The chiboust cream It is a basic recipe of French pastries that, today, is used in sweet preparations throughout the planet. It is prepared by mixing a pastry cream with meringue and gelatin. The first provides a very ethereal mousse-like texture and the second gives body, consistency and stability to the whole.
it’s a great pastry resource, ideal to replace a pastry cream when looking for something lighter. It can be flavored with citrus, vanilla, coffee, honey, chocolate, strawberry and much more. To do this, before preparing the pastry cream, you just have to heat the milk with the chosen flavoring.
The name of the cream is due to the French pastry chef M. Chiboust, who had his patisserie on Rue Saint-Honoré in Paris. The famous Saint-Honoré cake was also born there, which incorporates among its ingredients, how could it be otherwise, this magnificent cream.
The elaboration of the chiboust cream is made up of several stepswhose dedication time does not exceed 20 minutes:
- Prepare the pastry cream
- Hydrate the gelatin
- Add to hot cream
- Prepare the meringue
- Mix meringue and cream
- Let cool
exist variations regarding the recipe for this cream. The most common is to start with a pastry cream that is lightened with meringue, although it can also be mixed with a chantilly cream or a combination of both.
We like the classics and we have followed the recipe of the French pastry chef Pierre Hermé, published in his book “Desserts” by Editorial Larousse. A reference that always makes us look good and that simplifies the process with the use of French meringue (the easiest of all).
Desserts (Larousse – Illustrated / Practical Books – Gastronomy – Larousse De…)
We start by preparing a pastry cream and, for this, we use the technique that suits us best. The microwave is a great ally for this preparation because in five minutes It is ready and this is how we have prepared it.
In a deep bowl, mix the yolks with the milk, 20 grams of sugar and the cornstarch. we heat in the mic at maximum power (800W) for three minutes. We open and remove. We heat two more minutes. Remove and stir to give creaminess and homogenize.
Hydrate the gelatin sheets in a bowl with cold water for five minutes (we can do it while we prepare the pastry cream). After this time, drain the leaves and add them to the hot pastry cream, mixing well until it dissolves completely.
We prepare the meringue with fresh egg whites (the pasteurized ones are not worth it) at room temperature. With some electric rods we beat the egg whites and gradually add the remaining sugar (30 grams). We stop when they are firm and, when turning the container, the egg whites stick to it.
Now all that remains is to mix the two preparations, cream and meringue, taking care to don’t over mix so as not to lose the incorporated air. To do this, add 1/4 of the meringue to the container with the pastry cream (which will be slightly tempered) and stir gently until integrated.
Pour the resulting cream over the rest of the meringue and mix with enveloping movements, delicacy and patience, until the whole feels homogeneous and ethereal. We already have our chiboust cream ready to store in the fridge, where we can let it take shape due to the effect of the gelatin and the cold.
Depending on how fluffy or airy you want the chiboust cream, you can adjust the amount of whites with which to make the meringue. You can use the same amount of whites as yolks, whiter than yolks or vice versa. The proportionality adapts to the taste of the confectioner.
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What uses does chiboust cream have?
Chiboust cream is ideal for cakes with a biscuit or biscuit base, as a filling for pancakes or profiteroles, to accompany a simple fruit dish, as a base ingredient for ice cream cakes or, why not, on its own. Can be used as a substitute for pastry cream many recipes.
Once cold and thick, the chiboust cream can be used to fill any basic sponge cake, whether Genovese -better if the crumb is first moistened with syrup- or butter. It also works for fill individual cupcakes choux pastry or shortcrust pastry tartlets and fruit.
We can serve it by itself, as the protagonist of a dessert in cup format. Either crowned with toasted nuts and a few leaves of fresh grass or alternating, for example, with biscuits, crushed biscuits, fresh fruit, etc.
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