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Silky, Sexy
Topic Started: Oct 2 2013, 03:58 PM (177 Views)
brenda
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..............
http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-silky-sexy-french-buttercream-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-190263

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There are buttercreams made with butter and powdered sugar, and there are buttercreams made with butter and egg whites. But for the most silky, decadent buttercream of all, you must try this French buttercream made with egg yolks.

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Back when I was a pastry chef, I used to make buttercream by the gallon in a huge industrial mixer that stood in the corner and made the floor shake with its vigorous beating. We used this buttercream on all our layer cakes, from simple devil's food to the most elaborate wedding cake. It's based on a recipe from the first volume of Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking with a few minor adjustments.

Buttercreams made with egg yolks take the richness factor up a few notches, turning it into a silky and sexy, but not-too-sweet, way to frost your cakes. You can pipe decorations with this buttercream, but it is a little looser than egg white or powdered sugar variations so expect softer, more billowy results.

I recommend using very high quality eggs, which often have deep orange yolks and will make a beautiful, soft yellow buttercream. The hot sugar syrup (238°F) added during mixing cooks the egg yolks a bit, but not enough to pasteurize them. If you're being super cautious about raw eggs, then you may not want to use this recipe.

A stand mixer really comes in handy here, especially when pouring the hot sugar syrup into the egg yolks, but a hand mixer will do in a pinch. I do not recommend making this by hand unless you have very well-developed arm muscles! If after you've added all of the butter, the buttercream is too loose or grainy, try any one of these tips from Emma to fix it up.

Temperature is the key factor with this recipe. The egg-sugar mixture should be absolutely cool before you begin adding the butter, and the butter should be just slightly softened, just a little cooler than room temperature. You can test this by pressing on a piece with your finger. It should give enough for you to press into it, but it should take some effort. Under no circumstances should you melt the butter or expose it to anything warmer than room temperature. Melting the butter irrevocably changes the texture of the butter, separating the solids from the fat.

The finished buttercream can be stored for a few days in the refrigerator, but you will need to allow for time for it to come to room temperature before you can use it to frost cakes or cupcakes. Do not heat it up as this causes the butter to melt and the buttercream to break.

One last thing — don't toss out the whites! If you don't have an immediate use for them, cover and store in your refrigerator for a few days or freeze them for later use.


Posted Image

How To Make Silky French Buttercream
Makes about 2 cups, enough to frost a two-layer 8" cake

What You Need
Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2/3 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons water
5 large egg yolks
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Equipment
Small sauce pan
Candy thermometer
Stand mixer (or hand mixer)
Measuring cups and spoons

Instructions
Prep the butter. Unwrap the butter and cut it into large pieces, about 8 per stick. Leave on counter. If your kitchen is particularly cool, you may want to do this about 15 minutes ahead of time. (If your butter is frozen, thaw in the fridge overnight before using.)

Make the syrup. Combine the sugar and water in the small saucepan and place on the stove over a medium flame.

Beat the yolks. While the syrup is coming up to temperature, add the yolks and pinch of salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on high speed until pale and thick.

Add the syrup. When the syrup reaches the softball stage (238°F) remove from heat. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the syrup to the yolks to avoid splattering the syrup on the beaters. Stop pouring every 10 seconds or so and increase the speed to high, then switch it to low and drizzle in more syrup. Do this until all the syrup is incorporated.

Beat until cool. After all the syrup has been incorporated, beat on high speed until the mixture has cooled to room temperature. This can take about 10 minutes.

Add the butter. When the mixture and the bowl no longer feel warm, switch to the paddle attachment and start adding the butter one cube at a time, mixing well in-between each addition.

Add vanilla. Add the vanilla (or other flavoring) and continue to beat until the buttercream is smooth and slightly stiff.

Recipe Notes
You can add other flavorings besides vanilla such as 2 tablespoons of brandy or strong coffee, peppermint extract, etc.

For chocolate buttercream: Melt 1 cup of semi or bittersweet chocolate chips in 2 tablespoons of hot water, coffee, or brandy. Stir to combine and cool to room temperature. Add to the buttercream and beat well.

Brenda's note: You can increase the amount of chocolate chips and hot liquid by up to twice as much to increase the intensity of the chocolate flavor. Oh, yes, you can!
“Weeds are flowers, too, once you get to know them.”
~A.A. Milne
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Mikhailoh
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If you want trouble, find yourself a redhead
Food pr0n. :lol2:
Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead - Lucille Ball
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Piano*Dad
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Bull-Carp
I can actually hear hardening arteries … :lol2:

Julia Child would certainly approve!
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Horace
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HOLY CARP!!!
Looks great.
As a good person, I implore you to do as I, a good person, do. Be good. Do NOT be bad. If you see bad, end bad. End it in yourself, and end it in others. By any means necessary, the good must conquer the bad. Good people know this. Do you know this? Are you good?
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brenda
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..............
Mikhailoh
Oct 2 2013, 04:51 PM
Food pr0n. :lol2:
Very much so! :lol2:
“Weeds are flowers, too, once you get to know them.”
~A.A. Milne
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brenda
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Piano*Dad
Oct 2 2013, 05:29 PM
I can actually hear hardening arteries … :lol2:

Julia Child would certainly approve!
It's based on Julia's recipe, so it's bound to be rich. :yes:
These college kids can handle it.
“Weeds are flowers, too, once you get to know them.”
~A.A. Milne
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brenda
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Horace
Oct 2 2013, 05:56 PM
Looks great.
Looks good and tastes even better. Can't wait to use it on the cakes tomorrow. It should spread like silk, too. It just goes on some sheet cakes, so there's no fancy decorating.
“Weeds are flowers, too, once you get to know them.”
~A.A. Milne
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Horace
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HOLY CARP!!!
Frosting is one of those things that when it's bad, it's worse than if it's not there. Bad frosting ruins cake. An unfrosted cake is always edible. A frosted cake, not always, if the frosting is bad. But when it's good, it's indispensable. That looks great. I also like most any cream cheese frosting. Something not quite as much of a dense sugar bomb as what I grew up on as a kid. I don't even know how they spread that stuff. It more or less turned me off cake. But in retrospect I know, I just didn't like the frosting.
As a good person, I implore you to do as I, a good person, do. Be good. Do NOT be bad. If you see bad, end bad. End it in yourself, and end it in others. By any means necessary, the good must conquer the bad. Good people know this. Do you know this? Are you good?
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brenda
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Horace
Oct 2 2013, 09:47 PM
Frosting is one of those things that when it's bad, it's worse than if it's not there. Bad frosting ruins cake. An unfrosted cake is always edible. A frosted cake, not always, if the frosting is bad. But when it's good, it's indispensable. That looks great. I also like most any cream cheese frosting. Something not quite as much of a dense sugar bomb as what I grew up on as a kid. I don't even know how they spread that stuff. It more or less turned me off cake. But in retrospect I know, I just didn't like the frosting.
Well, I've tasted some cakes that no frosting could ever save, but I still think you're right, Horace. The frosting is the key to a good cake for me, unless the cake isn't meant to be frosted and is done well on its own, like a pound cake or apple spice cake.

My mom loves to decorate cakes, but she doesn't care at all about what the cake tastes like, or what the frosting tastes like, just how it looks. Mine look definitely less fancy than hers, but every morsel of mine get eaten. I've seen people actually lick their plates to get their last bit of frosting. That always makes me smile. :lol2:

“Weeds are flowers, too, once you get to know them.”
~A.A. Milne
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brenda
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BTW, my mom would say this frosting is no good because it is too soft and can't be made into geehaws to decorate the cake. If someone wants a stiff and hard frosting that can be made to stand up and hold its shape in any position, then this is not the one.

“Weeds are flowers, too, once you get to know them.”
~A.A. Milne
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