If you’re like me, you get into a cake project and after you’re done wish you would have written down what you used!!! I have done this SO many times! It’s as simple as a piece of paper and a pencil, but I just get so focused that I don’t think about taking notes while I’m working.
So, while I had some fresh ganache made, I decided to take some notes!! Have you ever wanted to know “How much ganache do I need to fill an 8″ cake?” Well, I’ve got some answers for you!
Now, before I give you my weights, I have to say that I like a NICE generous amount of filling in my cake. I usually try and do 1/2 ratio to cake. So, if my cake layer is 1″ thick, then my frosting will be close to 1/2″ thick. For ganache filling, you might use a bit less because it’s so dense! For the ganache I made the filling about 1/3″ thick. Filling is one of the best parts of a cake!
Here’s what I discovered worked for me! Again, this is dark chocolate ganache (a ratio of 2 parts dark chocolate to 1 part heavy cream). For the recipes, how-tos and tips, click here and scroll down to ganache.
Square:
For a 10″ square cake: 14 oz ganache per layer
For a 8″ square cake: 11 oz ganache per layer
For a 6″ square cake: 8 oz ganache per layer
Round:
For a 8″ round cake: 7 oz ganache per layer
For a 6″ round cake: 4 oz of ganache per layer
So, if you know you’re going to make an 8″ round cake and you’re going to have 3 layers of ganache in there, then you’ll need 21 oz. of ganache. Using the ratios of 2:1 to make the ganache, you know that you can use 14oz of dark chocolate and 7 oz of heavy cream to get your 21 oz!! That’s how much you’ll have to make! :) Just weigh everything out so you know each layer gets the same amount and you’ll be set! Now, to be safe, I’d round up and make 16oz of dark chocolate and 8 oz of heavy cream. That way you’ll have some extra for a midnight snack!! YUM! – or truffles!
I’ll have to do this for buttercream too! So, stay tuned!
Have a great week!! Blessings!
Thanks so much!
Thank you! Your tips help me out all the time! I appreciate it!!!
This is really helpful! Thanks for sharing, Jessica!
Thanks Jessica! I ganached my first cake this weekend. Turned out great!
It’s really helpful….thank you.
thks a lot for sharing,Jessica,i m going to give it a try.
i was wondering how long can i keep ganache in fridge,i m always asking if i can use it again or if i have to throw the leftover.
i ve even heard i can freeze it.
could you tell me more about it,please?
tks again
You can keep it in the fridge until the expiration date on the heavy cream that you used. Then, you can freeze it. It freezes beautifully! Just make sure to take the lid off when you set it out to come to room temp so that any condensation doesn’t drip into your ganache. Once at room temp, zap it in the microwave 15 secs at a time until you get it to a buttercream consistency!
Blessings!
thank you for your quick reply,i was so anxious to get my kids sick after eating leftover ganache just made few days ago!!
by the way,congratulations for your talent,you are very professionnal,everything you do is just so”clean”,so neat!!!
thk you very much for sharing your experience,your recipes and your tips.you are a good help for beginners like me!!
Thanks for the post! Very helpful! Btw, I’ve read in several place that ganache does not need any refrigeration. I’ve left it out at room temp several times as well and it stays perfectly fine
Thanks Jessica. This is really helpful. Knowing the amount of ganache to use can definitely be tricky.
Yes! It’s perfect at room temp! Which is why I love using it with fondant because I don’t have to keep it chilled to keep it firm!
another question,please!!!
the place where i live is an island,this is difficult to find chocolate,and when i can find some,it’s no quality choc;and expensive as well.
but ,since i ve discovered choc ganache,i can t go back to buttercream.
well,my question is:do you think i can fill and crumbcoat my cake with buttercream,and then frost it with a big layer of chocolate ganache to get it firm and smooth?
i was thinking about it,but no time to try yet;perhaps you know something about it?
what do you think about that idea?
thank you for your help,Jessica.i have so much to learn!!!!
Hi there!!
I actually rarely fill my cakes with ganache…usually it’s always buttercream! I just had it out and wanted to experiment with it. I usually always do buttercream filling with a 1/8-1/4″ layer of ganache on the outside for the shell. So, that saves A LOT of ganache! – and I think tastes a bit better as it’s not so rich. I hope that helps! You just don’t want to crumb coat in buttercream and then try to ganache over the buttercream…that doesn’t work out!
Hi Jessica, How do I figure out how much ganache I will need for just crumb coating an 8″ round cake with 4 layers? I’ll use it as a dam and crumb coat under fondant. I need to figure this out in order to price my cake and plan how much of the bi batch I’ll be using. Thank you!
There’s a program called the Ganacherator that helps you figure that out. You can also download my buttercream spread sheet in my design shop and there’s a converter in there for ganache! Here’s the link to my recipes (https://staging.jessicaharriscakedesign.com/recipes/) under the buttercream section is a link to the calculator and under the ganache section you can download the ganacherator. Blessings!
This blog made me feel better than the ganacherator. It worked out to about 8 kilograms for 3 layers of cake – unless I am reading it all wrong. Here she’s talking about around 33 ounces for 3 square ordinary layers that works out to about almost 2 kilograms – a very vast difference and this lady talks about filling her cakes with it as well (my family find it a bit hard for the inside, thus I know it’s not supposed to be done but I buttercream and put filling into the whole caboodle and then only ganache – works for me – apparently it should be working. But whoopsie it does too. Thank you for this much better reading – I need to find out how that ganacherator works before I diss it completely. She went to so much trouble. Cheers everybody.
Can’t even tell you how much your blog helps me on a regular basis. This one especially! Thanks again and keep up the awesome work!
Thanks Nicole!
Hi Jessica. I just love your blog and have learned a lot from you. I find it difficult to cover my ganache coated cakes with white fondant as you can see the dark ganache through it. Pls help me. Thank u for all your help. I don’t like white chocolate ganache and it is too hot where I live for coating cakes in smbc.
Hi there! Thank you for your sweet words on my blog. Unfortunately there really isn’t anything to do about the dark ganache and white fondant. The fondant does appear a little darker when on a dark ganache cake. If you can roll it a bit thicker, that does make a difference. The only time I’ve had issues with it is when I use the same white fondant for decorations…then the color is not the same. It is what it is…I’m sorry I don’t really have a solution. I also don’t like white chocolate ganache, so I just deal with the color issue. Honestly, unless you point it out, most people don’t notice. Blessings!
Hi Jessica. Pls forgive me but I am so confused. YOu say that you if you need 21 oz for a 3 layer 8″, you would use 14oz choc plus 7oz cream. How do you get to that? sorry if I sound dumb! lol
No worries!
Each 8″ round layer needs 7oz of ganache filling. If my cake has four layers of cake and 3 layers of the ganache filling, 3 layers of filling x 7oz = 21oz. Does that make sense?
Q: I have a question about ganaching cakes. I have a friend who would like me to make her an Ombre cake using buttercream – can I use ganache as a crumb coat to give a sharper shape and then apply buttercream, or will this react and not set – don’t want to make a mistake as this is a four tier cake and will work out costly if I get it wrong!!! – many thanks Adrienne
I haven’t done that before but think it would work fine as long as it stays cool. I can see in a warm environment that the buttercream might slip from the ganache since it’s such a smooth surface. I wish you the best!! Let me know how it goes if you decide to do it!
Hello, Do you know how much ganache is needed for 14″ square cake per layer please? Thanks
Hi there!
If you follow this link, you can download “The Ganacherator” which is a spreadsheet that helps you figure out how much ganache you need. To just figure out a layer, put the height of the cake at zero.
http://cakecentral.com/t/741743/the-ganacherator
*According to that program, you’ll need 39oz of ganache per 14×14 square layer.
Hi Jessica,
I’ve seen in one of your replies above that you rarely fill your cakes with ganache. I wanted to do this for a cake I will be doing next week. Basically fill a 10″ round cake 4 inch high and crumb coat with ganache. Do you think this will work/taste good? Thank you so much for your help.
It would be delicious and incredibly rich!! So plan less cake as your serving sizes will be smaller. Yum!
How do I calculate the amount of ganache needed if I am only doing crump coat with ganache? Filling would be in butter cream.
If you click on this blog post and scroll down to Ganacherator, and click on that link to download the spreadsheet, you can input how big your cake is, but put in zero layers and it will give you the amount of ganache for just a crumb coat.
http://www.craftsy.com/blog/2013/06/how-to-make-ganache/
Blessings!
Hi Jessica- can you please clarify that the metrics you provide above are for both filling (approx 1/3 in thick of ganache) AND crumb coating using ganache for the cake sizes specified?
Hi there
I don’t suppose you have weights for just covering the cake with it – I’m trying to go thinner on the ganache “shell” since brides have complained that because it gets so hard it negates the softness of the cake and none of them want the hard ganache as a filling any longer. I’m trying to find a way to do a quick pour (without a half a day’s scraping and smoothing and upside-downing) but using thick acetate sellotaped in a circle and not as thick as I used to plus to boot I now put if OVER my buttercream. Am I making UN-sense? so sorry, but even my kids think too much shell fondant destroys the soft inerts so I’ll never use it inside again. Whipped ganache with butter included – now THAT””S fantastic for inside, but this hard shell I reckon now should stay on the outside like a “sweetie-pie” chocolate covering – you think?
HELP! I am desperately trying to figure out how much ganache I need to make to fill and cover a 16×12 inch rectangular cake. If anyone could help me figure this out and also how much chocolate cream ect I would need. I’d be eternally grateful.
If you go up to my “Cake Resources” tab, then click on “Recipes” and scroll down to ganache, click on “The Ganachenator” and download the excel spreadsheet. You type in the size of the cake you are making and it tells you how much ganache you need!
How much would I need just to cover a 12 inch cake?
If I am using the ganache only to coat the cake as a base for fondant how much do I need for 8 inch round cake (2 8 x 2 layers sliced and stacked to make 4 layers of cake) and a 10 inch round cake (same slicing done here) or a 6 inch round or 7 inch or 9 inch…..you get the idea Any help would be greatly appreciated!!
You can download the Ganacherator (Find it under the Cake Resource Tab at the top, then under Recipes and under “Ganache”) or use my Buttercream Calculator in my Design Shop to figure it out. Blessings!
Hi Jessica can I ask what type of dark chocolate do you used for your ganache and can you give me some ideas on what brand or type of chocolate to buy. Please thank you so much
I use a 54% cacao content dark chocolate. It’s from Trader Joe’s, called Pound Plus bar. I LOVE their chocolate!! If you don’t have one close by Pastry Portal online has some YUMMY chocolate by Casa Luker. They can send you some samples!
I’m wanting to do a drip cake (Katherine Sabbath style) and would rather frost the cake with ganache instead of buttercream… I’m wondering if the cake and frosting are chilled well enough, will I have problems dripping the warm ganache over the chilled, like will it melt and get all warped underneath the warm dripping? Never have i used ganache before Thanks!!!
Hi Erica! You should be fine. If the ganache under the drippings is nice and cold, the dripping will firm up pretty quick. You also don’t need to put the drippy ganache on hot. You can wait until it’s warm and runny but not hot. Have fun!!
Hi jessica ,
i would like to know how do you calculated how much ganache will you need ?
i have a big cake to do the first tier will be a 14 inch
the second tier a 10 inch and the 3 a 8 inch
thank you
sandy
If you click on the “Cake Resources” tab then scroll down to “Recipes” then scroll down to Ganache and you’ll find more info and a link to the “Ganacherator” which is an excel program that will help you figure out how much ganache you need. Blessings!
Hi Jessica,
I really like your blog, It helped me learn many things. Thanks for all the information you shared.
I have a question, Im making my daughters 2nd birthday cake in this week, i wanted to do it ahead time. As you mentioned in the above comments you do fill your cakes with buttercream frosting and crumb coat in ganache. If i do so, can i keep my cake outside for two days after covering with fondant?? If not can you suggest me a frosting to fill your mud cake.
Thanks,
shiny
Thanks! So happy you found me! Yes, you can leave the cake out for a few days if the buttercream is a basic buttercream and doesn’t have anything perishable added to it like milk, cream or cream cheese. Have a blast at your daughter’s birthday! Blessings!
Hi Jessica! Love your blog cause it is very helpful for me. Should I chill the ganache covered cake before covering fondant? T
Thank you! So happy you’re enjoying it! The beauty of using ganache is that you can cover a room temp cake with perfection because you never have to worry about condensation. I might pop the cake in the fridge a good 30 min to get the ganache to set firm a little quicker, but then I’ll leave it out a few hours before covering it in fondant so I don’t have a cold cake to deal with. Then, if the filling is perishable, I’ll pop it back in the fridge after I get the fondant on straight and smooth. I hope that helps!
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Hello Jessica, how much chocolate and thick cream do I need to make ganache to fill and cover, and alsk pipe, a 12″ x 3″ deep round 2 layer cake?
I’m not sure. I would have to use the Ganachenator or my Buttercream calculator. Sorry!