How-to
How to Make a Drip Cake: Ganache Ratios, Temperature and Tips
Key takeaways
- Use about 1 part dark chocolate to 1 part cream by weight; white chocolate needs about 3 parts chocolate to 1 part cream.
- Let the ganache cool to only slightly warm, about 90°F (32°C), before it touches the cake.
- Chill the frosted cake first, about 20 minutes, so the drips set where they stop.
- Always test one drip on the side. If it runs too far, wait a few minutes and test again.
A drip cake drips just right when three things line up: the ganache has the right ratio of chocolate to cream, it has cooled to only slightly warm (around 90°F or 32°C), and the frosted cake is cold. Dark chocolate needs about as much cream as chocolate by weight; white and milk chocolate need much less cream, about one part to three. Then test one drip on the side of the cake before you go all the way round. Below are the ratios bakers use, the steps, and fixes for the problems everyone runs into.
What a drip cake is
A drip cake is a frosted layer cake with a pourable glaze, usually chocolate ganache, run over the top edge so that it falls part of the way down the sides and stops in rounded drops. The top is then filled with the same ganache and decorated with fruit, sweets, macarons or candles. The look depends on the drips stopping where you want them, which is why ratio and temperature matter more than the recipe for the cake itself.
Ganache ratios for drips
Ganache is only chocolate and cream. The more cocoa solids a chocolate has, the more it thickens the cream, so dark chocolate needs more cream than milk or white chocolate. Ratios are by weight, not by volume.
| Chocolate | Ratio | Example | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dark (semisweet) | 1 : 1 | 100 g chocolate, 100 g cream | My Cake School; Sugar & Sparrow adds a little extra cream |
| Dark, thicker drips | 3 : 2 | 150 g chocolate, 100 g cream | Sugar Geek Show |
| Milk | 2 : 1 to 3 : 1 | 150 g chocolate, 50 to 75 g cream | Sugar Geek Show (2:1), My Cake School (3:1) |
| White | 3 : 1 | 150 g chocolate, 50 g cream | Sugar & Sparrow, Sugar Geek Show |
Bakers do not agree to the gram, and brands of chocolate differ. My Cake School uses 1:1 for a pourable dark drip, Sugar Geek Show uses a little more chocolate for thicker drips, and Sugar & Sparrow adds extra cream to dark ganache because it otherwise sets hard and can crack. Start in the middle and adjust with your own chocolate.
How to make a drip cake, step by step
- Frost and chill the cake. Smooth the buttercream as well as you can, because the drip follows every bump. Then put the cake in the refrigerator; Sugar Geek Show chills it for about 20 minutes before dripping. A cold surface makes the drips set where they stop.
- Heat the cream. Warm it in a pan until it just begins to steam. Do not let it boil.
- Pour it over chopped chocolate and wait. Leave it for about five minutes, then whisk until smooth and glossy.
- Let it cool to slightly warm. Sugar Geek Show suggests about 90°F (32°C). Too hot and the drips run to the plate; too cold and they stop as stubby blobs.
- Test one drip. Pipe or spoon a single drip on the side of the cake. If it runs too far, wait a few minutes and test again.
- Drip around the edge. Use a squeeze bottle or a spoon. Push a little ganache over the edge for each drip, varying the amount for longer and shorter drops.
- Fill the top. Pour ganache into the middle and spread it out to meet the drips.
- Decorate once it has set. Add fruit, macarons, chocolates or candles after the ganache has firmed up, or they slide.
Common drip problems and fixes
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Drips run all the way down | Ganache too warm or too thin | Let it cool a few minutes and test again; next time use a little more chocolate. |
| Drips stop as short blobs | Ganache too cool or too thick | Warm it gently in short bursts, stirring in between, then test again. |
| Dark ganache cracks when set | Too little cream for a dark chocolate | Add a spoonful of warm cream; Sugar & Sparrow adds extra cream to dark ganache for this reason. |
| Drips slide or smear | Cake not cold enough | Chill the frosted cake again before dripping. |
| Ganache set in the fridge | It was made ahead | Rewarm it in the microwave in 10-second bursts, stirring after each, as Sugar & Sparrow suggests. |
Colored drips
Pink, blue, mint or gold drips usually start from white chocolate ganache. Chelsweets uses 175 g of white chocolate to about 75 ml of cream and strongly recommends gel food coloring: liquid coloring gives weaker colors and, in larger amounts, can throw off the consistency. The same baker notes that the base color of white chocolate varies a lot between brands, so a whiter chocolate gives cleaner colors.
Plan the look before you bake
A real drip cake takes hours, so it helps to decide the colors first. In our Sweet Cake Shop you can build the same cake in a minute: round, square or heart, up to three tiers, any of 16 frostings, and seven drips.
The game works in the same order as a real cake: frost the tiers, add the drip, then the toppings. A drip shows best when it is clearly darker or lighter than the frosting, such as dark chocolate on pink or white chocolate on red. Our guide to colors that go together explains why, and the Sweet Cake Shop guide walks through all twelve orders, including five drip cakes.
Try your design first in Sweet Cake Shop. It runs in your browser on phones and computers, with nothing to download.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best ganache ratio for a drip cake?
About 1:1 chocolate to cream by weight for dark chocolate, and about 3:1 for white chocolate. Milk chocolate sits between 2:1 and 3:1. Bakers adjust these a little for their own chocolate.
What temperature should ganache be for drips?
Only slightly warm. Sugar Geek Show suggests about 90°F (32°C). Too warm and the drips run to the plate; too cool and they stop short.
Should the cake be cold before adding the drip?
Yes. A chilled cake sets the drips where they stop. Sugar Geek Show refrigerates the frosted cake for about 20 minutes first.
Why are my drips running all the way down?
The ganache is too warm or too thin. Let it cool a few minutes and test again, and use a little more chocolate next time.
How do I make colored drips?
Start from a white chocolate ganache with much more chocolate than cream and stir in gel food coloring. Liquid coloring gives weaker colors and too much of it can thin the ganache.
Can I plan a drip cake design online?
Yes. Sweet Cake Shop on Yes This Game lets you build round, square or heart cakes with up to three tiers, 16 frostings and seven drips in your browser.