In case anyone ventures here looking for holiday inspiration: For a plain Ganache you can just boil--bring it to a boil don't boil the crap outta it!--Heavy Cream (whipping cream NOT the Ultra Paseurized stuff if you can avoid it) and pour it over your chopped chocolate; cover with a heavy plate or a folded up tea towel and use a pot lid --this is to hold in the heat--and let sit for about 10 mins and blend. Will look "chunky" when you take the lid off but will blend smooth.



If your choc "seizes" ie becomes grainy and hard and funky looking DO NOT PANIC. Stir in a few teaspoons--you might need more but start with this--of either soft (if the cho mix is still HOT--or melted butter or shortening or coconut oil. Stir until it all melts AGAIN. If you don't have any butter etc use HOT CREAM.



I have read that you can add in some HOT coffee or other HOT liquid and if you keep doing this and stirring it might relax. I have not done this.



You can infuse almost anything into your cream and let it sit as long as it is not something that will go bitter or funky.



You can also use ganache--the melted choc-cream infusion--to FILL and FROST cakes or cookies. Just do it before it gets to the firm -scoop -for -truffles stage-



Buche De Noel recipes sometimes do this and then add a cream layer on top of the ganache for the "log" effect.



You can also melt dark chocs in a double boiler and add some corn syrup and spread it out on a sheet of wax paper and chill---if you "scramble" the top of it you can use for bark decorations.



Can see we are working towards holiday cooking here!!!!!



Great recipe tho! And I don't even LIKE Martha!