Whipped Chocolate Ganache Frosting

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Whipped chocolate ganache frosting is smooth, rich and melts in your mouth. It's great for spreading and piping on any cake or cupcakes. 

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This silky smooth frosting is easier to make than Swiss meringue buttercream. It's just chocolate ganache (cream and chocolate) melted and blended together with a little confectioners' sugar for stabilizing.

This is a beginner level recipe but results in an impressive and luxurious frosting.

Jump to:

• What Is Ganache?
• Recipe Ingredients
• Ganache frosting basics
• How to Make Chocolate Ganache Frosting
• Ways to Use Ganache Frosting
• Tips for Making Whipped Ganache Frosting
• More Easy Frosting Recipes:
• Whipped Chocolate Ganache Frosting

I have loads of popular frosting recipes on the blog. You'll love classic cream cheese frosting, creamy peanut butter frosting, and I even tell you how to make the best frosting for brownies.

What Is Ganache?

Ganache is that silky chocolate mixture in the middle of truffles.

You make it by gently melting chocolate with hot, heavy cream. Once solidified it is a melt-in-your-mouth delight. Often it is poured over cakes before it cools and creates a nice shiny coating.

If you whip ganache when it is just cooled, it becomes a spreadable, fudgy frosting. I whip it in a stand mixer or with a hand held electric mixer.

It only takes a few minutes and you'll know when it starts to thicken. I use whipped ganache on many cakes, as the filling on layer cakes, and piped onto cupcakes.

Recipe Ingredients

As I mentioned above, traditional chocolate ganache is a two-ingredient wonder made with just heavy cream and chocolate (I used semisweet for this recipe).

I also added a little secret ingredient — half a cup of confectioners' sugar. While whipped ganache can get stiff enough to spread, I wanted a little insurance for stability in this recipe.

The sugar also gives it more of a traditional frosting texture, while the actual frosting still melts on your tongue without the grittiness of a traditional buttercream.

For even more flavor, I added vanilla extract to the frosting. I recommend using pure vanilla extract, if possible.

Ganache frosting basics

Ganache is made with a 1:1 ratio of cream and chocolate, by weight. You'll see variations on this ratio, but this is traditional and works best.

You can use chocolate chips or chopped chocolate. Chocolate chips have stabilizers in them and can effect the texture of the ganache slightly. If you can, just use some high-quality baking chocolate.

Simmering cream is poured over chopped chocolate to create the ganache. It's important to let this mixture sit for 3 to 5 minutes so the chocolate can heat evenly.

At this point the ganache is stirred until smooth. You can use this smooth ganache for pouring on cakes or petit fours, the tops of cupcakes, or chill it and scoop it for truffles.

I cool this mixture down and then whip it for this whipped chocolate ganache frosting.

How to Make Chocolate Ganache Frosting

Whipped chocolate ganache frosting is incredibly easy to make, but it tastes so much fancier than it actually is!

1. Heat cream and confectioners’ sugar in a saucepan. Bring the mixture just to a simmer.
2. Remove the cream mixture from the heat and pour over the chopped chocolate in a mixing bowl. Let sit 5 minutes, then stir until smooth. Add the vanilla.
3. Set the bowl over another bowl filled with ice and water (an ice bath), and allow the mixture to cool, stirring occasionally.
4. Whip the cooled ganache in a mixer until lighter in color and just fluffy and spreadable.

Can This Recipe Be Made in Advance?

No, I recommend preparing the ganache frosting just before you plan on using it.

That being said, you can ice your cake or cupcakes ahead of time. Once the frosting is made and used on your dessert, the dessert can be kept cool or chilled for up to a day.

How Much Frosting Does This Recipe Make?

You'll get 4 cups of ganache frosting out of this recipe.

Four cups is plenty of frosting for a two-layer, 8-inch cake, or the top of a 9-by-13-inch cake. You'll have extra!

Leftover frosting can be stored in the fridge then gently heated to become an ice cream sauce, or sauce for fruit.

Ways to Use Ganache Frosting

I use whipped chocolate ganache frosting on many cakes, or as the filling on layer cakes.

I used this whipped chocolate ganache frosting on my Real Kit Kat Bar Cake.

This frosting is also the perfect companion to classic yellow cake for that traditional dessert of yellow cake and chocolate frosting. (My brother's favorite! Although I always have to make a gluten free cake for him.) It makes a genius combo for good, rich chocolate cake as well.

Use this frosting on cupcakes too. Ganache icing would be perfect atop birthday cupcakes, vanilla cupcakes, or chocolate cupcakes.

Tip: If you pipe the ganache frosting, don't attempt to pipe it too tall and high. It's so rich and somewhat softer than buttercream that it won't stand up to a tall pipe. Try my Extra Rich Milk Chocolate Frosting with extra confectioners' sugar for that.

For other recipes you can use this whipped chocolate ganache frosting for, try these:

Sweet Little flower cupcakes have chocolate frosting to mimic dirt under a cute candy flower.

Floating Ghost Cupcakes have a layer of chocolate frosting for the ghosts to sit on.

Tips for Making Whipped Ganache Frosting

• The main trick to success with this frosting is you need to spread and pipe it quite quickly before it sets again. It will maintain that shiny look if you do that. Otherwise it will look a bit rough (although it will still taste delicious).
• Don’t over whip this frosting or it will curdle.
• Cut this recipe in half if you just need about 2 cups for cupcakes or filling.

Let me know how it went!

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More Easy Frosting Recipes:

• Fluffy Vanilla Frosting for cake, cupcakes and cookies
• Caramel Frosting for cupcakes and spice cake
• Classic Cream Cheese Frosting perfect for cake or cookies
• The ultimate Milk Chocolate Frosting
• Swiss Meringue Buttercream for cakes and cupcakes

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