Crémeux in the vegan pastry-making

In recent years, plant-based and vegan pastry-making has proved to be on a par with traditional pastry. There have been many advances that have managed to offer the same results. Allowing the interested pastry chef to develop the same recipes, but with other products and methods. Today we want to talk about vegan crémeux, in a quick guide to how they are made and what is necessary to make them.

The use of crémeux in a pastry making process

The first thing to do is to understand how these desserts are made in order to find out what substitutes we need to look for. The crémeux are similar to creams but with a thicker and more compact texture. They are ideal for making mousse or tartlet interiors, so that they remain intact when cut. This texture is also suitable for making quenelles.

The smoothness of crémeux is one of the most significant textural characteristics and has traditionally been linked to the abundant use of ingredients such as butter, cream, eggs or chocolate. However, these creamy textures are not achieved exclusively through such conventional components; they are actually obtained through emulsification, a texture-generating technique involving a physico-chemical process.

Which ingredients can be substituted?

For the crémeux ones, the ingredients to substitute are: egg yolk, milk, cream and gelatine. Let’s see what substitutions can be made.

Milk can be replaced by vegetable milk shakes, egg yolk by Natur Emul and animal gelatine by different pectins. Vegetable fibers such as Inulin can also be incorporated to achieve very creamy textures and thus replace the creamy mouthfeel that cream gives us in crrémeux recipes. There are numerous pectins that can help us to provide different textures depending on the crémeux. In this case we will work mainly with Nappage X58 pectin and Pectin Fruit NH.

How to make a vegan crémeux?

Proportion is key in patisserie. That’s why we are going to see how to change from a traditional chocolate crémeaux to a vegan option. This way, it will be clear to us how to use these same proportions in future elaborations.

Basic Chocolate Crémeux	Vegan Chocolate Crémeux
30 % Milk	55% Plant-based milk
30% Cream	10% Inulin
30% Couverture chocolate 30%	30% Couverture chocolate 30%
7 % Egg yolks	1% Natur Emul
3% Sugar	3% Inulin or plant-based fat
1% Gelatine	1% Pectin

We would like to emphasise that vegan pastry-making does not overdo the use of vegetable fats, as chocolate naturally provides the necessary fats. This is especially evident when using purer chocolates, a common choice in vegan patisserie.

It is essential to note that the proportions mentioned above are general guidelines for making crèmeux. However, it is obvious that these measurements will vary from recipe to recipe depending on the desired result. Preparations with fruits, for example, may require a slightly sweeter and lighter concentrate, with adjustments in fats, as fruits do not naturally contain them. On the other hand, crèmeux made with nuts will have a higher fat content per se, so it will be necessary to reduce fats and emphasise other aspects of the production process. Each dessert has its own unique characteristics, and adapting appropriately to these is essential for an optimal result..

What ingredients do we need to make vegan crémeux?

Now let’s go with a detailed list of what substitutes we can use to make crémeux.. We also want to indicate useful information about them.

• Natur Emul: It is essential to achieve the emulsion of the cream. It is the main substitute for the pectin in the egg. It can also be used separately, but this compound gives better results.
• Flaxfiber: Flaxfiber can also be used for a light water-based crèmeux emulsion because of its emulsifying and thickening properties.
• Hot inulin: The crèmeux usually has a high proportion of cream. Fats are essential in patisserie, and this ingredient can successfully replace them. It is very good at substituting them, not only making it easier to prepare, but also offering a similar texture and a similar mouthfeel to cream. It should be taken into account that it is also necessary to replace milk fats, so inulin is perfect.
• Pectin Fruit and Pectin Napagge: In any crèmeux you need a gelling element that can add some texture and solidity to the crèmeux. Pectin Fruit is perfect for sour desserts, while the other will work well in sweeter desserts.
• Deodorised coconut fat: A very good substitute for the fats used in the traditional recipe.

Below you will find a recipe for crémeux chocolate prepared by pastry chef Jordi Bordas.