Drips are a quick, easy, and classic decorating technique that will take your cake to the next level. Chocolate ganache drip will give your cake a tasty and sophisticated look in less than 5 minutes! You can do this yourself at home and impress everyone at your next event! You do not need to be a professional baker to master this technique.
After reading this article you’ll know how to add chocolate ganache drip to your cake using two different methods and you’ll have a list of helpful tips to ensure a flawless execution. Let’s dive right in!
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
There are a few things you need to do to get your cake ready for a drip. It’ll need to be crumb coated, chilled, and the final layer of frosting will need to be applied. You can also try adding a chocolate drip to a store bought cake just for fun and skip all the prep work!
CHILL YOUR CAKE
While you are making the ganache, place your cake in the freezer. I like to apply ganache to a cake that has been frozen for about 15-20 mins. If you freeze it for any longer than that, then when you pull it out of the freezer to apply the drip the cake will start to sweat, and those aren’t the kind of drips we’re going for 😉 Also, if your cake is completely frozen, then your ganache will get too cold and the drips won’t work. They’ll begin freezing and sticking to the cake up near the top, and ultimately they will freeze before they actually form a drip. This is why it is critical that your cake is cold but not frozen.
TEMPERATURE CHECK
Once the ganache is made, you’ll have to closely monitor it for temperature. My favorite thing to do during the temperature test is to take a room temperature drinking glass, flip it upside down, and do a test drip on the bottom of the glass. If the ganache runs down the side of the glass quickly it’s probably too warm. Keep in mind that the glass is warmer than the cake, so depending on how far you want the drip to make it down your cake it will drip down further on the glass.
THE TEST DRIP
Regardless of what method you use, you’ll want to do a test drip. Once you feel comfortable with the temperature of your ganache, bring your chilled cake out of the freezer and set it on your countertop next to your bowl of warm (but not hot) ganache. Carefully bring a small amount of ganache over the top of your cake and slowly pour a small amount of chocolate onto the back of your cake. I like to do this on the ‘seam’ of the cake, or where I pulled the scraper off and a thin line remains. It’s up to you, but I recommend doing the test drip on the part of the cake that you like the least or has any imperfections. This will be your test drip. Watch it drip and see where it stops. This first drip will be the determinant of how much chocolate you want to pour off the edge to achieve the look you’re going for. I always recommend starting with less and adding more as you go if you want longer drips.
YOU’RE READY TO DRIP!
Now that you’ve read the prep steps and how to do the test drip, you’re ready to try your own drip using one of the following methods: the spoon method or the squeeze bottle method! Below I walk through each method in detail.
Method #1: The Spoon Method
I love this method because you don’t need any additional equipment and you get the most control this way. It takes a bit longer (I’m talking 2-3 minutes) but it’s how I started and still use this method on my cakes all the time.
Pull your chilled cake out of the freezer and place it on your turntable. If you don’t have one that’s fine, a plate or platter will do. You’ll just need to make your way around the cake by spinning the plate or walking around it.
With your bowl of ganache, take a silverware spoon and fill it up halfway with ganache. Make sure to scrape the ganache off of the bottom of the spoon back into the bowl to avoid an accidental pre-drip. You don’t want your chocolate ganache to accidentally splatter onto the cake when you didn’t intend it to (and believe me, it happens all the time!) The key is to be careful and keep your eyes on the chocolate.
Slowly make your way around the cake, slightly changing the amount of chocolate you drip off your spoon each time. I don’t like all of my drips to be the same length, I like to alternate between shorter and longer ones but it is totally your preference. I usually create 2-3 drips per spoonful.
Method #2: The Squeeze Bottle Method
This method is for the person who likes the spoon method but is afraid of accidentally spilling additional chocolate when moving the spoon from the bowl to the cake and back and forth. This method gives you more control during the transfer process.
I bought a plastic squeeze bottle at my local grocery store for less than $2 and it’s the perfect mechanism for the chocolate drip. It’s like what you see ketchup and mustard being served in at a diner or restaurant. I typically pour my chocolate directly into the squeeze bottle right after I finish making it so that it cools in the bottle. In my experience I don’t keep chocolate ganache in my fridge for more than a few days, but it should be safe to store in the bottle in the fridge with the cap on so its sealed for up to one week.
This method is a little bit faster than the spoon method if you have a squeeze bottle available because you can do one continuous movement around your cake without having to go back for more chocolate in between drips like you do with the spoon method.
REMEDIATION TECHNIQUES:
Something I am going to say when it comes to baking, and especially when it comes to chocolate, is that not every experience is going to be exactly the same. If you heat your ganache for a few seconds to long, or on too high of a heat, or don’t use the proper combination of chocolate to heavy cream, you could majorly alter or even destroy your ganache. It’s quite simple if you follow the directions, however we all come across scenarios where we may need some help in deciding if the ganache is salvageable or if its time to start over:
- If you need to re-melt your ganache, you need to do it carefully in the microwave in 5 second intervals
- You can also place your cake in the fridge rather than the freezer. I personally don’t have a lot of patience and like knowing that I only need to wait 15-20 minutes for the perfectly chilled cake, however the fridge will work as well. You will need to leave it in there until the cake is cold to the touch
- If your cake is really cold and you don’t like the way your drip came out, you can carefully scrape it off without running the frosting too much
Now that you’ve read the different methods its time to pick one and try this on your own! I recommend trying both and the more you practice the more you’ll feel which method works best for you. If you try it out I would love to see your creations, so be sure to tag #cakebykelli on Instagram. Happy dripping!