Richard Grausman

Buttercream

Crème au beurre

Preparation info

    • Difficulty

      Easy

Appears in

French Classics Made Easy

French Classics Made Easy

By Richard Grausman

Published 2011

  • About

BUTTERCREAM, one of France’s most famous culinary creations, is used for frosting cakes and as a filling for chocolates. A well-made buttercream is velvety smooth and melts in your mouth. It also spreads easily and makes beautiful designs when piped through the decorating tube of a pastry bag.

Although there are several methods for making buttercream, the one that follows produces the best results.

Ingredients

To Cover an 8-Inch Cake

  • ½ cup minus
  • 2 teaspoons (100 g) sugar
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 12 tablespoons (1½ sticks; 170g) butter, softened

    Method

    1. In a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the sugar and water to a boil over medium-high heat, about 2 minutes. Stir several times to dissolve the sugar. When fully dissolved, the mixture will be clear and boiling rapidly.
    2. In a small bowl, with an electric mixer, start beating the egg yolks slowly while adding the hot sugar syrup. Continue beating at high speed until the mixture is cool, 5 to 6 minutes. The mixture will be thick and pale yellow.
    3. Beat in the softened butter until smooth. Flavor the buttercream to taste (see Variations). Buttercreams are best used at room temperature, but are often served chilled. (They can be made in advance and kept in the refrigerator for several days or frozen for months.)