WAS THIS INFORMATION HELPFUL (IN MAKING SILK MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM)
Monday, September 17, 2012
More often than not, I get asked one of the following question (or some minor variation of it):
"How did you make this [insert a dessert name]"
Which is usually followed by a stare and a silence - waiting for me to answer, perhaps. I think to myself:
Does it really make a difference if I tell you how to make it?
Creme Anglaise
Because the answer, I believe, is likely to be no. Why? Because of several reasons which I will so nicely write out for you:
#1 Just telling you how to make it doesn't mean you can make it. It's all meaningless without the amounts of ingredients (unless you're really awesome at cooking/chemistry/something-I-don't-know-of and can figure out how much of what thing you need to make the cake rise/mousse stable and fluffy... you get the point).
#2 You're not really even listening to what I'm saying. I can tell that when you're nodding your heads and say "Oh..." with your wide eyes, my words just come out of your other ear. Right?
#3 You're not really planning on making whatever it is that you asked me.
Oh yes, and how do I reluctantly reply to those people who ask me how some dessert is made? I answer them like this:
"You mix the eggs and sugar and flour and oil/fat together..."
Or
"You make a creme anglaise and then add gelatine and add meringue..."
But the best answer would have to have been this one (my reply to "How did you get a layer of cake in the mousse?"
"You put down one layer of cake, pour the mousse, put a second layer of cake, pour more mousse."
Does that answer your question?
***
BUT TODAY, TO REDUCE MY STRESS AND CONFUSION AS TO WHY SOME PEOPLE ASK IN THE FIRST PLACE, I SHALL LET YOU IN ON HOW SILK MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM IS DONE.
OKAY, SO FIRST MAKE A CREME ANGLAISE. "WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?" YOU MAY ASK. YOU CAN READ THE WIKI ON IT BY CLICKING HERE. AND YOU CAN EVEN READ THE FOLLOWING RECIPE (WHICH YOU MAY NOT EVEN READ AND SIMPLY SKIP TO THE NEXT ITEM):
~CREME ANGLAISE~
HALF-AND-HALF . 125 ml
EGG YOLKS . 5
WHITE SUGAR . 180 g
FLAVOUR OF YOUR CHOICE . 1 TO 2 tbsp
1. HEAT HALF-AND-HALF UNTIL STEAMING. DON'T BOIL IT!
2. BEAT YOLKS AND SUGAR UNTIL FLUFFY AND LIGHT IN COLOUR
3. POUR HEATED HALF-AND-HALF SLOWLY INTO THE YOLKS, MIXING VIGOROUSLY TO PREVENT CURDLING.
4. POUR EGG YOLK MIXTURE INTO POT AND HEAT UNTIL 77 - 80 C. OR JUST BE CAREFUL (= LAZY LIKE ME AND NOT USE A THERMOMETER) AND TAKE IT OFF THE HEAT RIGHT BEFORE IT BUBBLES.
5. SIEVE IT INTO A BOWL AND STIR IN FLAVOURING.
This is how your creme anglaise should look like. Foamy, thick-ish, kind of like a more liquidy pudding.
THE SILK MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM IS A THREE PART CREAM. THE FIRST WAS THE CREME ANGLAISE, AND THE NEXT IS THE ITALIAN MERINGUE.
~ITALIAN MERINGUE~
EGG WHITES . 2
WHITE SUGAR . 92 g
WATER . 30 ml
CREAM OF TARTAR . 1/4 tsp
1. RESERVE 2 tbsp OF THE WHITE SUGAR. HEAT THE REST OF THE SUGAR AND THE WATER IN A SMALL POT OVER MEDIUM-LOW HEAT. MAKE SURE IT DOESN'T BOIL UNTIL ALL OF THE SUGAR HAS DISSOLVED.
2. BEAT EGG WHITES UNTIL FOAMY. ADD THE RESERVED SUGAR AND TARTAR AND BEAT UNTIL STIFF GLOSSY PEAKS. (SOMETIMES I DON'T ADD THE TARTAR - BECAUSE I'M LAZY - AND IT'S PERFECTLY FINE TOO!)
3. WHEN THE SUGAR + WATER = SYRUP HAS REACHED 112-116 C (I'VE MADE THIS ENOUGH TIMES TO EYEBALL WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE, BUT YOU SHOULD REALLY USE A THERMOMETER FOR THIS ONE OTHERWISE YOU'LL RISK RUINING YOUR WHITES), POUR A SMALL STREAM INTO YOUR WHIPPED WHITES, THEN WHIP IT ON YOUR HIGHEST POSSIBLE SETTING FOR 10 SECONDS. REPEAT UNTIL ALL THE SYRUP IS IN YOUR WHITES.
4. BEAT FOR ANOTHER 3 - 4 MINUTES, WHICH BY THEN YOUR MERINGUE SHOULD BE EVEN STIFFER AND EVEN GLOSSIER.
And here is the finished result of the Italian meringue.
I DID SAY I WOULD TELL YOU HOW TO MAKE BUTTERCREAM RIGHT? SO NOW, PLEASE BEAT 454 g (ONE BRICK/BLOCK/POUND) OF UNSALTED, ROOM TEMPERATURE BUTTER UNTIL LIGHT AND FLUFFY (THIS IS THE THIRD COMPONENT TO THIS BUTTERCREAM).
UNSALTED IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE OTHERWISE, SALTED BUTTERCREAM WILL RISK CLASHING WITH YOUR FLAVOURS. ROOM TEMPERATURE IS IMPORTANT TO ACHIEVING A SMOOTH CREAM AND AN EASIER MIXING PROCESS.
THEN, SIMPLY BEAT IN ALL OF THE CREME ANGALISE A COUPLE OF tbsp AT A TIME INTO THE BUTTER...
And it will be nice and smooth and soft. Oh yes, and do scrape the sides of the bowl so you get everything incorporated.
NOW ADD THE MERINGUE INTO THE BUTTER/CREME ANGLAISE...
Plop!
AND BEAT IT. WITH THE ELECTRIC BEATER THAT YOU'VE BEEN USING ALL THIS TIME I HOPE. BECAUSE YOUR ARMS WILL HURT AFTER. AND YOUR FINGERS MAY DEVELOP BLISTERS (YES, IT HAPPENED ONCE WHEN I DECIDED TO BEAT NEARLY EVERYTHING BY HAND... I STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY I WOULD DO THAT TO MYSELF...)
BEAT UNTIL YOU GET SOMETHING LIKE THIS:
It will be soft, airy, and so yummy! (You should really stick your finger in this and give it a try if you haven't already done so).
YOU CAN THEN MAKE USE OF THIS ETHEREAL BUTTERCREAM BY SPREADING IT ON CAKES, CUPCAKES, TOASTED BREAD (WHICH I THINK IS THE EASIEST AND MOST TASTIEST COMBO), OR FILL MACARONS (WHICH I WILL BE MAKING TOMORROW TO HOUSE MY BUTTERCREAM!)
IF THERE ARE LEFT OVERS, KEEP IT SEALED IN AN AIRTIGHT CONTAINER IN THE FREEZER (IF YOU PLAN TO NOT USE IT FOR A REALLY LONG TIME) OR THE FRIDGE. HOW LONG IT WILL LAST? I DON'T KNOW, BUT USUALLY NOT LONG ENOUGH FOR IT TO GO BAD - BECAUSE IT'S SO YUMMY :)
BEFORE USING IT, YOU NEED TO BRING IT TO ROOM TEMPERATURE AND RE-BEAT IT :)
HERE WAS MY DINNER FOR TONIGHT! (BECAUSE YOU'RE PROBABLY GETTING BORED FROM THE CREAMY PICTURES)
Enoki and onion wrapped with bulgogi sauce marianted beef.
Spinach and cheese pizza.
Salad (to be seemingly healthy).
SO DOES ASKING ME HOW TO MAKE SOMETHING MEAN YOU WANT TO MAKE IT? I'D ALWAYS ASSUME PROBABLY NOT. UNLESS YOU'RE SPECIFICALLY ASKING ME FOR THE RECIPE. BUT FAR TOO MANY PEOPLE JUST COME UP AND CASUALLY ASK, "HOW IS THIS MADE?"
WHICH YES, DOES CONFUSE AND MAYBE ANNOY ME TO SOME EXTENT, AND I AM SORRY. :(
PLEASE FEAST YOUR EYES ON THIS YUMMY MADE-IN-UNDER-40-MINUTES
THANKS FOR READING!
X
WITH LOVE
VICKI CHOW
P/S
Despite how much I dislike answering the question "How did you make this?" I will teach, and have taught many people how to bake because they asked me to!!! :)
Soooo~ what dessert would you want to learn how to make?
