Techniques › Baking and pastry
Reverse creaming
Intermediate Baking and pastry
Reverse creaming is a cake-mixing method where soft butter is beaten into the dry ingredients first, before the liquids, for a fine, tender crumb.
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How do you do it?
- Mix the flour, sugar, leavening and salt in the mixer bowl.
- Add soft, room-temperature butter in pieces and mix on low until it looks like damp sand with no dry flour left.
- Whisk the eggs and milk together. Add about half and beat 1 to 2 minutes on medium to build structure.
- Add the rest of the liquid in two parts, scraping the bowl, and mix just until smooth.
Why does it work?
Coating the flour in fat first waterproofs much of it, so less gluten forms when the liquid arrives. The result is a fine, velvety, tender crumb and a flatter top that's easier to stack. Because you aren't whipping air into butter and sugar first, the cake relies more on its baking powder for rise, so it's a bit less airy than a creamed cake.
What are the common mistakes?
- Butter too cold — it won't coat the flour evenly and leaves lumps.
- Skipping the 1 to 2 minute beat after the first liquid — a weak, crumbly cake.
- Using it for any recipe — it suits butter cakes; oil and sponge cakes need their own methods.
Still stuck? Watch someone do it on YouTube.
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