As I wrote about a couple of posts back, the past month I discovered the joys of making chocolate ganache and using it top a toasted slice of bread ala La Maison Du Chocolat. While Ganache might seem like a scary French word, I write this to reassure all the young cooks out there that its just a fancy word for chocolate sauce – and is just as easy to make.

All you need to know about ganache, which is a little thicker than your generic Hershey’s syrup and has a lot more depth of flavor to it, is that it is a combination of chocolate and cream, and you can tinker around with the varieties of said ingredients to suit any occasions. By the same token, you can also be reassured that the recipe is fool-proof – if the sauce turns out thicker than you intended, it will harden into a nice, soft truffle. Much thinner than you wanted? Well, say hello to a nice chocolate glaze for a cake or muffin!

Heck, I didnt even have cream on hand, but found a nice easy recipe to use up the can of evaporated milk I did have. A couple of additional touches to deepen the flavor – and voila, I’ve have a bowl of chocolate ganache sitting in my fridge for the past week that I warm up in batches whenever I need it. So fear not, beginner cooks – give ganache a try and you can honestly claim to have added a bit of French flair to your cooking!

THE RECIPE: EVAPORATED CHOCOLATE GANACHE

YOU’LL NEED:

• 3/4 cup evaporated milk
• 1tbslp unsweetened cocoa poweder
• 1tbslp sugar
• 1-1/4th cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (more if you want it thicker, less if thinner)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

THE METHOD:

• Mix the milk, cocoa powder and sugar in a bowl over medium heat, mix and bring to a simmer. Take care not to overheat or let the milk boil.
• Once you see bubbles forming around the edges of the bowl and milk is simmering, remove from heat.
• Add chips to a glass bowl, and then add the hot milk to the chips.
• Whisk gently to melt all the chips and incorporate into a sauce. The heat from the milk will be sufficient to melt the chips.
• Add vanilla if needed and mix. You ganache is now ready to be used atop bread, icecream, cakes or to just be enjoyed by the spoonful!

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

• Store any leftover ganache in the fridge in the same glass bowl.
• The cold ganache will thicken up slightly. To return to the glossy consistency, remove desired quantity to a seperate small microwavable bowl and microwave it for 5-10 secs. Take care not to reheat twice, the ganache will turn bubbly.