Butter cream


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.
327 K 3.7/5 (48 reviews)
Grade this recipe:
Keywords:
Last modified on: October 13th 2010
For 700 g, you will need:

Change these quantities to make:
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 50 min.
Cooking: 10 min.
All in all: 60 min.
When should you start or finish this recipe?
If you start now, at 15:50, you will finish around : 16:45.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: 18:35.Change end time

Step by step recipe


Stage 1 - 10 min.
Butter cream
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.

Stage 2 - 3 min.
Butter cream
Meanwhile, tip 6 egg yolks into a bowl and beat on high speed.

Stage 3 - 5 min.
Butter cream
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.

Stage 4 - 10 min.
Butter cream
Leave the mixer beating for a further 10 minutes or so to cool the mixture.

Stage 5 - 10 min.
Butter cream
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
Butter cream
The butter cream is ready.

Stage 7 - 5 min.
Butter cream
If you would like a lighter butter cream, beat 3 egg whites and add 100 g caster sugar at the end.

Stage 8 - 10 min.
Butter cream
Fold the beaten egg whites into the cream to lighten the texture while keeping the original flavour.

Stage 9 - 5 min.
Butter cream
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.
Keeping: Several days in the fridge, in a closed jar.
Source: Home made.
Nutritional information
Proteins (gr)Carbohydrates (gr)Fats (gr)Energy value (in k-calories)Energy value (in k-joules)
Whole recipe30 RDI=10 %250 RDI=20 %190 RDI=30 %2,800 RDI=140 %11,740 RDI: 140 %
Per 100 g3 RDI=1 %40 RDI=3 %30 RDI=4 %410 RDI=20 %1,710 RDI: 20 %
The % figures are calculated in relation to the Recommended Dietary Intake , or RDI of 2,000 k-calories (or 8,400 k-joules) per day for a woman Change to a man
Possible allergens in this recipe: Milk, egg
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)
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...
374 K 34.1 4 hours 20 min.
This recipe uses (among others)
Other recipes you may also like
Pistachio confectioner's custard
Pistachio confectioner's custard
This is very similar to the classic confectioner's custard (crème pâtissière, or french pastry cream), but its marked pistachio taste brings a distinctive flavour to a whole range of desserts.
November 21th 2018212 K4.7 35 min.
Leavened bread
Leavened bread
It might be harder to achieve good results than with traditional yeast bread, but what a flavour! It also keeps better. This recipe is designed for baking bread in a wood-fired oven but, of course, you can use the conventional oven in your kitchen.
May 23th 20171.20 M 23.8 6 hours 30 min.
Fish petals, vegetables julienne, and beurre blanc
Fish petals, vegetables julienne, and beurre blanc
This recipe consists of delicate flakes ("petals") of poached fish, cooked with smoked ham, served on a bed of julienne vegetables (fine sticks of carrots, turnips and cabbage), with a "beurre blanc" sauce made with vinegar and shallots. Not difficult, but entails some work.
December 31th 2013257 K4 1 hour 35 min.
French baguettes
French baguettes
This classic of French baking is rather different from the recipe for leavened bread, it's a question of making a good crust and light crumb along the whole length. To succeed, you should know that there are two secrets: water first of all (much more than for normal bread), and the working of the...
October 24th 20171.08 M 364.7 5 hours 6 min.
New leavened bread
New leavened bread
This new recipe for leavened bread is simple and delicious, but needs rather long resting times. If you'd like more more information about making your own bread, look at this dedicated page.
December 30th 2019912 K 34.3 7 hours
News list of cooking-ez.com

Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2025-04-27)

*Your e-mail Your first name or nickname
I am not a leaving thing
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
Posted by:
I am not a leaving thing
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.
I am not a leaving thing
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.

Back to top of page