How to Cream Butter and Sugar (2024)

FAQs

How to Cream Butter and Sugar? ›

Begin to beat butter and sugar together on low speed until the two are mostly incorporated. Increase speed to medium-high and beat butter and sugar for 1-2 minutes, or until mixture is smooth, has lightened in color, and has significantly increased in volume.

Undermixed butter and sugar looks gritty and chunky, which can lead to dense cookies and cakes. It is possible to overmix the butter and sugar. If you overmix, the butter will separate out of the mixture and it will be grainy and soupy. Be sure to stop once your butter becomes light and fluffy.

Your butter may have been too cold, or you didn't mix it enough. I let the butter whip a solid five minutes at least before adding any other elements, and then whip/beat the sugar in one cup at a time for about a minute each. Add some cream little by little if it's still grainy.

Use an electric stand or hand mixer. Beat for 2 to 3 minutes on medium speed. Properly creamed butter should be light and fluffy, pale yellow in color and should have increased in volume. If the fat separates from the solids when you are creaming butter, you have gone too far and over-mixed it.

Instructions: If using a stand mixer, install the paddle attachment and place your softened butter and sugar in the bowl. If using an electric hand mixer, place your softened butter and sugar in a large bowl. Begin to beat butter and sugar together on low speed until the two are mostly incorporated.

Perfectly-creamed butter and sugar has lightened in color, and has peaks and valleys in its texture, giving it that 'fluffy' appearance. The sugar appears to be dissolved, but when you rub the mixture between your fingers you'll still feel the sugar granules.

The temperature of your butter is critical when creaming butter and sugar. Too cold, and your sugar won't properly dissolve into your butter. Too hot, and your cakes will end up flat and greasy. The magical temperature of softened butter is actually around 65℉, slightly cooler than the ambient temperature of your home.

Use a fork to mix them together until they form a relatively uniform paste, then stir vigorously with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, constantly folding the mixture in on itself, until it is pale yellow and creamy, which may take up to 10 minutes.

Without this step, it's nearly impossible to thoroughly mix in other dry ingredients. The butter is just too dang hard to make the dough hom*ogenous. So, if you want a cookie or cake with a uniform texture and taste, it's important to cream the butter and sugar until you reach a nice, pliable consistency.

It is either curdled (looks “broken” or like cottage cheese) or soupy (looks like melted vanilla ice cream). This problem typically occurs after adding the butter to the meringue or when rewhipping the buttercream after cold storage in the fridge.

Why is my buttercream not fluffy? ›

If it's too stiff and sticks straight up, I suggest adding in more heavy cream (1 Tbsp at a time). If it's too thin and doesn't form a little peak at all, try adding a bit more powdered sugar (1/4 cup at a time). You can also chill it in the fridge for 10-minute intervals.

If the butterfat separates out then usually this is due to the mixture being either heated or cooled too quickly, which "shocks" the mixture and causes the fat to separate out. It can also be caused by the mixture being heated unevenly (if the pan has a thin base and has hot spots).

Over-creamed butter and sugar

If you beat too long and hard, the mixture will be over-creamed, becoming nearly white in color. Because it's too aerated, it can result in dense, gummy streaks in your cake when baking.

Creaming simply means mixing your butter and sugar(s) together until well blended, leaving you with a fluffy light yellow mix. Just do not over mix! Butter and sugars are over-mixed when the butter begins to separate. The reason we 'cream' butter and sugar(s) together is to create little air pockets in our dough.

If you are asking about butter creamed with sugar, you can do this. I would place in an airtight container, maybe with a piece of plastic or wax paper on top, and refrigerate. It should be good for a couple of weeks. Of course, you will need to bring to room temperature to soften before use.

Use a Fork and Spoon to Cream Butter by Hand

In your mixing bowl, combine the sugar with the softened butter and start mashing them together with the back of a fork. Once the ingredients are incorporated, switch to a wooden spoon and stir vigorously.

Pour hot water into a ceramic or glass cup or bowl (something that can fit over your butter). After a few minutes, dump the water out of the vessel and quickly cover your butter. The heat from the cup will soften your butter in just a few minutes. We'd be remiss if we didn't mention using your microwave.

The temperature of your butter is critical when creaming butter and sugar. Too cold, and your sugar won't properly dissolve into your butter. Too hot, and your cakes will end up flat and greasy. The magical temperature of softened butter is actually around 65℉, slightly cooler than the ambient temperature of your home.

Which stand mixer speed is best for creaming butter? When creaming butter, use your KitchenAid^® Flat Beater and start at speed 3 to combine the sugar and butter without causing a mess. Once the mixture is smooth and creamy, you can bump up to speed 4 or 6 to achieve light, fluffy results.