This vanilla-flavored butter cream is made from whole eggs. This recipe is enough for about 45 macarons. You can freeze the unused cream.
Ingredients
1 egg
3 tbsp (1.4 oz/40 g) granulated sugar
1.4 oz (40 mL) water
7 tbsp (3 1/2 oz/100 g) unsalted butter
Vanilla extract
Directions
1 Cut butter into pieces ¼ inch/5 mm thick and place in a heat-resistant bowl. Heat in a microwave oven for 10 seconds.
2 Take the bowl out of the microwave oven and check the hardness of the butter. If the pieces are soft enough for your finger to press into them, the butter is done. If they are still hard, heat them for another 5 seconds.
3 Stir the butter with a spatula until it becomes smooth and creamy like mayonnaise.
4 Put water and granulated sugar in a heat-resistant container and stir well. Heat mixture in microwave oven for 1 minute. Remove from oven and mix until the sugar is completely dissolved. Heat for another 4 minutes. Remove from oven and stir with a spoon. Pointer: Wear oven mitts or gloves during this process because the container can become very hot.
5 Scoop some syrup with a spoon and drop it into a small amount of water. Then try to scoop the syrup out of the water and make a ball using your fingers. If you can do this, the syrup has the right amount of density.
6 While heating the syrup, break an egg in a bowl and beat it lightly with a hand mixer. Drop the syrup, like a thread, into the bowl and whisk it at a high speed. Change the speed to medium and then to slow, continuing to whisk until the bottom of the bowl is no longer hot and the mixture becomes white and heavy. Pointer: Place a wet cloth under the bowl so that the bowl does not move when you whisk.
7 Divide the butter made in step 3, adding it to the syrup in 2 or 3 batches. Whisk with a hand mixer at medium speed each time you add butter. When the butter is well mixed, the process is done. Pointer: While whisking the butter and syrup, bubbles may appear that seem to separate the butter from the syrup. You may think you have made a mistake but just continue whisking until the butter becomes creamy.
8 Stir a drop or two of vanilla extract into the mixture until blended. Spread the cream between the cooled puffs. Cover the remaining cream with plastic wrap and place it in the freezer for future use. Write a date on the package. It can be frozen for one month.
How to sandwich the cream between macarons
Spoon some cream on the flat side of a macaron puff. The cream will be more evenly sandwiched between puffs if you use a pastry bag. Cover the bottom puff with another puff, flat sides facing in. Gently press the top puff into place.
BUY THIS BOOKExcerpted from I Love Macarons. Copyright 2009 by Hisako Ogita. Excerpted with permission by Chronicle Books. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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