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WHAT IS CREAMING?:
 Creaming
calls for ROOM TEMPERATURE BUTTER to
me, means butter at around 65 to 67 degrees
F. (Most cookbooks suggest using butter at
68 to 70 degrees F, but I have found that it's too warm). It helps keep the
butter from softening too much during creaming process, producing the best
results. See "How to Do the Creaming
Step", below. |
Numerous dessert and
cake recipes direct that butter and sugar be creamed together until light and
fluffy, called creaming. This may be
accomplished either by
an electric mixer
or by
hand.
Creaming
is the first baking step in many recipes, and you can recognize it when
it indicates: "Cream butter and sugar together until
light and fluffy". Little do we know
that it is one of the most important baking steps in the entire recipe. For best
results, it should really take 8 to 10 minutes to complete, but many recipes
indicate less time.
| In a
cake recipe, for example, where the
butter and sugar ingredients are creamed together, tiny, tiny air bubbles
are incorporated, giving you a delicate texture when baked. That's why most
cakes are butter-based with a finer flour, such as cake flour, a lower
gluten flour, which also gives you a finer texture. |
Creaming incorporates the maximum amount of air
bubbles so a recipe will rise in the oven and be light in texture.
It is done by beating, with a paddle
attachment, what is called by the trade as plastic
fat, usually shortening or butter, first and then adding
crystalline sugar, usually
granulated white or super-fine, as well as brown sugar and creaming the two
together. Fat can also mean margarine, shortening or lard, while sugar can also
be brown or white. It is
important to start on low speed until all ingredients have been incorporated,
then switch to medium speed, making sure to scrape the bowl down periodically to
make sure all ingredients have been mixed thoroughly.
 QUESTION:
All of a sudden I have a pound cake
problem. I have made the same recipe for years with good results,
but after switching from name brand sugar to a store brand, my cakes have
become heavy and not done in the middle.
ANSWER: The most likely explanation for
this is that the two sugars are ground differently.
If the store brand is ground finer than the name brand you were using, you
will get more sugar per cup, upsetting the balance of the recipe. Also, the
crystals of the new sugar may not be as sharp as the old, which can lead to
a heavier cake.
If the crystals of the store brand sugar are
smaller than the old favorite, or the edges of the crystals aren't as sharp,
they won't cut into the butter as deeply. This makes a smaller hole, so less
air can be pulled through. Then, the eggs are usually added, which adds more
volume and allows the mixture to hold even more air. The dry ingredients,
including the baking soda or powder, are then added, usually alternating
with liquid. |
Next, the eggs are added gradually in stages, with the mixer
on low, which ensures that the batter doesn’t curdle. The yolks help emulsify
and hold moisture within the formed air cells and create a water-in-fat
emulsion. Next, add milk and other liquids and finish with the dry ingredients.
We also can add the liquid and flour alternately in stages, producing the same
result.
 BUTTER
TIP: If you forget to take
your butter out of the freezer before using it (something I have done many
times), don't melt it to soften it. Instead, grate it and then leave
it out at room temperature for about a minute before using. Don't let
the butter get too soft or melt. If it does, put the grated butter back in
the freezer for a minute or two to harden before using. |
One of the most common mistakes is to either over
or under-cream the fat and sugar together, cream with the mixer on too fast or
to use fat that is too warm or too cold. When the mixture
is over-creamed, creamed too fast or the fat is too warm, the fat starts to
break down and release the previously creamed-in air bubbles. With butter, the
milk solids separate, causing it to lose air and/or not be able to form air
bubbles when the sugar crystals cut into it. And, if the fat is too cold, the
sugar cannot cut into it because it's too hard, causing not enough being
formed. This results in a whole host of problems, such as dense, flat and
flavorless recipes (even cookies).
HOW CREAMING WORKS:
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If the fat is still cold and you do not have the time to let it sit at room
temperature, click here for solutions. |
When butter and sugar are creamed
together, the rough sugar crystals cut into the fat, creating air bubbles that
are held in by it.
These small air
bubbles serve as a nuclei for leavening gases and steam. If the fat and
crystalline sugar is adequately creamed, the entraped air is more evenly
dispersed amount the fat leading to a better and more even rising.
It's important to remember
that leaveners simply enlarge the air bubbles that already exist in the batter;
they do not create more. A
cake or
cookie will
rise when leaveners, such as baking
soda and/or baking powder, are moistened and heated. They release carbon dioxide
which gravitate to the air bubbles and expand them like tiny balloons. If
not done properly, the result will be a cake that has risen more on one side,
one that has not risen to its fullest potential or one that will first puff in
the oven and then fall, causing it to be flat.
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Make sure the mixing
bowls are at room temperature. Using one straight from the
dishwasher can melt the butter or fat. If they do, dip the bowl in tepid
water to cool it down. |
Different types of fat are
better for holding air bubbles than others: shortening or lard, create and hold
air bubbles the best but, stick butter is good, too. (Butter has the best
flavor, however). Margarine does not hold air as effectively, while vegetable
oil doesn't at all.
| During the initial
creaming mixing stage, sugar particles are coated with a layer of fat. When
the cookie dough piece warms in the oven, the fat layer melts away allowing
the water to migrate to the sugar and go into solution. As the sugar changes
from solid to liquid, it causes the cookie to flow or spread.” |
Sugar crystal size affects
creaming; the smaller the air
nuclei formed during mixing, the more fine and close the texture. Thus,
superfine sugar
is often used in delicate cake recipes where a fine texture is desired. The
sugar crystals are super small and create tinier air bubbles than when using
regular crystalline sugar.
HOW TO DO THE CREAMING
STEP WITH AN ELECTRIC
MIXER OR BY HAND:
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 Use
the pastry blender attachment if you have one; otherwise use regular
beaters, but the blades will become clogged. So stop the mixer every so
often, lift out the blades (don't take them off), and scrape with a rubber
spatula. Resume creaming. (As a kid, I always volunteered to do that job for
my mom -- However, I am not sure that many of the butter and sugar clumps
ended up back in the bowl--YUM! YUM!)
STEP #1: The
purpose is to soften and prepare the fat so it can help to form and hold air
bubbles. To do:
1. Use the
paddle attachment on your stand mixer or the beaters with your hand-held
electric mixer.
2. Use
what I call room temperature butter,
which is at 65 - 67 degrees F, and cut into 1-inch pieces, and place in
mixer bowl, the deeper the better. If the butter becomes too soft, simply
refrigerate it until it becomes harder.
3. Begin at low
speed to first soften the butter. Then increase the mixer to medium, for
approximately 45 to 60 seconds, until it is smooth. If the butter is cold,
the process takes a bit longer.
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 If
orange or lemon zests (peel) are called for in the recipe, add them
towards the end of beating the butter; beating releases the oil based
flavor of the zest and infuses it into the butter, giving more flavor to
the recipe. |
4. Add in
vegetable shortening, if applicable, any citrus zests and continue to beat
30 seconds longer. If just using shortening, beat first until softened
during Step #3, above.
5. Beat
fat into a plastic-like consistency.
DO NOT OVERBEAT.
Overbeating the butter can soften it
too much, which will diminish its ability to trap and hold air.
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If
at any time during softening the butter or creaming, the butter starts
to separate or break down, it is usually because it is too warm. To
correct, place the butter or butter and sugar mixture in the
refrigerator for approximately 5 to 15 minutes, even if half-way through
creaming. This should chill and harden the fat so you can resume again. |
STEP
#2: The purpose of
creaming is to create tiny air bubbles. This is done by adding the sugar to
the softened butter and beating. Here the rough sugar crystals
cut into the prepared fat, creating tiny air pockets. The fat envelopes them
and traps the air inside in the form of tiny air bubbles.
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MAKE A PAPER CHUTE
TO ADD IN DRY INGREDIENTS: When adding sugar or any
ingredient at the side of the bowl while the mixer is running, can be
tricky. I usually spill stuff all over the place and risk nicking my
knuckles on the beaters. This was a problem until I learned how to make
a paper chute for the ingredients: take piece of paper or waxed
paper cut to not longer than 11-inches. Fold it in half the long way.
Unfold on the countertop, lay it flat and put ingredients in the crease.
Lift it supported by both hands and at the same time crease it where the
fold is. Place the paper at a slight angle with one of the ends just
inside the bowl. When you lightly tap the bottom of the paper chute on
the rim, the ingredients will slowly slide into the bowl. |
With the mixer
still set on medium, slowly add in the sugar (table, super-fine and/or brown
sugars) at the side of the bowl. The best way is to add it 1 tablespoon at a
time, taking 8 to 10 minutes to complete. But, if you don't have the time,
which I never do, you can slowly add the sugar in a steady stream or in
small clumps (brown sugar) at the side of the bowl while mixing. An easy way
is to make a paper chute.
Scrape the sides
and the bottom of the bowl often with a rubber spatula. The beaters will
begin to form ridges in the butter from mixing. Stop creaming. Use
immediately or cover and refrigerate. Refrigeration slows the air bubbles
from escaping. When you remove the mixture from refrigeration, let warm a
bit and cream to incorporate. |
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LIGHT AND FLUFFY:
Stop creaming when
the mixture becomes light in color
and fluffy in texture from the millions of
puffy air cells. DO NOT OVERBEAT. Overbeating the
butter can soften it too much, which will
diminish its ability to hold air.
What to
look for:
1. Volume of
the butter and sugar has increased;
2. Color of
the butter has become lighter (described as pale ivory);
3. Texture
becomes fluffy and the butter still retains its plastic-like shape;
4. The
mixture has numerous ridges in it from the beaters and is sticky when
they are lifted;
5. The
mixture coats the bottom and slightly up the sides of the bowl, an 1/8
to a 1/4 of an inch thick; and,
6. When
touched, it will have the consistency of thick, gritty (from the sugar)
facial cream (sorry--couldn't think of anything else!!).
NOTE:
Creaming butter and sugar until light and fluffy can sometimes be a
misnomer -- if you have more sugar than butter, you will never reach the
light and fluffy stage. The mixture will be more light sand and somewhat
creamy. |
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HAND BEATING
Some cream the butter and sugar by hand (I know my grandmother did), but for
beginners, I recommend using an electric mixer. She left the butter to sit
at room temperature for an hour to soften, beat the butter first to soften
and then added sugar. My grandmother then beat it to light, fluffy mass and
only she could get it perfectly. For cold, hard butter, use the following
system: cut the butter into 1/2-inch pieces and place it with the sugar in a
mixing bowl set over barely simmering water. Beat with a wooden spoon for
several seconds until the butter softens. Then set the bowl in a basin of
cold water and beat for a minute or two until the mixture is light, fluffy,
and a pale ivory color. |
The creamed
mixture should be used immediately or put covered in the refrigerator; DO NOT
let it sit,
especially in a warm room because you don't
want the butter in the creamed mixture to soften. If it does, the air bubbles
beaten in will be lost.
In some recipes, after creaming,
room temperature eggs
are beaten in, one at a time, with the mixer speed on low or by hand. This step
helps to incorporate more air in the batter and adds
emulsifiers from the egg yolks,
creating a creamy mixture that holds the air bubbles in. A cake baked with
poorly emulsified batter will be grainy in texture, and will look uneven (dip)
and may even sink.
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