What is the most important thing in a cake or pastry? Of course, delicious cream. Cream is used to fill horns and baskets, eclairs and tartlets, layer cakes, smooth the surface of cakes, and decorate finished desserts. With cream and cookies, you can easily and quickly make a magnificent no-bake dessert. In general, cream is a pastry chef's best friend.

Types of pastry creams


It seems that there are so many types of creams that it's easy to get confused. In fact, there are only a few base types of cream, and all other varieties are derivatives. By mastering the basic recipes, you can prepare many different variations based on them.

Custard cream for cakes


- 0.5 liters of milk;
- 3 eggs;
- 3 tablespoons of flour;
- 200 grams of sugar;
- vanilla.

Combine flour and eggs in a bowl, beat with a mixer.
Mix the resulting mixture with half of the milk.
Put the second half together with the sugar on low heat and bring to a boil.
Slowly pour the mixture of flour, eggs, and milk into the boiling liquid, stirring constantly.
As soon as the mass boils, remove the cream from the heat. Add vanilla, and stir the cream for 2-3 minutes.

Meringue (protein) cream

- Egg whites from 2 eggs;
- Powdered sugar 3 tbsp;
- Vanilla for flavoring;
- Citric acid (a couple of crystals)
Whip the egg whites with a mixer in a deep bowl. Important: not a single drop of water should get into the protein mass!
When the foam holds its shape well, begin to gradually add the powdered sugar while continuing to whip the cream. If you add all the powder at once, the protein foam may deflate.
At the end, add a little vanilla and citric acid. The cream is ready.

Buttercream


For the simplest option, you only need 2 ingredients: 82% fat butter and powdered sugar. The ratio is 1:1, meaning 200 g of butter and 200 g of sugar, etc. Combine softened butter with powder and beat at high speed until the cream becomes fluffy. You can add vanilla, cocoa, or food coloring and mix thoroughly.

Whipped cream

- Heavy cream (at least 30%) 500 ml;
- 50 g of powdered sugar;
- Vanilla for aroma.

Cream is a very moody product. To make everything work out, follow the instructions exactly.

Take chilled fresh cream. It must spend at least 6 hours in the refrigerator. The dishes (whisk and mixer bowl) must also be chilled and absolutely dry.

Start whipping on the lowest speed. Gradually add powder (mixed with vanilla) and increase the speed.
Whip the cream to soft peaks. The cream holds its shape well, and the trail from the whisk is clearly visible - turn off the mixer. If you over-whip them, you will get butter.

This variant of cream is perfect for filling if you are going to eat the dessert on the same day. For decoration and longer storage, you need to add a cream thickener or gelatin. Vegetable cream or non-dairy pastry cream will be an excellent alternative for decorating desserts. It holds its shape remarkably well; it is simply impossible to spoil the cream when whipping. In addition, whipped non-dairy cream has a longer shelf life compared to regular cream.

Where to buy pastry cream. In the Farina store, you will find pastry cream (vegetable cream) produced in Italy, the Netherlands, and Slovakia. Manufactured according to European quality standards, they will turn your ideas about comfort in preparing desserts upside down. Just whip them for a few minutes and enjoy the result. And now you know a few simple ways on how to make pastry cream.

Coloring the cream
At what stage to add coloring depends on its type. If you use a dry (powdered) color, mix it with other dry products. For example, flour or powdered sugar, and then follow the recipe. Please note: dry colors usually give not too saturated, pastel shades. The same story happens with natural pigments: in most cases, an intense shade cannot be obtained.

Bright colors can be given to the cream using concentrated food coloring - gel and paste colors. They are added at the final stage, when the cream is almost ready. Put a small amount of cream in a separate bowl and add a couple of drops of color. The amount depends on the chosen color. Mix well and make sure that your coloring will not spoil the consistency of the cream. Add the colored cream to the main mass and stir thoroughly. To achieve a marble effect, add the cream in several stages and do not mix until smooth.

How to dye pastry cream if you don't have the right color at hand


Let's consider a simple example: how to make a green pastry cream. Back in school, we firmly learned - to get a green color, you need to mix yellow and blue. This is exactly what we will do. In a separate container, mix yellow and blue coloring, selecting the optimal proportions for the desired shade. It is necessary to mix food colors from the same manufacturer to avoid surprises. Do the same with other colors. Find the required shade in the color mixing chart and use the hints on the ratio of paints.

You can also use the grandma's method and make your own food colors. For these purposes, the juices of fruits, berries, vegetables, and some types of spices are suitable. Most often, carrots, beets, seasonal berries, matcha tea, spinach, and turmeric powder are used. With the help of cocoa powder of different varieties, you can get various shades: light and dark brown, brick-red, and even black.

Please note: for coloring buttercream, it is better to use fat-soluble food coloring. Then it will be colored evenly, and the consistency will remain unchanged. Instead of natural juices, it is recommended to use syrups based on them.

How to use pastry cream
  • For layering cakes;
  • As a filling for pastries, tartlets, cupcakes, etc.;
  • For frosting a cake;
  • For decorating baked goods.
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    Let's dwell on the decor. You can decorate a dessert with cream using a pastry syringe or a piping bag. For these purposes, any cream from those presented in our article is suitable. The only caveat: custard is difficult to dye due to its natural yellowish hue. Therefore, it is less preferable for decoration.

    Which cream is better for a pastry syringe


    The preparation of cream for a pastry syringe differs little from the preparation of cream for a filling. The most important thing is the consistency. The cream should be dense and hold its shape well. Too thick cream will be hard to load and squeeze out of the syringe, ugly voids will appear in the decor. Liquid cream will not hold its shape and will spread. You can adjust the thickness by changing the ratio of ingredients. How to make cream for a piping bag. Exactly the same as for a syringe. The conditions are similar: sufficient density, but not excessive thickness. The cream must hold its shape and not spread. How to test the cream: load a small batch into a syringe or bag and pipe it through a tip onto paper. This way you will solve 2 tasks at once: test the cream and practice piping patterns. How to fill a pastry syringe with cream It is necessary to remove the cap with the plunger, and using a teaspoon, fill the syringe with cream. Tap the syringe on a hard surface to distribute the mass evenly. Choose a piping tip to work with and pipe a test pattern on paper. If you are using a piping bag: fill it with cream to about 2/3. Place it on the table, and holding the wide part with your hand, carefully remove the air pockets with a plastic scraper. Tie the bag, make a test on paper. Good luck!