The Art of Creaming Butter

I love to bake and when I first started was often frustrated by flat cakes and sunken cookies.
The trick to achieving Martha-worthy results lies in how successfully you cream your butter and sugar.

This post I hope will help you all become Masters in the Art of Creaming Butter.

Often recipes start with the infamous words "cream your butter and sugar".
Well...what does that even mean and how do I do it while still behaving like the lady Martha expects me to be?

Firstly - the success of your creaming ventures does rely on the temperature of your butter.
You can not cream frozen, hard or recently refrigerated butter. If it too cold, it will not whip up.
If it is too warm, it does not retain air. Air creates bubbles. Bubbles are very important for expansion in your baking. Expansion creates fluffy, airy, lovely textured baked goods.
Your butter must be the temperature of the room you are baking in (let's hope this room is not a deep freeze or a sauna).

Secondly - I don't know how you will successfully participate in the act of creaming without a mix master or a hand held mixer of some sort. (This often leaves me wondering how our great grandmothers mother's made cakes successfully, pre-electricity!).

Thirdly - how long is long enough?
You want to beat your butter and sugar together until the mixture is lighter in colour (almost pale looking) and texture. It visually looks softer, fluffier.
The beating aerates the butter, adding in those valuable bubbles that expand when baked - making cookies lighter, cakes fluffier and more tender.

When you master this you will notice your cakes seem more delicate, your cookies and muffins brag-worthy.

Good luck with your Mastery and in the words of Devo - "Whip it real good"!

Why Egg Temperature Matters

I mention 'room temperature' eggs and butter when I create my baking recipes for you not because I prefer to be wordy, but because temperature of ingredients matters!

Always bring your baking ingredients to the temperature called for in the recipe you are following. If you follow that golden rule of baking, trust Martha, your results will be the better because of it.
If it reads 'melted butter' - melt that butter good!

Why Eggs Need to Be Room Temperature:
Eggs that are too cold, when added to your creamed butter base will make that creamy butter seize up. This then deflates any air bubbles that you created, inhibiting them from expanding when baked. Air bubbles are a great thing as they are what makes cakes fluffy.

We are busy people.
In North America, we keep our eggs in the fridge so waiting for your little eggs to become one with your room's temperature can seem like an eternity you don't have.
Here is a trick - fill a small bowl with hot water (not boiling as you don't want to cook your eggs). One by one, add your eggs and turn them in the water for around one minute. Careful not to crack their shells! They will warm up nicely.