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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.

317K 3.8/5 based on 47 reviews

Last modified on: October 13^th 2010

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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

Change these quantities to make: 350 g 700 g 1 kg 400 g 2 kg 100 g

Change measures: Metric

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How long will it take?

Time required for this recipe:

Preparation	Cooking	Start to finish
48 min.	10 min.	58 min.

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Keeping

Several days in the fridge, in a closed jar.

Source

Home made.

Nutritional information

Whole recipe
Energetic value	Proteins	Carbohydrates	Fats
2,804 Kcal or 11,740 Kj	26 gr	250 gr	189 gr
140 %	10 %	24 %	29 %

Per 100 g
Energetic value	Proteins	Carbohydrates	Fats
409 Kcal or 1,712 Kj	4 gr	36 gr	28 gr
20 %	1 %	3 %	4 %

% are calculated relative to a Recommended Dietary Intake or RDI of 2000 k-calories or 8400 k-joules by day for a woman (change to a man).

Possible allergens in this recipe: Milk, Egg

How much will it cost?

For 700 g : 2.07 €

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Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.

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This recipe uses (among others)

	Butter: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Parcels of fish fillet in spinach, Lime crémeux, Pesto crackers, Spinach Mornay, Mushroom tart, ... All
	Caster sugar: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Pavlova, Rice pudding with fruit and nuts, Tarte Normande, Pears in red wine with blackcurrant , Gâteau Breton (Brittany butter cake), ... All
	Egg yolk: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: You should not leave egg yolks in contact with sugar, Chaud-froid of grapefruit, pineapple and lime custard , Ramekins of duchess potatoes, Blackcurrant, vanilla and lime verrine , Smoked eggs, ... All
	Egg white: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Financier batter, Pavlova, Armagnac marzipan, Yvetot Douillons, Cigarettes Russes (Piroulines), ... All

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