I recently got an e-mail from Alice who asked, “When I asked my favorite bakery about the delicious chocolate frosting on their cakes, they said it is ganache? What is ganache and how can I make it at home?

Ganache is a mixture of sweetened chocolate (either dark or milk) and heavy cream. The proportions can vary slightly but I like to use 1 tablespoon cream to 1 ounce of chocolate. It takes about 8 ounces chocolate and 1/2 cup cream to fill and frost a cake. Gently heat the cream until bubbles appear around the edges. Finely chop the chocolate and whisk it into the hot cream until it is smooth. Cool slightly until it reaches spreading consistency and it is ready to use.