Even the most ardent fan of diets and a healthy lifestyle ate once or at least cooked a cake. And experienced housewives probably do it often. Our life continually throws up holidays: birthdays, weddings, christenings or anniversaries, where the cake is not just appropriate - it is practically the king of the table. In any confectionery masterpiece, the most important thing is the right cream. He will not let the jewelry "leak", cake - to sit down, and mastic - to creep.
Strife cream
For each specific confectionery, the hostess, as a rule, selects her own cream. It all depends not only on her personal preferences, but also on the goals that she pursues. Most airy, light-weight creams are used to fill hollow products: shu, eclairs or profiteroles. They are also often used to impregnate dry cakes, for example, when assembling honey or puff cake.
However, such creams are completely unsuitable for creating jewelry, a thick layer of filling, or as a base for mastic. They will flow, will not keep their shape and ruin the future masterpiece.
Air creams include creamy, custard, sour cream and cottage cheese. All of them are certainly tasty, but impractical when it comes to artistic decoration.
Another thing is a cream cake, dense in texture. There is where to roam. Such mixtures are suitable for decorating cupcakes, and for creating incredible floral motifs, and for baskets of shortcrust pastry. However, we must not forget that the cream is different for the cream, and each of them has its own properties and functions. That is why it is impractical, for example, to use a dense protein cream for mastic. But first things first.
Butter cream
It is difficult to find the perfect texture that would behave equally well on all kinds of confectionery. The exception is oil cream. It is easy to cook, if you act according to the recipe. It will help out in almost any situation: whether you are looking for a dense cream for smoothing the cake or the perfect coating for muffins.
Beginners, too, should start to master the confectionery art with just such a whipped mass.
For cooking, take 200 g of butter and 10 tablespoons of condensed milk. To obtain various shades, you can use all kinds of flavorings, zest, cocoa or replace ordinary condensed milk with boiled milk.
Leave the oil overnight or for several hours at room temperature so that it is completely softened. Beat the mass with a mixer for 8-10 minutes, first at low speeds, gradually moving to the maximum. When the butter becomes airy and snow-white, start adding condensed milk, whipping thoroughly after each spoon. At the end, enter flavors. Ready cream for cake with condensed milk should be slightly cooled before applying to cakes and pastries.
Tender than tender
Remember Soviet cakes with butter flowers in pastel shades? The cooking method described above is an exact copy of that recipe. If you want to get a more delicate structure, which will not at all remind you of the oil that is part of the composition, then use slightly different ingredients.
A thick snow-white cream for decorating the cake will turn out if you use 150 g of butter, 125 g of powdered sugar and 50 ml of milk. All ingredients should be left for some time at room temperature.
Place the oil in the bowl of the mixer and beat at maximum speed until a snow-white mass is obtained. It will take about 10 minutes for an orbital stationary device, for a regular one - 12-15. Sift the powder through a fine sieve so that no lumps get into the bowl, and add to the oil. Mix thoroughly and, without stopping whipping, introduce a teaspoon of milk.
The finished cream is a snow-white color and is great both for leveling the cake and for decorating. It does not melt at room temperature, holds its shape well and lends itself to coloring and aromatization.
Cream cheese - curd creamy tenderness
Nevertheless, the layer in oil may seem to someone too oily. A completely different matter is a dense cream for sponge cake based on curd cheese. However, it is not necessary to use it only in combination with a biscuit: such a mass keeps its shape well and can serve as an excellent decoration.
Despite the density, it is not advisable to use a curd cream coating under the mastic: due to the low fat content, the decor may “leak”. If it is not possible to refuse the combination of “cream cheese” - “mastic decor”, then “isolate” the jewelry with chocolate.
Use cottage cheese like Almette or Hochland for cooking: they give a better structure than products of other brands. But it is better to refuse from the famous and beloved mascarpone: many in combination with whipped oil, it often exfoliates, and the work has to be started again.
Structure:
- cottage cheese - 350 g;
- icing sugar - 100 g;
- butter at room temperature: 120 g.
On the night before cooking, put the cheese in the refrigerator and leave the butter at room temperature. Then place all the ingredients in the mixer bowl and beat for at least 7-10 minutes. White thick cream for the cake is ready! It remains to transfer it to a pastry bag and use it for decoration. Such a mixture is perfectly stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Cream "Sundae"
Are you looking for something more original and have experience in the confectionery business? Try to make a thick cream for the cake "Ice cream" - with a delicate taste of ice cream. His other name is "Diplomat."
For cooking you will need:
- eggs - 2 pcs;
- sugar - 150 g;
- flour - 2 tbsp. l .;
- sour cream of maximum fat content - 350 g;
- butter - 250 g.
The most difficult thing is to prepare a custard, which does not exfoliate, does not take lumps and does not burn. Use a water bath: pour water into a large pot, place a smaller container on top, in which place eggs, sugar, sour cream and sifted flour. Bring the water to a boil and cook the cream, stirring, until completely thickened. This usually takes about 8 minutes. Cool a little.
In a separate bowl, beat the butter at room temperature and, without turning off the mixer, add the custard mass over a teaspoon. Place the finished cream in a container and refrigerate for stabilization. This usually takes about 6-8 hours.
With such a mass, you can even out or emboss the sides and surface of the cake, decorate cupcakes, use in cakes, lay out cookies or put them in a bowl, decorate with fruit and serve chilled.
Ganache - one hundred cream options for all occasions
What confectioners love ganache for is its amazing versatility. Unlike cream cake with condensed milk, this version of the layer is suitable for any product: they can even interlayer pasta. In addition, ganache is very variable: it can be aromatized with berry or fruit puree, mint and any kind of artificial flavoring. By slightly changing the number of ingredients, you can make a liquid or, on the contrary, a denser cream, shiny and matte, plastic and crumbling.
Ganache is a story worthy of a separate book, not an article, so within the framework of one material we will consider only the simplest of its options, but therefore no less tasty.
White Chocolate Tale
If you are looking for a thick cream cake recipe, then perhaps white chocolate ganache is what you need. This is a stable and tasty layer that will not leave anyone indifferent. Such a ganache turns out to be of a gentle cream shade and holds its shape well.
For cooking use:
- 200 g of white chocolate;
- 100 ml cream 33% fat;
- 20 g butter at room temperature.
Chocolate should be crushed into small pieces and pour boiling cream, wait until it melts, and mix until smooth. Add softened butter to the cooled mixture and beat with a blender.
Bitter sweetness
Dark chocolate ganache is suitable for lovers of Prague cakes, brownies or pistachio pasta. The principle of preparation is still the same, but the proportions are slightly different. For cream, take chocolate with a cocoa content of at least 80%.
Structure:
- cream 33% - 100 ml;
- dark chocolate without additives - 100 g;
- butter at room temperature - 20 g.
Ganache is prepared according to the standard scheme: pour the chocolate with cream, mix, add butter and beat.
Such a cream is easy to aromatize: even if there are no liquid essences with different odors on hand, just replace part of the cream (but not more than half!) With the same amount of fruit or berry puree.
Milk ganache for sweet tooth
Milk chocolate ganache has a milder taste, it is sweeter and more like big and small sweet tooth. Such a dense cream is ideal for smoothing cakes, especially biscuits.
For cooking, use 300 g of chocolate, 200 g of cream and 20 g of butter. You need to prepare the cream according to the same principle as the other ganache options: pour the chocolate with boiling cream, cool, add softened butter and beat.
Hello from sunny Italy
Meringue - cream for experienced housewives. On the one hand, it’s not difficult to cook it, on the other hand, experience shows that it usually turns out not the first time. Despite the common name, meringues are different and have one inherent property. So, French is more suitable for baking than others, from Switzerland the most stable caps for cupcakes are obtained, but they tend to quickly crust, and Italian is most often used to prepare a protein-butter cream, which is ideal for layer and leveling the cake.
For cooking, boil a syrup of 225 g of sugar and 65 ml of water. When added to proteins, it should have a temperature of 117 degrees, so you have to get a culinary thermometer. If such a useful device was not at hand, you can test: put a drop of syrup in ice water and try to roll a small ball from it. If you succeed, then the syrup has reached the desired consistency. If the mass is simply smeared on the fingers, then it is worth boiling it a little longer.
While the syrup is boiling, prepare the squirrels. For such an amount of syrup, 4 eggs are needed. Separate the squirrels from the yolks and place in a low-fat dish. Start whisking at a low speed until foamy and gradually move to a higher stage until you reach a maximum.
Pour syrup into the squirrels in a thin stream without turning off the mixer. For this purpose, it is most convenient to use a stationary orbital device, however, with the usual one you can get an excellent meringue. Always make sure that the syrup does not get on the whisk: hot substance may spatter. When the masses are completely connected, continue to whisk the mixture for 10-12 minutes until solid peaks.
Cut 350 g of room temperature oil into small pieces and add one to the meringue. At first, the cream may become a little thinner, but do not be discouraged and continue to whisk: over time, it will acquire a smooth, pleasant structure.
For every taste
In our article, we examined how to prepare a dense cream for the cake. However, these are just five of the dozens of recipes that confectioners use around the world. There are other options that hold their shape well and are incredibly tasty: this is the famous muslin, and the patière, and the Kurd.
As you gain culinary experience, you will definitely try to cook each of them and find your perfect combination.