And so my mind was wandering and it tripped on a stick in the ground. Buttercream. Years ago I went through a stage of needing to ingest buttercream. I think what helped me kick the habit was searching for the perfect wedding cake and the endless samples we tried.
But, before I lost my longing for buttercream, we used to play with many flavorings to compliment fillings. One of our more outrageous flavors was balsamic buttercream with a yellow cake and fresh figs. It was aesthetically a disaster but taste was off the hook.
As I said, my mind tripped on buttercream today. What if we brought it to the savory world? Truffle buttercream with olive oil cake to compliment lamb with pesto and peppers. Foie gras buttercream on griddled corn bread with arugula jelly. And how good would green or black olive butter cream be? These ideas are still raw, unfiltered and not polished. I am just working through the initial thoughts. Herbal buttercreams like lovage, basil and tarragon hold promise in both the savory and sweet world. Just a few more thoughts on this idea: do we need to use butter in the buttercream? what else could be integrated? how can we extract and deliver intense flavors not overwhelmed by sweetness? These are a few questions and challenges to work with. I am excited to work through this idea.
