Making ganache for the first time is an eye-opening experience. You will wonder what took you so long to savor the simplicity of hot whipping cream and chopped semisweet chocolate stirred together in this mysterious and irresistible chocolate sauce.

Ask a pastry chef what ganache is and he or she will answer a chocolate cake filling, frosting, or the center of a truffle. But if you look in a dictionary, a french dictionary, it says the word means “old fool”. Don’t know why, maybe because any old fool can put it together? Any way it’s simple and easy and can be used for several things, so here are some basics:

Begin with heavy cream in a saucepan. Bring it to a boil, then remove it from the heat and pour it over chopped chocolate in a mixing bowl. Stir until chocolate melts and its smooth. Then serve warm as a stunning glaze over cake or ice cream. Or cool to use as a spread on cake layers as a seriously luxurious frosting, or whip on high speed with an electric mixer for a whipped ganache frosting. Or cover the ganache with plastic wrap and let it get quite cold in the refrigerator. Scoop the ganache up with a melon baller into truffles and roll them in unsweetened cocoa powder or sprinkles or whatever.

Here are some ganache ratio’s that vary depending on the end result you desire:

For a glaze: use equal parts cream and chocolate (1 cup cream to 8 ounces chocolate)

For frosting: use about 1 cup cream to about 12 ounces chocolate

For whipped ganache, use more cream than chocolate, 1 cup cream to 4 ounces chocolate

For truffles: use 1 cup cream to 16 ounces chocolate

You can wrap the ganache in chocolate and refrigerate up to 5 days or frozen up to 6 months.

This can be an easy go to recipe for a quick dessert, a fancy impress the neighbors treat or something to say I love you.