Leave it to the French to find a way to make one of the richest preparations in all of pastrydom even richer. How do they do that? By employing egg yolks in their classic buttercream instead of an egg white foam. What impact does this have on taste and texture? As you’d expect it makes […]
READ ONYou may have noticed that both of the meringue buttercream recipes I’ve put up have small amounts of cream of tartar in them. What’s it for? Oh, it’s just a little insurance policy, a bit of protective medicine in the event I get carried away with the whip while making my egg foam. For you […]
READ ONLooks a lot like Italian meringue buttercream doesn’t it? In fact it is very similar, though a bit denser. Like Italian buttercream, it’s excellent both for spreading and piping, since (as you can see) it stands up quite well on its own. The advantage SMBC has over IMBC is that it’s somewhat easier to make, […]
READ ONPastry student Nick writes in with this very good question about Italian meringue buttercream: When making the IMBC, does the heat from the syrup at 245F fully pasteurize the meringue? Or do standard undercooked food warnings apply? Friends, this is what gives me confidence in the pastry world of tomorrow. A student sees a delicious-looking […]
READ ONMy good friend Sally C. writes in to ask: You say you can freeze this? Wouldn’t it separate? The answer is a.) Yes and b.) No. Classic buttercreams freeze very well, though it often happens that they look a little droopy or grainy when they’re thawed. This is easily remedied by, of course, beating them […]
READ ONIt’s not because of emulsifiers or anything like that (most egg emulsifiers are in the yolks, anyway). The reason has to do with torque, shearing forces and other physics terms that I don’t really have a great handle on. Suffice to say that chilly egg whites are more viscous than room-temperature whites, and so the […]
READ ONThat’s true, at least at the outset of a foam-making excursion. An egg foam won’t form well if there’s much fat present in the mixture. However you can bring plenty of fat to the party after the foam is formed with few ill effects. Why? It all has to do with proteins, specifically egg proteins, […]
READ ONThose who claim buttercreams are too rich, too heavy and too “buttery” have probably never tried a meringue buttercream. This Italian-style meringue buttercream is light and delicate on the tongue, with a butter flavor that can be drastically de-emphasized (though it’s beyond me why you’d want to) with flavorings. Italian buttercream is the more durable […]
READ ONReader and good friend Lisa writes in to ask: Hope you don’t mind fielding this, but I’m wondering about your caramel: Does this mean I can just try my hand at making caramel, and then dip apples into it for caramel apples (rather than melting the chunks of caramel you buy a the store)? Because […]
READ ONBut I did redo my Neapolitan pizza how-to over on the right this morning, to reflect improvements both in the recipe and my overall technique. I’m finally getting used to the brick oven. The pizza is approaching excellent. Try the same thing in your home oven with high heat and a pizza stone!
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