Electric mixers make light work of whipping up cake batters, frosting, and Italian meringue. But, if your machine is on the fritz and you’re craving a chocolate-frosted yellow cake, you can simply beat the butter and sugar by hand using nothing but a bowl, a fork, and a wooden spoon. While this old-school technique takes more time, it’s just as effective as using a mixer. Just be prepared to give your arm a culinary workout.
The first step is to use softened butter — if you can easily press a finger into it and it leaves an indentation, it’s at the perfect sweet spot. To encourage your butter to soften faster, simply cut it into small cubes and lay it out on a plate. Alternatively, soften your butter under a hot glass — fill a tumbler with boiling water, decant the liquid after five minutes, and upturn the glass over your stick of butter so it’s fully covered. The heat from the glass will work its magic and after about 15 minutes, the butter should become spreadable.
Mash your sugar and softened butter together with a fork until well incorporated. Then switch your fork for a wooden spoon and beat the mixture together manually with nothing but elbow grease. After 10-15 minutes the butter and sugar will develop a light and fluffy consistency as air is whipped into the mixture. If your arm gets tired, take a little break and return to it once you’re rested.
Sub the granulated sugar for finer varieties
The butter and sugar mixture will be tough to beat at first and will likely stick to the sides of your bowl, but don’t be disheartened. All you need to do is continue to whip it, taking the time to scrape down the sides as you go to incorporate any stubborn bits of butter adhering to the sides. Using a wooden spoon with a hard edge, versus a softer silicone spatula, will help you to beat the ingredients together more effectively. Subbing the granulated sugar in your recipe for superfine or confectioner’s sugar is also a clever move if you want to speed up the creaming process. These sugars are ground into smaller particles, which dissolve more quickly when beaten into softened butter.
You’ll know your butter and sugar are properly creamed together when it has a fluffy consistency, an off-white color, and a larger volume. You shouldn’t be able to see any sugar crystals in the mixture; rather it should be super-smooth and creamy. While this process will take a lot of time, it will guarantee that your cake has a lofty rise and complex flavor. Moreover, when creaming by hand, it’s unlikely you’ll ever overmix the butter and sugar, which can occur with an electric machine. Overmixing can cause the butter to separate, resulting in an unwanted grainy texture that adversely affects the crumb of homemade cakes and cookies.
