BASIC CREAM AND SAUCES

BASIC CREAMS AND SAUCES

WHIPPED CREAM

Whipped cream is not only one of the most useful dessert toppings and fillings but also an ingredient in many desserts. Cream with a fat content of 30% or more, but preferably over 35%, can be whipped into foam. EG: 1 cup of cream produces about 2 to 21⁄2 cups of whipped cream.

In the classical pastry shop, sweetened, vanilla-flavored whipped cream is known as Crème Chantilly (pronounced “kremm shawn tee yee”)

Guidelines for Whipping Cream

-Chill the cream and all equipment thoroughly, especially in hot weather. Cream that is too warm is hard to whip and curdles easily.

-Use a wire whip for beating by hand. For machine whipping, use the whip attachment and run the machine at medium speed.

-If the cream is to be sweetened, use extra-fine granulated sugar or, for best stability, sifted confectioners’ sugar.

 -Do not overwhip. Stop beating when the cream forms peaks that hold their shape. If the cream is whipped longer, it first becomes grainy in appearance and then separates into butter and whey.

 -Cream to be folded into other ingredients should be slightly under beaten because the action of folding whips it more and may overbeat it.

Uses of Crème Chantilly

-It is used for filling between sponge cakes to create gateaux and pastries.

-Used for various Desserts like Mousse and soufflé

-Used for Serving with coffee and milkshakes

-Used as a condiment to fresh fruits such as strawberries and mangoes

MERINGUE

Meringues are whipped egg whites sweetened with sugar. They are frequently used for pie toppings and cake icings. They are also used to give volume and lightness to buttercream icings and to such preparations as mousses and dessert soufflés.

Another excellent use for meringues is to bake them in a slow oven until crisp. In this form, they can be used as cake layers or pastry shells to make light, elegant desserts. To add flavor, chopped nuts may be folded into meringues before forming and baking.

Basic Meringue Types

Meringues may be whipped to various degrees of stiffness as long as they are not overbeaten until they are too stiff and dry. For most purposes, they are beaten until they form stiff, or nearly stiff, moist peaks.

Common meringue, also called French meringue, is made from egg whites at room temperature, beaten with sugar. It is the easiest to make, and it is reasonably stable due to the high percentage of sugar.

Swiss meringue is made from egg whites and sugar that are warmed over a hot water bath while they are beaten. This warming gives the meringue better volume and stability.

Italian meringue is made by beating a hot sugar syrup into the egg whites. This meringue is the most stable of the three because the egg whites are cooked by the heat of the syrup. When flavored with vanilla, it is also known as boiled icing. It is also used in meringue-type buttercream icings.

Guidelines for Making Meringues

-Fats prevent whites from foaming properly: This is very important. Make sure all equipment is free of any trace of fat or grease, and that the egg whites have no trace of yolks in them.

-Egg whites foam better if they are at room temperature than if they are cold Remove them from the cooler 1 hour before whipping.

3. Do not overbeat Beaten egg whites should look moist and shiny. Overbeaten meringues look dry and curdled; they are difficult to fold into other ingredients and have lost much of their ability to leaven cakes and soufflés.

4. Sugar makes egg white foams more stable Meringues are thicker and heavier than unsweetened egg white foams, and they are more stable. However, egg whites can hold only a limited amount of sugar without sacrificing some volume. For this reason, when making common meringues, many cooks prefer to whip the egg whites with no more than an equal weight of sugar. Additional sugar can be folded in after the meringue is whipped.

5. Mild acids help foaming A small amount of cream of tartar or lemon juice is sometimes added to egg whites for whipping in order to give them more volume and stability. This is especially helpful when the whipped whites are folded into other ingredients to provide lightness or leavening.

CRÈME ANGLAISE

Crème anglaise (pronounced “krem awng glezz”), also known as vanilla custard sauce, is a stirred custard. It consists of milk, sugar, and egg yolks stirred over very low heat until slightly thickened, then flavored with vanilla.

The following guidelines will help you be successful:

-Use clean, sanitized equipment and follow strict sanitation procedures. Egg mixtures are good breeding grounds for bacteria that cause food poisoning.

-When combining the egg yolks and sugar, whip the mixture as soon as the sugar is added. Letting sugar and egg yolks stand together without mixing creates lumps that cannot be beaten out.

-Heat the milk to scalding (just below simmering) before combining with the egg yolks. This makes the final cooking much shorter

-Slowly beat the hot milk into the beaten eggs and sugar. This raises the temperature of the eggs gradually and helps prevent curdling.

-Set the bowl containing the egg mixture in a pan of simmering water and stir constantly to prevent curdling.

-To test for doneness, two methods are available. Keep in mind that this is a very light sauce, so you can’t expect a lot of thickening.

• Check the temperature with a thermometer. When it reaches 85°C, the sauce is cooked. Never let the temperature go above 87°C.

• When the mixture lightly coats the back of a spoon, instead of running off it like milk, the sauce is cooked.

-Immediately cool the sauce by setting the pan or bowl in ice water. Stir occasionally to cool it evenly.

Uses

-Used as a Base in many desserts like Bavorois

-Used as an accompanying sauce to various desserts .can be flavored with flavours like zest, caramel, chocolate and spirits like Rum, Brandy and whisky.

CRÈME ANGLAISE

Ingredients                      Quantity

Egg yolks                                  12 nos

Sugar                                       250 gm

Milk                                          1 lt

Vanilla extract                          15 ml

METHOD

-Combine the egg yolks and sugar in a stainless-steel bowl. Whip until thick and light.

- Scald the milk in a boiling water bath or over direct heat.

- Very gradually pour the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture while stirring constantly with the whip.

- Set the bowl over simmering water. Heat it, stirring constantly, until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon or until it reaches 85°C.

- Immediately remove the bowl from the heat and set it in a pan of cold water to stop the cooking. Stir in the vanilla. Stir the sauce occasionally as it cools.

PASTRY CREAM -CRÈME PATISSERIE

It contains a starch thickening agent, which stabilizes the eggs. It can actually be boiled without curdling. In fact, it must be brought to a boil or the starch will not cook completely and the cream will have a raw, starchy taste. Pastry cream has many applications in the bakeshop.

-Pastry cream is used for fillings in tarts, pies and flans

-It is used as a base for hot desserts eg: Hot Soufflé

-It is used for filling choux pastry

Crème Chilboust: Pastry cream+ Meringue + gelatin

Also called as St.Honore cream

CRÈME PATISSERIE (PASTRY CREAM)

Ingredients                                        Quantity

Milk                                           1 Lt

Sugar                                       125 g

Egg yolks                                  4 yolks

Whole eggs                              2 eggs

Cornstarch                                75 g

Sugar                                       125 g

Butter                                      60 g

Vanilla essence                          as required

Procedure

1. In a heavy saucepan or kettle, dissolve the sugar in the milk and bring just to a boil.

2. With a whip, beat the egg yolks, whole eggs, cornstarch and sugar into the eggs. Beat with the whip until perfectly smooth.

3. Temper the egg mixture by slowly beating in the hot milk in a thin stream.

4. Return the mixture to the heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

5. When the mixture comes to a boil and thickens, remove from the heat.

6. Stir in the butter and vanilla. Mix until the butter is melted and completely blended in.

7. Pour out into a clean pan. Cool and chill as quickly as possible.

CHOCOLATE CREAMS

Ganache (pronounced “gah nahsh”) is a rich chocolate cream filling with many uses. When freshly made and still warm, it can be used as a glaze or icing for cakes, pour it over the product to be iced and it will set into a soft icing. When cooled, Ganache is used to make chocolate truffles or a filling for other candies. It can also be whipped to make a filling for cakes, tortes and meringue pastries.

In its simplest form, Ganache is a mixture of heavy cream and melted chocolate. Butter can also be included.

COULIS: Purées of fresh or cooked fruits, sweetened with sugar. Such a purée is often called a coulis (pronounced “koo-lee”)

SABAYON: Egg yolks are mixed with sugar and few tablespoons of liquid like water /wine/liquor they are whipped over bain marie until they form ribbons.

Used as a base for mousse and soufflé .Zabaglione from Italy (made with Marsala wine) served by itself.

REFERENCE BOOKS: Professional baking- Wayne Gisslen

QUESTIONS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS PAPERS

Explain the following culinary terms: Crème Anglaise