Chocolate Ganche

I have a little obsession problem, especially with food. I can get fixated on a dish and just want to order it again and again if it's in a restaurant or make it again and again if it's a great recipe I've tried. Self-control and moderation are traits I'm working on.

With that said, Macaroni Grill has the most delicious ganache I've ever tasted. You can try it out by ordering a child's dessert of ice cream covered in ganache. Why go for the big fancy adult delicacies when you can have a simple ganache? Trust me, it's so yummy! Well, you can imagine my problem, I hope. Eating at Macaroni Grill for a family of 5 or 6 can get a little expensive. I got away with going last month because I used it as an excuse to celebrate my birthday and Mother's Day is coming, but I thought it might be kinder to my pocketbook if I just learned to make my own.

I went online and read through a couple of recipes and then came up with this combination on my own. It is VERY VERY close to the ganache at Macaroni Grill. It's close enough that I won't have to go out to eat too often, unless I start obsessing about their Italian cream sodas. Gotta' save something to look forward to, right?!

Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients:
8 oz. of Bittersweet Chocolate
1 C heavy cream
1 T butter

Break up the chocolate in a glass bowl, set aside. In a small saucepan slowly heat the heavy cream to just boiling around the edges, stir frequently. Immediately pour the cream into the chocolate, add the tablespoon of butter and mix with a wooden spoon until smooth and glossy. Top on cold ice cream.

Recipe: Angie Martens

Hint: When finished with the ganache, store in a plastic container in the refrigerator. When you want to heat up some more for a single serving of ice cream, scoop out a tablespoon or more and heat for 20 seconds in the microwave. Enjoy!

**Update to Come: We made our first batch with Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate. In the next few days I'll make a second batch with Hershey's bittersweet and tell you if it makes any difference.

** Update: The Hershey's bittersweet did not mix as well. It kept wanting to separate from the butter. The chocolate and butter completely separated when I put it in the refrigerator, so I just scraped off the butter and reheated the chocolate without the extra fat. That worked fine. If Hershey's was all I had available, I would not add the butter. The Ghiradelli had a more bittersweet taste, the Hershey's was not as vibrant. The Hershey chocolate didn't set up as well on the ice cream either. You can see below that the Ghiradelli gets a slight shell consistency when it touches the cold ice cream. The ganache at Macaroni Grill does, as well. Both were very yummy so I hope you'll give it a try!