Airy and delicate protein cream is a favorite ingredient of pastry chefs. Knowing the basic principles and subtleties of its preparation, it is quite possible to prepare a dessert based on protein cream at home.
The main types of protein cream
Before tackling the preparation of a dessert with protein cream, you need to decide which cream will be most suitable for a particular recipe. There are several types of egg white creams.
A traditional protein cream is made by whipping raw proteins with sugar. This dessert is very airy and tender, but unfortunately has a short shelf life. In addition, its splendor quickly falls off, and therefore it is not very suitable for decorating cakes.
Custard protein cream is considered the most optimal for filling desserts. It has a longer shelf life and a tighter, stable structure. Eclairs are stuffed with this cream, cakes are sandwiched and so on.
But for decorating cakes, it is best to use an oil-based or cream-based protein cream. This cream is very dense and easy to shape. In addition, during storage, it does not change its volume and structure, which allows you to create various kinds of decorative design of desserts.
Cream preparation
To prepare a traditional protein cream for three egg whites, take a glass of sugar and beat everything thoroughly in a mixer until a homogeneous air mass is obtained. When whipping, such a cream increases in volume by about three times. For more uniformity and taste enhancement, add citric acid at the tip of a knife and a little vanillin. The resulting cream can be used to bake meringues or meringues.
The protein custard recipe is a little more complicated. You will need: 4 pcs. egg whites, 200 g of sugar, 100 ml of water and a pinch of citric acid. To begin with, sugar syrup is cooked from sugar and water over low heat. The syrup is ready when the drop does not spread on the nail (this is an old way of determining readiness that is still relevant today).
Next, the whites are whipped into a cool foam with the addition of citric acid. When the consistency acquires splendor and density, hot sugar syrup is poured in a thin stream without stopping whipping. In the process of mixing, the protein mass becomes heavy, thickens and acquires a plastic homogeneous structure, which is perfect for filling desserts.
An oil-based protein cream is made from a protein custard by kneading it with softened butter or heavy cream. The same amount of oil is taken per one hundred grams of cream. For whipping, the mass should be at room temperature to avoid delamination of the oil base. If this nevertheless happened, then it is enough to warm up the cream a little in a preheated oven and continue the whipping process.
