Café Crème au Beurre
(French Coffee Buttercream Icing) Recipe

Origin: France      Period: Traditional

This is the traditional French recipe for the buttercream icing that is an essential component of all traditional gâteaux. Use to sandwich together and decorate Genoese sponge cakes.

Ingredients:

4 tbsp water
2 egg yolks, beaten
120 to 180g unsalted butter
2 tbsp coffee essence
90g caster sugar

Café Crème au Beurre
(French Coffee Buttercream Icing) Preparation:

Method:

Place the sugar in a heavy-bottomed pan then add the water and heat gently over a very low heat until all the sugar has dissolved (do not allow to boil). When the sugar has completely dissolved bring the syrup to the boiling point and continue boiling for about 3 minutes, or until the syrup reaches 110°C (as measured on a confectioner's thermometer).

At this point take off the heat and, whisking all the while, add the syrup in a steady stream to the beaten egg yolks. Continue to mix until the mixture is thick and has cooled to room temperature. Cream the butter until soft then gradually beat in the egg yolk mixture. Beat in the coffee essence then use both to sandwich gâteaux layers together and to decorate the cake.

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