How can you possibly improve on classic chocolate ganache? By spiking it with flavor-packed hard cider. The result is this decadent, delicious, perfect-for-special-occasions spiked dark chocolate ganache.
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This recipe is…
Sometimes, the best recipes come from “happy accidents.” When Fed & Fit founder Cassy Joy Garcia reached into her pantry for a can of coconut milk to make her usual ganache…she found the shelf bare. So she pivoted, experimenting with butter and some leftover hard cider from her fridge instead.
When simmered with nothing more than dark chocolate and sea salt, the butter and cider morphed into a rich and decadent spiked chocolate ganache. It tastes incredible by the spoonful, or as the decadent finishing touch to our Flourless Chocolate Cake, but is also amazing drizzled over fresh berries or ice cream.
With just three ingredients and less than a half hour of time start-to-finish, this simple and sublime chocolate ganache is a perfect Valentine’s Day dessert recipe. Or, whip it up for a girl’s night in, date night, or for a quick and easy dessert option when you host brunch. (Dressed up in a pretty jar, it also makes an amazing homemade hostess or holiday gift if you can stand to part with it!)
Just like our Dark Chocolate Chili Pecan Clusters, Salted Chocolate Almond Butter Bark, and Chocolate Graham Cracker Bark, it’s a super quick and easy, no-bake dessert recipe that’s great to bookmark for the next time you have a chocolate craving.
Why You’ll Love This Spiked Cider Ganache
- Ready in 25 minutes, with just 10 minutes of prep.
- Super versatile recipe that you can use to top cupcakes and layer cakes, ice cream, fruit, or anything else that could use a drizzle of chocolate.
- You get to open a bottle of cider for the ganache…then drink the rest yourself!
- The perfecting finishing touch for our delicious Flourless Chocolate Cake.
- Keeps well for a couple weeks in the fridge.
Chocolate Ganache Ingredients
This decadent boozy chocolate ganache comes together with just three main ingredients, plus salt. Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and swaps) below.
- Dark chocolate – use high-quality, finely chopped dark chocolate chips, bars, or chunks. No matter what size you start with, you want small pieces or shards so the pieces will melt quickly without getting scorched. Large pieces that are slower to melt are more prone to burning.
- Hard cider – most hard ciders on the market are made with apples, but those made with pears are a great choice too. Ciders range from very dry to very sweet: any will work, but it’s something to keep in mind when choosing a bottle since no other sweeteners are used in this recipe. You can always add a touch of sugar if your combo of chocolate and cider tastes more bitter than you’d like.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Recipe Variations and Modifications
- Customize your chocolate – this recipe calls for dark chocolate, which is more bitter and intense than lighter varieties. But milk chocolate is delicious too, creating a sweeter and creamier ganache.
- Swap liquids – if you’re not a fan of hard cider, swap in rum or whiskey. Regular non-alcoholic cider is the perfect booze-free option. Or, substitute water, milk, or coconut milk.
- Go dairy-free – butter gives this recipe a richness you can’t get with non-dairy alternatives. But feel free to use dark chocolate and experiment with a vegan butter alternative if you’d like to make a dairy-free version.
How to Make Chocolate Ganache
Follow along below to make this quick and easy ganache in three easy steps!
Step 1: Add the hard cider, butter, and sea salt together in a small sauce pan. Whisk together over medium heat for 3 minutes, or until the butter is melted and everything is well-incorporated. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat, and stir occasionally for an additional 5 minutes.
Step 2: While the cider mixture is simmering, place the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl. When the cider mixture is done, pour it over the chocolate pieces and let it sit undisturbed for 5 minutes.
Step 3: Then, using a whisk, mix the now melted chocolate until smooth. Use right away to top cakes or drizzle on berries.
Recipe Tips
- Loosen up the ganache if it gets too stiff by reheating it in a double boiler on low heat. Adding a small piece of butter or a splash of cider will also help it become smooth and spreadable again.
- Spice it up with a touch of cinnamon, cardamom, or cracked pink peppercorns — or with a specialty salt like a pink or smoked variety.
- Use good-quality chocolate since lower-quality chocolate is more likely to result in a greasy or grainy ganache, rather than a smooth and silky one.
How to Serve
Serve the ganache warm over or room temperature over our Flourless Chocolate Cake, fresh raspberries or strawberries, or ice cream.
How to Store and Reheat
You can refrigerate this spiked chocolate ganache in a jar for up to two weeks.
Reheat it gently over a double boiler. Or, in a microwave for 10-second bursts, stirring after each spin.
Frequently Asked Questions
Classic French ganache is made of chocolate and hot cream, and is used to frost cakes, fill truffles, and add rich chocolate flavor to so many more desserts.
Our spiked chocolate ganache uses dark chocolate for intense flavor, grass-fed butter for creaminess and richness, and hard cider instead of milk to add a distinctive je ne sais quoi flavor that’s totally unique.
Traditional recipes use equal parts chocolate and cream. But our creative, boozy version uses a mixture of hard cider and butter that gives it both the richness of dairy, and a layer of distinct flavor from the cider.
Chocolate ganache will become firm as it cools. To get it back to its original spreadable consistency, reheat it gently over a double boiler, or for 10 seconds at a time in the microwave.
More Favorite Dessert Recipes
If you tried this Hard Cider Ganache or any other recipe on the website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Spiked Dark Chocolate Ganache Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces
- 1/2 cup hard cider
- 4 tablespoons grass-fed butter
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Add the hard cider, butter, and sea salt together in a small sauce pan. Whisk together over medium heat for 3 minutes, or until the butter is melted and everything is well-incorporated. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat, and stir occasionally for an additional 5 minutes
- While the cider mixture is simmering, place the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl. When the cider mixture is done, pour it over the chocolate pieces and let it sit undisturbed for 5 minutes.
- Then, using a whisk, mix the now melted chocolate until smooth. Use right away to top cakes or drizzle on berries.
Recipe Notes
- Customize your chocolate – this recipe calls for dark chocolate, which is more bitter and intense than lighter varieties. But milk chocolate is delicious too, creating a sweeter and creamier ganache.
- Swap liquids – if you’re not a fan of hard cider, swap in rum or whiskey. Regular non-alcoholic cider is the perfect booze-free option. Or, substitute water, milk, or coconut milk.
- Go dairy-free – butter gives this recipe a richness you can’t get with non-dairy alternatives. But feel free to use dark chocolate and experiment with a vegan butter alternative if you’d like to make a dairy-free version.
Nutrition
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Is there any specific chocolate brand you’d recommend?
Hi Blake! Guittard is our favorite! We also like Endangered Species Chocolate, Hu, and Lily’s!
Incredible recipe. Just delicious.
Can you offer tips on how to make this a peanut butter ganache?
What is a good replacement for the hard cider or is there one? I do not do any kind of alcohol.
Yes, I would love to know a substitute as well. I am thinking club soda.
Water, kombucha, coconut milk, or regular milk would all work! We’d stick with something sweet or neutral tasting.
My daughters birthday is next week and she has requested a chocolate cake with berries. This looks absolutely perfect. Does the alcohol cook off in the process? Getting you 6 year old tipsy at her birthday is generally frowned upon. =)
Erin, while the alcohol may cook off, the flavor is REALLY strong. I wouldn’t recommend this for anyone underage for that reason, I don’t really want to start my teens on a taste for alcohol… I tried this twice, once leaving out the salt to see if that would help, but if possible the alcohol flavor was stronger. Honestly I’m guessing that’s the idea with this? And as an adult only dessert, in that case, some might really enjoy it! (I gave it two stars, because it was quite smooth and creamy, but wow the alcohol is just all I taste, and I cook salmon in white wine often and love it… my husband doesn’t drink, he likes my salmon but also said the alcohol was way too strong in this.)
I didn’t care for it and I’m trying to decide if there’s another use for it, because I’m sad I wasted the chocolate, and the cider I would have rather just sipped on, I love hard cider! Lesson learned that I just don’t like strong alcohol flavor in desserts!
On a side note, flourless cake stands alone just beautifully, sprinkle a little powdered sugar on top and add the berries, and I’d bet your daughter would be delighted.
When will you be posting the flourless chocolate cake recipe? I would like to make and take to a neighbors Valentine’s dinner this Friday evening. This will be my first attempt at a flourless cake, is the springform cake pan imperative? Thank you for all your recipes, information, and snapchats! I enjoy it all.
Chocolate cake is live now, Deborah! I included a note to folks who don’t have a springform pan, too 🙂 So glad you’re liking everything!! I’m having a blast with Snapchat.
That sounds wonderful and so easy. I can’t wait for the flourless cake. Perfect for Valentine’s Day
Absolutely perfect!! I hope you love the cake – it’s live now!