Efrat's Notebook
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Krembo Draft

Homemade krembo, a crisp butter cookie, egg-white cream whipped over steam and a chocolate coating, kept in the fridge or freezer.

  • Prep1 hr
  • Cook12 min
  • Rest50 min
  • Total2 hr 2 min
  • Makes30 krembos
  • KashrutDairy

What you need

Amount:30

Cookies

Vanilla cream

Coating

How I make it

Cookies

  1. Fit the stand mixer with the paddle. Put the butter, egg, vanilla and sugar in the bowl and mix on low for a few seconds, until lumpy.

  2. Add the flour and salt and mix briefly, just until the dough comes together.

  3. Gather the dough by hand, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

  4. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

  5. Lightly flour the counter and roll the dough out to about ¼ inch (½ cm) thick.

  6. Cut out cookies 1½-2 inches (4-5 cm) across and set them on the sheet.

  7. Bake for about 12 minutes, until lightly golden. Remove and let cool.

Cream

  1. Thoroughly clean a stainless steel bowl (or small pot) and the beaters of a hand mixer, so no trace of fat or yolk is left.

  2. Put the egg whites and sugar in the bowl and set it over a large pot of boiling water, without letting the bowl touch the water.

  3. Beat with the hand mixer until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is warm to the touch, but not too hot.

  4. Transfer to the (very clean) stand mixer bowl and whip on high for about 10 minutes, until stiff and glossy.

  5. Spoon the cream into a piping bag with a plain tip and pipe onto each cookie.

  6. Freeze for 20 minutes so the cream firms up and sticks to the cookie.

Coating

  1. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over gently simmering water, without letting the bowl touch the water. Or use the microwave in 30-second bursts (no longer!), stirring in between, until fully melted.

  2. Stir the oil into the melted chocolate and pour into a tall, narrow container.

  3. Line a tray with parchment paper.

  4. Holding each krembo gently by its base, dip it in the chocolate to coat completely. Shake off the excess and set on the tray.

  5. Refrigerate. Once the cream and coating have set, transfer the krembos to an airtight container.

What I've learned

  • I work the cookie dough as little as possible; overmixing ruins the crispness.
  • Any trace of fat or yolk in the bowl or on the beaters keeps the whites from whipping, so I clean them well.
  • Never melt chocolate over direct heat; it burns.
  • The krembos keep in the freezer too.

Source: ChefEf (chefef.com)