Creaming is a cooking method where butter and sugar are whipped to create a light, fluffy base for baked goods. Softened butter is gradually mixed with sugar using a stand or hand mixer until the mixture is pale and fluffy, but overbeating or underbeating can result in less fluffy blends.
Creaming is a cooking method in which butter and sugar are aerated to create a light, fluffy base for cakes or other baked goods. Simple, but often done incorrectly, skimming can be accomplished with an electric stand or hand mixer, or it can be whipped by hand. This method is often essential for producing light, fluffy cakes or non-dense biscuits.
Room temperature butter or margarine is often used when creaming, but shortenings or other solid fats can also be used. Fat that is too cold and hard is difficult to mix, and fat that is too hot and soft will not hold its shape. Therefore, you need a fat that has been softened but not melted, so that air bubbles can be trapped in the mixture. Ultra-fine sugar is often used, but regular granulated sugar can be used for some recipes or can be ground into fine sugar. Regardless of its consistency, white sugar is most often used in the cream.
Depending on the chef, a stand mixer or hand mixer is the preferred choice for the cream. If using a stand mixer, a paddle attachment is required. A stand mixer is generally more powerful and therefore can completely aerate the butter when used. Because it is more potent, however, there is a greater danger of overmixing. Whipping the butter and sugar by hand is also an option, but it takes a significant amount of time and usually requires an experienced chef to do correctly.
Whichever appliance is used, the butter is first whipped by itself. This breaks up the butter into a smoother, spreadier mixture, which makes it easier to incorporate the sugar. It also initiates aeration processes by introducing small air bubbles into the fat.
Once the butter is creamy, you can add the sugar. The sugar is added gradually, beating in each small addition before another is included. Periodically, the sides of the bowl should be scraped so that all of the butter can be mixed into the bottom of the bowl. When the sugar is added, the butter will lighten from a yellowish cream color, eventually turning a very pale yellow or off-white. It should also increase in volume.
Overbeating or underbeating are common mistakes for beginners when trying the crema technique. Both result in less fluffy blends. Too much beating makes the butter too soft and therefore unable to hold as many air bubbles, while brushwood doesn’t provide enough air bubbles. When done, the cream mixture should have a cloud-like consistency and not feel rough. When tapped, however, the butter-sugar mixture will feel a little gritty because the sugar doesn’t dissolve into the fat, just blended evenly into it.
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