How to use the ganache ratio calculator
- Enter the chocolate parts and cream parts of the ratio by weight. 1 and 1 is soft and pourable, and 2 and 1 firms up for truffles. These are examples, so adjust to taste.
- Choose which amount you know: the chocolate, the cream or the ganache total, enter it, and pick grams or ounces by weight.
- In More options, enter butter as a percent of the chocolate and the density of the cream for the volume.
- Read the chocolate, cream, total, the chocolate share and the cream as a volume.
Formula
cream = chocolate x cream parts / chocolate parts
chocolate = cream x chocolate parts / cream parts
cream volume = cream weight / density (about 1.01 g per mL)
When you know the total, chocolate = total x chocolate parts / (chocolate parts + cream parts). Butter, if added, is a percent of the chocolate weight and is added on top of the total.
300 grams of chocolate at 1:1, and a 2:1 truffle ganache
At a 1:1 ratio, 300 g of chocolate takes 300 g of cream, which makes 600 g of ganache that is 50% chocolate. The cream at 1.01 g per milliliter is 297 mL, or 1.26 cups.
For a 2:1 ganache with 450 g in all, the chocolate is 450 x 2 / 3 = 300 g and the cream is 150 g. Adding butter at 10% of the chocolate puts in 30 g, for 480 g in all. If you have 100 g of cream and want a 2:1 ratio, you need 200 g of chocolate.
How the ratio changes the result
Ganache is chocolate melted into warm cream, and the ratio decides what it becomes. With more cream it stays soft, so it works as a pour over a cake, a glaze or a filling after it sets slightly. With more chocolate it sets firm enough to roll into truffles or to pipe. Whipping a cooled, softer ganache makes it light and spreadable.
The ratios on this page are starting points, because chocolates differ in how much cocoa butter, sugar and milk solids they hold. Dark chocolate with a high cocoa content needs more cream to stay soft than a milk or white chocolate does, which can need less. Try a small batch and adjust.
Weights and volumes
Weighing is more reliable than measuring in cups for both ingredients. Chopped chocolate packs unevenly in a cup, and cream is measured easily by weight in the same bowl. The cream volume on the page uses a density of 1.01 grams per milliliter, an example that is close for cream and that you can change.
Keep ganache refrigerated and follow your own food safety practice for how long to keep it. To scale the recipe for a larger cake, use the Recipe Scaler, and for planning servings the Cake Servings Calculator. The Ingredient Grams to Cups Converter helps with recipes written in cups, and the Simple Syrup Calculator uses the same method of ratios by weight.
Assumptions and limits
- The ratio is by weight, with parts above zero and at most three decimals.
- Ounces are by weight, at 28.3495 grams per ounce. The cream density is between 0.5 and 2 grams per milliliter.
- Butter is from 0 to 100 percent of the chocolate weight.
- Nothing is stored or uploaded, and the page gives no food safety advice beyond the note on the result.
Frequently asked questions
What is the ratio for chocolate ganache?
A 1:1 ratio of chocolate to cream by weight gives a soft, pourable ganache, and 2:1 gives a firmer one for truffles or piping. Other ratios work too, and the right one depends on your chocolate and your use.
How much cream for 300 grams of chocolate?
For a 1:1 ganache, use 300 grams of cream. For a 2:1 ganache, use 150 grams. Enter the ratio you prefer and the chocolate weight, and the page works out the cream.
Does white or milk chocolate use the same ratio?
Not usually. White and milk chocolate are softer because they hold less cocoa solids, so they often need less cream for the same firmness. Treat the ratio as a starting point and test a small batch.
Why add butter?
A little butter, often a few percent of the chocolate weight, makes ganache smoother and glossier. It is optional here, and the amount is a percent of the chocolate weight that you choose.