
Need advice....I see so many recipes that call for room temperature butter to be creamed with sugar for 5-10 (for pound cake). In my experience you will end up with a bowl of soup doing this. Even when I start out with about 62 degree butter, after about a minute it's already looking sweaty and warm. I have to stop at least twice and put everything in freezer for 5 minutes. I end up spending 30 minutes just for the creaming stage. I keep my kitchen very cool. Just the friction from paddle seems to warm it all up too much. I never beat it higher than speed 4 though. I bake mostly pound cakes so I really need the creaming step to be perfect. There has to be a faster way..Advice????

The only time I can think of that anything like that has happened to me was recently when I used organic cane sugar instead of “regular “ white sugar It’s much more grainy & light tan Could that be something that you are using? It also sounds like you are letting the butter get to warm Have you tried mixing it sooner? Don’t know if any of that helps

I bake a lot of pound cakes, but I don't recall have any issue with the creamed butter and sugar becoming too soupy and I do beat it for a good amount of time.

Just use Dixie Crystal pure cane sugar and good butter. I actually cut the butter up cold and let it soften just enough so the paddle will go through it. I usually start adding sugar when butter is about 63 degrees , I check temp after every minute on speed 4 (KA) if mixture gets about 68-69 degrees I stop and put in freezer for 5 minutes, (a tip from Shirley Corriher) This works but it's annoying. I've read after 70 degrees butter will get too warm and not cream properly.



Good idea, kakeladi! I will post the question on Keep Calm and Cake On.


OK, Kate came on and said she just cubes her cold butter, straight from the fridge, and allows the action of the mixer to warm it enough to cream the mixture.



Here are all the responses from Keep Calm so far:
Kate N Dennis Korzekwa yes so true -- I cube cold butter right out of the fridge -- and add in the sugar so the abrasion of mixing gets it all well combined then add eggs -- unless I am making a large quantity I just pop it in un-cubed -- the planetary action of our mixers warms up the butter plenty -- as you've discoveredHide or report this- Sandra Griggs Smiley Thanks, Kate! She said she is using still cool cubed butter and stopping and putting it in the freezer every minute or two to keep it cool. She said that works, but is still very time consuming.Edit or delete this
- Kate N Dennis Korzekwa Sandra Griggs Smiley just use it cold is what I doHide or report this
- Sandra Griggs Smiley I will pass it on!Edit or delete this
- Kate N Dennis Korzekwa i also use the eggs right outa the fridge for a cakeHide or report this

More replies:
- Hide or report this
- Katy Nott
I've never had this problem with butter and sugar. Is your butter different to ours in some way? More water content? I use butter that is just room temperature (you can poke your finger through it without meeting too much resistance). I then cream the butter a little, then add the sugar so the butter is already in a consistency to mix in with the sugar.
Hide or report this - Chris Hampton Maybe this is a problem specifically to pound cakes where you're using equal amounts of butter and sugar? I never have this problem and I live in Florida... I've used 70 degree butter in an 80 degree kitchen, but I'm mainly making cakes that have twice as much sugar as butter.Hide or report this
- Hide or report this
- Chris Hampton I do it like you do... cream the butter a little and then add the sugar. I've found that the butter has to be soft, or it just sticks to the bowl and doesn't cream properly.Hide or report this
- Edit or delete this





MamaGeese, when I cream my butter and sugar for a pound cake, it gets lighter in color and has a very light, silky consistency.

Sandra, what speed on KA do you use for creaming and for how long? Also, I'm wondering if using the scraper paddle instead of regular paddle could make a difference? Sometimes I use one and sometimes I don't. I have the metro scraper paddle. Thank you!

MamaGeese, I never turn the KA higher than # 2 when creaming butter and sugar together and usually mix for two or three minutes, probably never as many as five.
I don't know what my paddle is called, just the plain one that came with the mixer and it does not have a scraper.
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