Few things are more frustrating than a ganache with the wrong texture.
Especially if you want a pipeable ganache for your molded bonbons or one you can easily cut and handle for your enrobed bonbons.
We often think about ganache in terms of chocolate.
However, we need to be more specific and understand how the ingredients of the chocolate couverture we use affect the final texture of our ganache.
The Role of Chocolate Couverture Ingredients
1. Non-fat cacao solids are the fibers responsible for the taste of chocolate, but they also make ganaches more or less viscous (thick).
2. Sugar adds sweetness.
3. In the case of milk chocolate, milk powder adds taste to the ganache.
4. Dry solids affect the viscosity of the ganache and can dry out our fillings over time if their % is too high.
5. Cocoa butter determines the structure of our ganache, so this is what we want to pay attention to when we’re playing with our fillings’ texture.
Cocoa Butter
The more cocoa butter you use, the easier you can cut and enrobe your ganache.
On the flip side, the less cocoa butter you use, the more pipeable the texture of your ganache will be (making it perfect for molded bonbons).
Just remember to never go below the recommended cocoa butter percentage, or your ganache will be more of a chocolate sauce!
So, how much cacao butter should your fillings have?
IF YOU’RE MAKING MOLDED BONBONS
🍫 You’ll need a total cocoa butter content between 12% (if using dark chocolate) and 18% (if using white chocolate).
IF YOU’RE MAKING ENROBED BONBONS
🍫 You’ll need a total cocoa butter content between 19% (if using dark chocolate) and 30% (if using white chocolate).
This, of course, takes into account the cocoa butter that is already in your couvertures.
But you could add more to your recipes to adjust their texture.
-Melissa