Out of Heavy cream, one case

Heavy cream substitute for ganache

4 options, ranked, with the exact amount

Use thisBest of 4 options

Use Coconut cream

1 cup for every cup of heavy cream

Full-fat coconut cream is the one common swap that sets like ganache: use the same amount as the heavy cream. Half-and-half with butter, ¾ cup plus ¼ cup per cup of cream, makes a glaze or drip that sets soft. Plain milk or plain half-and-half adds too much water: you get a chocolate sauce, not a ganache that holds. Nothing here makes a whipped ganache.

Verdict —: You'll taste it
The tweak —: Use canned coconut cream, or stir a can of full-fat coconut milk until smooth. Heat it until it steams, pour it over finely chopped chocolate, wait 2 to 3 minutes and stir from the center.
Best for —: ganache filling and frosting

One casethe full heavy cream card

Every option, one card

Ranked

Heavy cream substitutes compared
#	Substitute	Instead of 1 cup heavy cream	Verdict
1	Coconut creamganache filling and frosting	1 cupYou'll taste it	You'll taste it
2	Half-and-half + butterpoured glaze for cakes and brownies	¾ cup half-and-half + ¼ cup butterTweak it	Tweak it
3	Evaporated milkchocolate sauce for ice cream	1 cupYou'll taste it	You'll taste it
4	Half-and-halfa warm chocolate sauce	1 cupYou'll taste it	You'll taste it
Not a swap	Milk	not a swapNot for this	Not for this

What changesWhat changes, option by option4 options

Coconut cream

chocolate with a coconut note

Coconut fat is firm when cool, so a ganache made with full-fat coconut cream sets much as one made with heavy cream does. It is the usual base for dairy-free ganache.

Best for: ganache filling and frosting, truffles, dairy-free drips and glazes
Taste: chocolate with a coconut note, stronger with milk or white chocolate than with dark
Prep: Use canned coconut cream, or stir a can of full-fat coconut milk until smooth. Heat it until it steams, pour it over finely chopped chocolate, wait 2 to 3 minutes and stir from the center.
Suits: vegan
Where it fails: Where coconut flavor is unwelcome. Light coconut milk and the carton kind sold for drinking are too thin to set.

For a dairy-free ganache, check that the chocolate itself contains no milk.

Half-and-half + butter

very close to a cream ganache

The butter brings the fat up to about 27%, close enough to cream to make a smooth, glossy ganache that pours and sets soft.

Best for: poured glaze for cakes and brownies, drip cakes, ganache as a sauce or dip
Prep: Heat the half-and-half and butter together until the butter melts and the liquid steams, then pour over the chopped chocolate. For a ganache that has to set firm, start with ¾ of the liquid the recipe calls for and add the rest only if it looks too stiff.
Contains: dairy
Where it fails: Whipped ganache, which never thickens, and truffles, which stay too soft to roll unless you raise the chocolate.

Evaporated milk

a slight cooked-milk flavor under the chocolate

Thicker than milk because much of its water is gone, but still low in fat. With chocolate it makes a pourable glaze or fudge-style sauce.

Best for: chocolate sauce for ice cream, a thin glaze for bundt cakes and donuts
Prep: Warm it gently, do not boil it, and stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons of butter per cup for gloss.
Contains: dairy
Where it fails: Fillings, frostings and truffles: it does not set firm enough to slice, pipe or roll.

Half-and-half

thinner and less rich

On its own, half-and-half is 10 to 12% fat. It melts the chocolate smoothly, but the ganache stays loose.

Best for: a warm chocolate sauce, a thin drizzle used right away
Prep: Use ¾ of the amount the recipe calls for, since it carries more water than cream, and expect a soft set.
Contains: dairy
Where it fails: Anything that has to hold its shape. Add butter as in the row above before using it for a drip or glaze.

Milk

Whole milk is 3.25% fat.

Cup for cup with chocolate it makes hot fudge or a rich hot chocolate base, not ganache, and adding butter to it still leaves it far thinner than cream.

Best for: chocolate sauce served warm
Where it fails: The ganache does not set: it stays a pouring sauce in the refrigerator and soaks into a cake instead of sitting on it.

How it behaves in this recipe

In this recipeHeavy cream

Ganache is chocolate and cream in a fixed proportion, commonly equal weights for a glaze or filling and two parts chocolate to one part cream for truffles. It sets because of the fat in both. A lower-fat liquid adds water in place of fat, so the same recipe sets softer or not at all. The fixes are a swap with real fat in it, or less liquid and more chocolate.

Tips for substituting heavy cream

5 tips

Chop the chocolate fine and pour the hot liquid over it. Let it stand 2 to 3 minutes before stirring, so it melts evenly without being overheated.
With any lower-fat swap, hold back about a quarter of the liquid. It is easy to loosen a stiff ganache with a spoonful of warm liquid and hard to firm up a runny one.
To rescue a ganache that will not set, melt in more chopped chocolate, 1 oz at a time, then cool it again.
Chill before you judge. Ganache made with a swap can take 1 to 2 hours in the refrigerator to reach its final texture.
For whipped ganache or a ganache you plan to pipe, use real heavy cream. The dairy swaps here do not whip.

Questions

4 questions

Can I use milk instead of heavy cream in ganache?

Not for a ganache that has to set. Milk has too much water and too little fat, so the mixture stays a pouring sauce. That is fine if a warm chocolate sauce is what you want. For a glaze or drip, use ¾ cup half-and-half plus ¼ cup butter per cup of cream, or full-fat coconut cream in the same amount as the cream.

Can I substitute half-and-half for heavy cream in ganache?

With butter added, yes, for a glaze or drip: ¾ cup half-and-half plus ¼ cup butter per cup of heavy cream. Plain half-and-half makes a loose ganache that suits a sauce and not a filling. For a firmer result, use less liquid or more chocolate.

Can I make ganache with butter and no cream?

You can make a chocolate glaze by melting chocolate with butter, and it sets glossy and firm on a cake. It is a different texture from ganache: firmer and less creamy when cold. Adding a small amount of milk or water to melted chocolate and butter can make the chocolate seize, so keep liquids out unless the recipe is written for them.

Why is my ganache runny after substituting?

The swap carried more water and less fat than heavy cream. Chill it for an hour first, because ganache thickens a great deal as it cools. If it is still loose, warm it gently and stir in more chopped chocolate, 1 oz at a time.