Baking
How to cream butter and sugar
Beat soft butter with sugar until pale and fluffy, trapping air that helps cakes and cookies rise.
Step by step
- Let the butter soften to about 65°F: it dents when pressed but isn't greasy.
- Beat the butter alone for 30 seconds.
- Add the sugar and beat on medium speed.
- Scrape the bowl once or twice.
- Keep going for 2 to 4 minutes.
How you know it's done
The mixture is lighter in color, fluffy and has grown a little in the bowl.
Common mistakes
- Melted or very soft butter, which can't hold air.
- Cold butter, which stays in lumps.
- Stopping after a few seconds.
Simmerbee recipes that use it (10)
- Buttery Jam Thumbprint Cookies
- Chewy Ginger Molasses Crinkle Cookies
- Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chewy Spiced Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Cut-Out Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing
- Fluffy Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream
- Fudgy Double Chocolate Cookies
- Spiced Gingerbread Cut-Out Cookies
- Yellow Birthday Layer Cake with Chocolate Frosting
In those recipes the word is underlined in the steps; tap it for the short version. In hands-free cook mode, ask “How do I cream?”
Related techniques
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