Buttermilk in Desserts

[Varmint]

I know that there is a buttermilk thread out there somewhere, but I wanted to see if the pastry chefs and bakers have come up with different ways to incorporate buttermilk into their dishes. I noticed that Karen Barker of Durham's Magnolia Grill makes a buttermilk cheesecake, and buttermilk pie is a Southern staple. The tang of good, full-fat buttermilk could be used much more frequently in desserts than what I currently see. Anyone have any great new ideas?

[Sandra Levine]

I make a buttermilk-banana ice cream that should be possible for professionals to achieve.

Edited April 25, 2003 by Sandra Levine (log)

[bripastryguy]

I use buttermilk in my cakes

both white and chocolate, it sets off the filling and buttercream cutting down on the overall sweetness of the finished cake

[Varmint]

I use buttermilk all the time in my baking, but rarely as a featured ingredient. I know Steve Klc is making an ice cream for Jaleo that is not really ice cream, but ice milk. The purpose, if I recall correctly, is to focus on the flavor of the milk. Why not focus on the flavor of the buttermilk. It's luscious and tart -- a good starting point, as far as I'm concerned.

[hjshorter]

I use buttermilk in my cakes

both white and chocolate, it sets off the filling and buttercream cutting down on the overall sweetness of the finished cake

Bripastryguy, can buttermilk just be subbed for the milk in a cake recipe, or do other parts of the recipe have to be adjusted, like the leavening?

[bripastryguy]

It will effect the entire product from taste to texture. In some instances I dont think it will be drastic, it is something that will need some experimenting.

[nightscotsman]

Well, one of the classic uses is in pancakes and waffles - essential, in my opinion. And buiscits, of course.

Buttermilk is used alot in baking to add body to batter, to add flavor, and for the acid to both activate the levening power of baking soda and tenderize the gluten in wheat flour. That said, I'm actually not a big fan of using it in chocolate cakes as I believe the extra dairy tends to mute the flavor of the chocolate. You often get a more intense flavor with plain water.

Oh, and one of Claudia Flemming's signature desserts at the Grammercy Tavern was buttermilk panna cotta. I've made it and it was quite good, though you need to be careful with what you pair with it.

[Varmint]

Buttermilk is an indispensible item in my refrigerator. I get it in the glass bottles from a small, local dairy.

The buttermilk panna cotta is one I had forgotten about. I've also found variations of "buttermilk soup" that is served with berries. How about a buttermilk creme brulee? Any good uses of whipped buttermilk?

[Lesley C]

There was a recipe years ago in Gourmet mag for buttermilk sorbet. It was terrific paired with berry cobblers and crumbles.

[Elizabeth_11]

If I see a recipe for a quickbread or cake containing buttermilk, I'm usually more likely to try it than if it just contained regular milk. I find the result to be incredibly moist and flavorful, so I'm a big fan of using it. It will indeed affect the leaveners in a recipe since it is highly acidic, and milk is not. Usually recipes calling for buttermilk use only baking soda (I'm sure there are exceptions), whereas regular milk calls for baking powder. That's the main problem you would run into if substituting. I actually prefer using sour cream though in my cakes, (I find that it adds even more flavor, richness and moistness) but it does have similar results as buttermilk. Either way, I'm a big fan of buttermilk!

[hjshorter]

Well, one of the classic uses is in pancakes and waffles - essential, in my opinion. And buiscits, of course.

We always have buttermilk around, and those are the only three items we use it for.

Buttermilk sorbet sounded great. With berry season coming up it warrants a search at epicurious.com to see if it's there.

[KatieLoeb]

Try this thread: Buttermilk Recipes

Lots of stuff in there to keep you busy. Both desserts and other items.

[wingding]

Buttermilk sorbet is half buttermilk and half simple syrup,more or less.Buttermilk can make devils food cake or chocolate ice cream a little more tangy and interesting.

[Ellen Shapiro]

Try this thread: Buttermilk Recipes

Lots of stuff in there to keep you busy.  Both desserts and other items.

What a list of recipes! Thanks. I think I see some buttermilk biscuits in my future. That and the buttermilk pie filling--though my heart is going into spasms just reading the list of ingredients.

[Lesley C]

I found the recipe in the February 1999 issue of Gourmet mag. It's actually a buttermilk sherbet with egg yolks.

You'll find the recipe at epicurious.com

[Louisa Chu]

We just had a warm strawberry and raspberry soup with yogurt sorbet that I think would be great with buttermilk sorbet. And perhaps infusing the mixture with verbena.

[Sugarshoc]

I love buttermilk ice cream!

[Tri2Cook]

I'm not a lover of buttermilk on it's own (although I'm now training myself to get around that) so I'd never played with it much until I started hitting Ideas in Food on a regular basis. They use it to provide balance to sweet things (like their white chocolate consomme they were kind enough to pop in here and share the recipe for) and it works really well in that role so I keep it around now.