How To Cream Butter

Creating cake, cookies, and other baked goods that are light and tender begins with a simple technique called Creaming Butter. This is an important first step in recipes, and it’s simple to do.

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If you are new to baking or a seasoned baker, I am sure you have recipes that say cream butter and sugar together. So, what is creaming in baking?

• The creaming process involves beating room temperature butter and sugar together with a mixer at a moderate speed until it is well blended, has a fluffy texture, and is pale yellow in color.
• While there are some recipes that just want the butter to be creamed, most recipes want both butter and sugar, and this can be with white granulated sugar, brown sugar, or powdered sugar.
• When butter and sugar are creamed together, pockets of air are created that aerate the batter which helps your baked goods be tender and fluffy.
• Beating sugar into the butter helps dissolve it, creating a smooth mixture. This step is especially important when working with granulated sugar, which can remain grainy if not creamed properly.

How to get butter to room temperature?

Before starting the creaming process, the butter needs to be at room temperature for the best results. Take the butter out of the refrigerator for half an hour to an hour to allow it to warm up. The exact time may vary depending on the temperature of your kitchen.

If you need to get the butter at room temperature fast there are several methods

1. Get a tall glass, fill it with very hot water, and let it sit for a minute, then dump out the water and invert the hot glass over the stick of butter. The heat from the glass will soften the butter.
2. Cut the butter into slices, which will take less time to get to the right temperature.
3. Microwave at 5-second intervals. Place the butter on a plate and microwave for 5 seconds, then turn the butter over and microwave again. Press the butter with your finger to test if it is soft, if not, turn the butter onto another side and microwave again for 5 seconds.
4. For more ways, make sure to check out this article on how to soften butter.

How can you tell if butter is at room temperature?

• You can tell when butter is at room temperature by gently pressing it with your finger or a spoon, and it makes a small indentation. If your finger or spoon sinks way down into the stick of butter, then it’s too warm and will not cream properly.
• The butter should still be slightly cool, and the butter temperature should be about 65 degrees F., which is cooler than your kitchen.

This butter is still too hard to cream

This butter is at room temperature and ready to cream

To cream butter, you will need the following ingredients and tools

Ingredients

• Butter (softened to room temperature)
• Sugar

Tools

• Large mixing bowl
• Handheld electric mixer or a stand mixer

How to cream butter and sugar together

Step 1. Slice the room-temperature butter and add it to a large mixing bowl.

Step 2. I prefer to cream the butter first by starting the mixer at medium to low speed to break down the butter, then increase the speed to medium and beat for about one minute until you have creamy butter.

Step 3. Add the sugar to the beaten butter and mix on medium speed to incorporate the butter and sugar. At this stage, the mixture is chunky and grainy.

Step 4. Scrape the sides of the bowl, then increase the mixer speed to medium-high and mix for 2-3 minutes. The mixture will start to become smooth.

Step 5. Scrape the bowl and mix for another 2-3 minutes. The mixture will become very smooth, light, and fluffy and become a pale yellow color.

These recipes use creamed butter and sugar

• This Mandarin Orange Bundt Cake is light, fluffy, and full of mandarin pieces.
• These Iced Lemon Cookies are chewy and have a bold lemon taste.
• This Peanut Butter Cupcakes are a bit indulgent and so delicious with caramel buttercream frosting.
• This Strawberry Cake with Strawberry Buttercream uses cream butter in the cake batter and the frosting.
• Rose Petal Shortbreads rely on a thorough creaming of butter and sugar.

Creaming Questions!

Not sure what type of butter to use in your recipe? Make sure to read this guide on the different types of butter. There are many types to choose from.

More to make and eat!

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About Jere’                             

From learning to cook on a farm in Indiana to culinary school in California, my passion for food is never-ending.  Turning on my oven to bake something for friends and family is my happy place, and I am glad to be here at One Hot Oven sharing both sweet and savory family-friendly recipes for your cooking and baking inspiration.