Light Butter Cream

No I didn’t make a mistake when typing the title…

You got it right : “light” and “butter cream” together…

We are going to make a light butter cream!

I borrowed the recipe from Chef Christophe Felder book “Pâtisseries !” (it means “pastries”) that I love and strongly recommend!!

This light butter cream recipe is one of the many basics among French pastry. You can use it when baking a strawberry entremet, a raspberry one, cupcakes, Moka cake or even as topping for macarons (if you add lemon curd for example, or pistaccio paste).

(my Italian meringue…)

The butter cream used to be this heavy element for many desserts a few decades ago, I remember having the feeling to eat pure butter… Not yummy at all in my memory. But pastry changes, and we are now far away from the super fat and sugary desserts now, hence this “light” version. It is light for 2 reasons:

1/ it is made with Italian meringue to make it less compact

2/ you whisk it with your food processor at the end of the recipe, this will add air in it and make it lighter.

(egg yolks mixed with sugar)

Short mention about the history of this cream: it has been created in the late 19th century, it was mixed with coffee flavor to garnish the famous Moka cake.

(whipped butter)

The utensils:

Your food processor with whisk (or a good hand mixer),

A small sauce pan with thick bottom if possible,

A good whisk.

(butter mixed with the egg yolks + sugar)

Last point: the light butter cream can be kept 3 days in your fridge and several months in your freezer. If you don’t use right away, I recommend to whisk it again before using it in order to make it less compact.

Let’s do this.

The recipe, Chef!

Print Recipe

Light Butter Cream

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Serves: 500-600g Difficulty: Easy Price: $

Cooking Time: 20 min

Ingredients

• 25 g water (for the Italian meringue)
• 60 g de sugar (for the Italian meringue)
• 45 g de egg whites (for the Italian meringue)
• 15 g sugar (for the Italian meringue)
• 3 egg yolks (for the cream)
• 150 g de sugar (for the cream)
• 60 g water (for the cream)
• 210 g butter at room temperature (for the cream)
• 1/2 tablespoon cherry brandy

Instructions

1

Make the meringue.

2

Heat the 25 g water and 60 g sugar up to 118 degrees (you should get bubbles all over the surface).

3

In the meantime whisk the egg whites with 15 g sugar.

4

Pour the sugar syrup on the foamy whites and keep whisking until it cools down completely (several minutes). Set aside.

5

Make the cream.

6

Place the egg yolks in your food processor bowl and start whisking.

7

Heat the 60 g water and 150 g sugar up to 118 degrees (you should get bubbles all over the surface).

8

Pour the sugar syrup on the egg yolks, keep whisking until it gets foamy and white.

9

Place the butter in another bowl and whisk it. Add it to the previous mixture. Whisk until you get an homogeneous mixture.

10

Finally, add the Italian meringue and whisk at slow speed in order to add air in your butter cream.

11

Add cheery brandy if you want.

12

Use immediately or cover with a cling film.