Butter cream
Butter cream is made with egg yolk, sugar syrup and, of course, butter. These days it has fallen rather out of fashion, probably because it's very rich, but it still has its aficionados. Here is the classic plain version, which you can lighten and flavour as you wish.
344 K 3.7/5 (48 reviews)
60 min.
Easy
2.10 €
700 g
6 IngredientsLast modified on: October 13th 2010
For 700 g, you will need:
- 1
180 g butter - 2
150 g caster sugar - 3
3 tablespoons water - 4
6 egg yolks - 5
3 egg whites - 6 100 g caster sugar
- Total weight: 685 grams
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 50 min.
Cooking: 10 min.
All in all: 60 min.
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time
Step by step recipe
Stage 1 - ⌛ 10 min.
Take 180 g butter out of the refrigerator at least 1 hour before using.
Heat 150 g caster sugar and 3 tablespoons water in a small pan over high heat, and bring up to 120°C (250°F), using an electronic thermometer if possible to check.
Heat 150 g caster sugar and 3 tablespoons water in a small pan over high heat, and bring up to 120°C (250°F), using an electronic thermometer if possible to check.
Stage 2 - ⌛ 3 min.
Meanwhile, tip 6 egg yolks into a bowl and beat on high speed.
Stage 3 - ⌛ 5 min.
When the sugar syrup has reached 120°C (250°F), reduce the mixer speed and pour the syrup fairly quickly (30 seconds maximum) onto the egg yolks.
Try to avoid the syrup landing on the beaters or it will splash everywhere.
Try to avoid the syrup landing on the beaters or it will splash everywhere.
Stage 4 - ⌛ 10 min.
Leave the mixer beating for a further 10 minutes or so to cool the mixture.
Stage 5 - ⌛ 10 min.
After this time add 180 g butter a little at a time while still beating on slow speed, until the butter is completely incorporated.
Stage 6
The butter cream is ready.
Stage 7 - ⌛ 5 min.
Stage 8 - ⌛ 10 min.
Fold the beaten egg whites into the cream to lighten the texture while keeping the original flavour.
Stage 9 - ⌛ 5 min.
You can then add the flavouring of your choice like praline, a liqueur, or chocolate chips.
Remarks
The cream should be stored in the fridge in a sealed container. Take it out 1 hour before using to allow it to soften.
Butter cream is out of favour in modern patisseries, for one thing it's full of calories, and these days the taste is for less rich foods. But also, I fear, beacause it is so easy for a poor baker (whether industrial or not) to make a bad butter cream by mixing margarine with sugar and artifical flavouring. This awful cream eventually put customers off all the good butter creams, which is a shame, as I know people who would give anything for a decent real butter cream with praline for example.
Butter cream is out of favour in modern patisseries, for one thing it's full of calories, and these days the taste is for less rich foods. But also, I fear, beacause it is so easy for a poor baker (whether industrial or not) to make a bad butter cream by mixing margarine with sugar and artifical flavouring. This awful cream eventually put customers off all the good butter creams, which is a shame, as I know people who would give anything for a decent real butter cream with praline for example.
Keeping: Several days in the fridge, in a closed jar.
Source: Home made.
Nutritional information
How much will it cost?
- For 700 g : 2.10 €
Change currency:
Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
Some other recipes using this recipe
Succès praliné (praline meringue)
The "succès" (success) is a classic of traditional French patisserie, made with two layers of almond meringue filled with praline butter cream. It's very rich and a little old-fashioned these days, but still has many faithful fans. The original recipe comes from the master chef Gaston Lenôtre, and...
390 K 34.1 4 hours 20 min.
This recipe uses (among others)
Butter
Like these other recipes: Koulibiak in pie dish, Almond tuiles, Tyrolean apple crumble, Oatmeal and apple cookies, Oat shortbread biscuits, ... See them all 485
Caster sugar
Like these other recipes: Lemon tart, Elsa's Comtoise galette, Gâteau Nantais, Clementine Tiramisu, Boulangère tart tatin with vine nectarines, ... See them all 368
Egg yolk
Like these other recipes: Coconut-vanilla cream for Elsa , Chocolate cream, Jamaican cup, Hazelnut and orange cake, Crème brulée, ... See them all 75
Egg white
Like these other recipes: Croute à thé, Clafoutis "Marie-Antoinette", Like MaronSui's, Pistachio "Financiers", Hazelnut and orange cake, ... See them all 53
Other recipes you may also like
Sugar syrup
This syrup is mainly used as a basis for all sorbet recipes, which consist of this syrup and fruit pulp, but it can be also used to soak biscuits for example, or for fruit salads. February 21th 2011775 K3.5 8 min.
Fruit salad
To make a good fruit salad, there are three important points:- Choose fruits that go well together (avoid putting soft pears with crunchy apples for example).
- Remove absolutely all skins and seeds.
- Bring it all together with a good home made sugar syrup added to the fruit juices.
April 20th 2020401 K4.1 1 hour 15 min.
Choux pastry (pâte à choux)
Choux pastry is used for making profiteroles, eclairs and other small pastries. February 13th 2022557 K4.5 1 hour 4 min.
Mexican ceviche
Ceviche is typical of South American cuisine, made with avocados, tomatoes and fish fillet cured in lime juice. This is a personal version of Mexican-style ceviche. October 13th 2010390 K 15 3 hours 9 min.
Poached eggs
Poached eggs are cooked, without the shell, in barely simmering (nearly boiling) water. White should be firm and yolk soft, that's the difficulty. This recipe teaches you how to succeed with three important points. January 8th 2013330 K5 2 hours 40 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2026-01-18)
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
Follow this recipe
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.