Dark Chocolate Ganache

Pour the heavy cream and corn syrup into a small heavy-bottomed saucepan. Set over medium heat and bring to a full simmer — you want small, insistent bubbles breaking across the entire surface, not a rolling boil that would scorch the fat. Watch the edges of the pan: cream scalds quickly once it reaches a gallop. The moment you see a confident simmer with steam rising in a column, remove from heat. The corn syrup dissolves invisibly but is doing important work: it disrupts sugar crystallisation and gives the finished ganache that jewel-like sheen that makes mirror glazes sing. Do not stir once it approaches heat — just watch. Total time on heat: 2–3 minutes.

Place the finely chopped chocolate in a deep, heatproof bowl — a deep bowl concentrates the heat and prevents splashing. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate in one confident pour, making sure all the chocolate is submerged or in contact with the cream. Do not stir yet. Wait 90 seconds, letting the residual heat of the cream melt the chocolate from the outside in. This patience is the secret: if you stir immediately, you introduce cold air before the chocolate has melted, risking a grainy, broken ganache. After 90 seconds, begin stirring with a silicone spatula from the very center of the bowl, making small, tight concentric circles. You will see a glossy, dark emulsion form in the center — keep working outward until the ganache is completely uniform, glossy, and no streaks of cream remain. This should take about 2 minutes of gentle, deliberate stirring.

While the ganache is still warm (but not burning hot — ideally around 40°C / 104°F), drop in the room-temperature butter cubes one at a time, stirring each in completely before adding the next. Room-temperature butter is critical: cold butter will not emulsify smoothly and can make the ganache seize. Add the pinch of flaky sea salt and stir it through — the salt performs two functions: it amplifies the chocolate's fruitiness and balances the sweetness so the ganache tastes complex rather than simply sweet. The finished ganache should be poured immediately if using as a glaze, or left at room temperature for 2 hours until it firms to a spreadable truffle consistency. For chocolate truffles, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours until scoopable. The ganache keeps at room temperature for 48 hours or refrigerated for two weeks.