’t get better. And what better time to slather everything in ‘roided up chocolate than at the holidays! See, I’m glad we’re on the same page. Chocolate ganache is really easy to make, you just have to have a touch of patience, an love of butter, and a deep seeded desire to cover every bit of your face with this like a mud mask. Too far? Well, you get my drift…

Last week I showed off my new favorite sin – Brown Butter Toffee Shortbread with Chocolate Ganache and realized I never did a How-To Tuesday on ganache! How rude! But I was sure to show you how to make your own browned butter. That’s a classic how-to everyone must know. Now we are rolling out two must know how-tos’ for those shortbreads.
First, you need three things – Chocolate, butter and heavy whipping cream. I told you this was a ‘roidy combo. No regrets.

Then, if you don’t have a double boiler – like me, gather a sauce pan and a heat-safe bowl. I use a stainless steel bowl in this case.
Fill the bottom of your saucepan with about 1 inch of water and place the heat safe bowl over the top. As exhibited above. Be sure that the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl – with the direct heat you would risk scalding your chocolate and ruining your ganache. No bueno!
When the water is at a simmer in the bottom of the double boiler, add in the chocolate and butter. What’s most important to remember is keep the simmer low and not a rapid boil. Just like with the direct heat, the rapidly increasing temperature can scald the chocolate.

Using a rubber spatula, stir and fold the chocolate and butter until they start to melt. I like to remove the chocolate from the heat when there are just a couple of chocolate chips left to melt. Chocolate retains its temperature very well and the chocolate will continue to melt even once it is removed from the heat and off the double boiler. Keep folding the chocolate until the chocolate melts completely.
Once it’s removed from the heat, stir in the heavy cream until incorporated and smooth. Then – lick the spatula. Again, no judgements.
Drizzle over your favorite treats, pour over desserts, cakes or ya know, whatever needs jazzing up with chocolate. And by that I mean, everything? Challenge Accepted!!
Ingredients for Chocolate Ganache
- Chocolate Chips
- Butter
- Heavy Cream

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Chocolate Ganache
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 1/4 cup 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: French
Description
Learn how to make Chocolate Ganache in a few easy, quick steps! It’s so elegant and sure to impress, and it goes great with Brown Butter Toffee Shortbread!
Ingredients
- 1 cup Chocolate Chips
- 3 Tbsp Butter, cubed
- 3–4 Tbsp Heavy Cream
Instructions
- In a double boiler – or a saucepan with a heat safe bowl – fill the saucepan with 1″ of water and bring to a simmer.
- Place the bowl over the saucepan with simmering water and add in chocolate chips and cubed butter to the heat safe bowl. With a rubber spatula, fold and gently stir the chocolate and butter together until the chocolate begins to melt.
- Just prior to the last few chocolate chips melt, remove the bowl containing the chocolate and butter from the heat and continue to stir until the chocolate chips have melted entirely.
- Stir in the heavy cream slowly until just incorporated. Drizzle and serve immediately.

Love these posts! I’ve always done the pouring hot cream over finely chopped chocolate and slowly whisking it together to emulsify the two–but definitely need to try your way.
Great tutorial Megan! Ganache is one of my most favorite things!
Mmmmm….ganache! A must have for every kitchen! Love your how-to posts, Megan!
Ganache would be perfect over vanilla ice cream. Oh man I can taste it already.
Love this series! Also, I want to drizzle this over everything in my life.
I would just take this ganache by the spoonful and eat it. Perfection!
This post came just in time because I am making a recipe today with chocolate ganache. Thanks for the tips.
Ooh interesting, I’ve never put butter in my chocolate ganache but I bet it adds a great richness.
Chocolate, Butter and Heavy Whipping Cream are the 3 best things on this Earth!!!! I would like a facial mud mask of chocolate ganache right about now đŸ™‚
So easy! Aaaaand I have all of the ingredients!
Mmm.. Always love chocolate ganache, such a multi purpose recipe! I’m curious what type of lighting your using for the photo’s? I’ve been debating buying some lights, since we have so little light on over cast days. I tried halogen construction lights last year but I’m not sure I’m completely impressed. Great photos! I’m off to dream of bathing in chocolate ganache!
I love that drizzling spoon shot!
I’ve never made ganache. And am embarrassed to say that out loud. But I just haven’t. And thus must now make it immediately. This looks so beyond easy and incredibly delicious!
Can we back up a second and talk about that amazing brown butter toffee shortbread puh-lease? OMG. Amazing.
I just adore chocolate ganache đŸ™‚ such a treat! I’ll be saving this!
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