Techniques › Baking and pastry
Creaming butter and sugar
Beginner Baking and pastry
Creaming butter and sugar is beating soft butter with sugar until pale and fluffy — the start of most cakes and cookies.
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How do you do it?
1Use butter at cool room temperature: it dents when pressed but isn't greasy.
2Beat butter and sugar on medium for 3–5 minutes, scraping the bowl, until noticeably paler and lighter.
Why does it work?
Sugar crystals cut tiny air pockets into the butter. Those pockets expand in the oven and give the cake its rise and soft crumb.
What are the common mistakes?
- Melted or cold butter — it can't hold air.
- Stopping after 30 seconds.
Still stuck? Watch someone do it on YouTube.
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