I have made the caramel ganache several times and love the way it comes together. My tastes run to slightly sweeter, however, and I am wondering if it is possible to make it with a chocolate that has a lower percentage. If so, would I have to make any adjustments in the other ingredients? If someone has done this and can advise me, I’d very much appreciate it.

I love, love, love caramel ganache!  I also make the one from RHC and tweak it to have more caramel flavor, which also makes it sweeter. 

I keep the unsweetened chocolate and cream as written, but increase the amount of caramelized sugar, which makes it a bit sweeter and also brings out more caramel flavor.  I checked and for some reason I didn’t write down the exact amount that I increased the sugar, but I would estimate that it is between 10% and 20% more than the amount as written, e.g., instead of the 150g, I probably used between 165 and 180 grams.  The water used to dissolve the sugar in caramel is normally 26-30% of the weight of the sugar; the exact amount doesn’t matter, as long as it’s enough to dissolve the sugar (all the water boils off).

Thank you so much, Julie, for your quick response. I’ll try adding more sugar. Am I to understand, then, that I would also increase the water proportionately? I made this ganache a couple of weeks ago and needed much more than the recipe makes so I doubled it. It seemed that the sugar took longer to dissolve and therefore caramelized very quickly. I felt that it was almost on the edge of burning. If you were to need to double the recipe, would you do it in two batches instead to avoid this?

Hi, pears!

Just wanted to let you know that when I make caramel, I do two thing:

(1) whir the sugar in the blender to make it finer, so it dissolves faster; and
(2) let it sit in its water in the pan (covered, to prevent evaporation) for a few hours (less is fine—I just do it in advance of when I need it)—spending some time sitting in the water also helps it dissolve faster.

Hope that helps!

—ak

gpears - 27 February 2013 08:38 AM

Am I to understand, then, that I would also increase the water proportionately?

Yup.  For caramel, the only purpose of the water is to provide a way to dissolve the sugar.  It doesn’t remain in the final caramel, all of it boils off.  If you double the sugar then you should also double the water (or add ten percent or whatever adjustment you are making) so that it remains easy to dissolve. 

When I make caramel, I put the water in first and then the sugar, and after a moment or two when the water has spread to all of the sugar, I put it on the burner and begin heating.  Contrary to what most instructions say, I don’t stir at all, not even once, until the mixture has just begun to boil.  This helps keep sugar crystals off the sides of the pan.  Once it begins to boil, I remove the pan from the heat and stir slowly.  I return the pan to the heat and stir as necessary until all of the sugar crystals have dissolved.  Then I continue to heat (without stirring) it until it starts to color, at which point you can swirl it to even out the temperature so that it browns uniformly. 

If you were to need to double the recipe, would you do it in two batches instead to avoid this?

No, I have caramelized larger batches of sugar with no problems using my usual method.  Is it possible that there wasn’t enough water to dissolve all the sugar?  If so, your process may have been similar to making a dry caramel, which definitely works but is harder to control as it browns fast and unevenly.  If you’re ever wondering how much water to add, you can just multiply the weight of the sugar by 0.30 to get the weight of the water.

thanks so much Julie and Anne for your replies and advice. I’ll try your suggestions and I’m sure I’ll be fine.