Great color in the hood ~

Yes, this is it.  Simply a nice patina.

Dads & Chocolate ~

Father's day.  A quiet day without one, while sitting in gratitude for half of what brought me here in the moment.  Whatever the day might mean to you ~ I hope it's a good one for you and those you love.


And now for something completely different......
(To steal a good line)

Chocolate ganache ~

So much cream, so many slight variations.

As a baker I take into consideration the weather and how much time I have for the ganache to set, how and what I am applying the ganache...poured, spread or piped.  This morning it was piped.   Quietly alone on a Sunday morning...soft dark none-too-sweet chocolate and cream falling from a star tip onto chocolate cupcakes.  Men love chocolate!  Don't they?  :)  Today I believe they do.

Do you require something precise?  This might not be the place.  Do you need a definition of what it means to have it set up for several hours and exactly how long is that?  This is not the place to be precise, as much as baking is a science.  Ganache is on it's own time when it's ready, interacting with the temperature of the air it rests in, along with the readiness of the baker that is going to use it.

I use a 40% cream.  You might find only a heavy cream that is 36%.  Leave the whipping cream of less than 35% on the shelf for other purposes. 


If you want to pipe, I suggest leaving it overnight - in a spot neither too warm or too cool.  There is that non-precise part again.  I can only suggest that you take a spoon to it after several hours or overnight to see if it it is firm enough to pipe.  You get one bag filled with ganache to pipe...no reusing it as once hands move the ganache through the bag it starts softening and losing it's sharper piping.  

Fear not perfection for it doesn't exist...just dollop it on with a spoon and forget the piping - the taste is what it ultimately important.


Ganache ~

12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped.
1 1/2 to 1 2/3 c. heavy cream

• Place chocolate in a bowl, stainless or Pyrex.
• Put cream in heavy in a saucepan and heat to almost a boil.  
• Pull off just before the boil and pour over chocolate.  Let sit for about five minutes.  
• Gently stir with a whisk or spoon until blended.  Let sit for several hours.  
• If you cover it all the way with plastic wrap, condensation will form and drip down into the chocolate.  Leave it uncovered until it's not so warm to prevent condensation. 
• I'm not going to be a food snob.  If you use chocolate chips and don't want to chop them, be happy with that.  Picking one of the better brand of chocolate chips will give you a better end resu

Frost, pipe or schmear - heck...don't wanna wait?  Dip chocolate cupcake tops in it when it's warm.  Have at it.  Take a spoon, scoop it up and eat it.   Be indulgent.  Ganache makes it easy.

This cupcake in particular is going to my former husband today.  I will go meet him to pick the kids up from their weekend with him.  We made three beautiful children together that we both love dearly.  I have decided to stand under the umbrella of all that means and call it good.  He is their dad ~ there is a lot of love there.