Cream

To cream means to beat soft butter with sugar until the mix turns pale, light and fluffy. It is the first step in many cakes and cookies. The sugar crystals cut tiny pockets of air into the butter, and those pockets help the batter rise in the oven. The word also names the dairy product, but in a method it means this step.

How to do it

1. Start with softened butter, about 18 to 20°C (65 to 68°F). It should dent easily when pressed but still hold its shape.
2. Put the butter in a bowl and beat it alone for 30 seconds.
3. Add the sugar and beat on medium speed with an electric mixer for 3 to 5 minutes. By hand with a wooden spoon, it takes about 8 to 10 minutes.
4. Scrape down the bowl halfway through.
5. Add eggs one at a time, at room temperature, beating well after each.

How to tell it is done

The mix is clearly paler than when you started, close to off-white. It looks fluffy and has grown in volume. When you rub a little between your fingers, it feels less gritty than at the start.

Why it works

Sharp sugar crystals cut into solid fat and leave small air bubbles held in the butter. In the oven, steam and gas from leavening like baking powder flow into these bubbles and make them bigger. More small bubbles give a finer, lighter crumb.

Common mistakes

• Using melted or very soft butter. It cannot hold air, and the cake turns dense and greasy.
• Using butter straight from the fridge. It breaks into lumps instead of turning fluffy.
• Stopping after a minute. The mix needs real time to aerate.
• Adding cold eggs or all the eggs at once. The mix looks curdled. Add a spoonful of the flour to bring it back.

In recipes

"Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy" is the usual phrase. "The creaming method" names cakes built this way, such as pound cake and many butter cakes. Cookies often ask for a shorter creaming of 1 to 2 minutes, so they spread less and stay chewy.