Whipped butter is delicious and versatile.
It’s made by whipping butter until it becomes soft enough that it can be spreadable but not runny.
You can use whipped butter just like any other type of butter, but it has an extra-light texture that makes it especially good at spreading.
What Is The Recipe For Whipped Butter?
There are two main ways to whip butter.
The first involves heating up the butter with sugar, salt, and water so that the mixture thickens into a puddinglike state.
This method works well if you want your butter to have a sweet flavor.
However, since it requires heat, this technique isn’t suitable when you want your butter to taste more savory than sweet.
The second way to whip butter uses cold ingredients instead of hot ones.
So, rather than adding heat to the mix, you add cold water, cream, and eggs to the butter before whisking them together.
Once mixed, the resulting whipped butter should look like whipped cream — only lighter.
Whipping butter in this manner results in a smoother texture that’s easier to spread around food.
Here’s what you need to know about whipping butter:
- You will need 1 cup (250 grams) unsalted butter at room temperature, preferably high-quality.
- A clean stainless steel bowl large enough to hold all of the butter comfortably.
- An electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or hand mixer)
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons (45 ml) heavy cream
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon granulated white sugar dissolved in 2 teaspoons water
- Optional: 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
How Do You Make Whipped Butter?
To whip fresh cream into butter, pour about 1 cup (250 mL) of cold unsalted butter into a medium bowl.
Beat with a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until creamy.
If your butter isn’t very soft yet, keep beating, adding more ice water as needed, until it is smooth and spreadable.
You may need to refrigerate this mixture overnight before continuing.
For best results, beat again after chilling, then serve immediately.
What Are The Ingredients For Whipped Butter?
If you want to make your own whipped butter, all you need is unsalted butter, salt, and heavy cream (or milk).
- 1 cup of unsalted butter
- A pinch of salt
- Heavy cream (or whole milk)
That’s about it!
Make sure your butter is room temperature because cold butter will result in hard whipped butter.
How Do You Whip The Butter?
To make whipped butter, start with room temperature butter so it doesn’t harden while being whipped.
If your butter isn’t cold enough, put it in the refrigerator before starting to beat it up.
Whip the butter with a handheld electric mixer (or if you have one, a stand mixer) until it forms large peaks.
The more you whip, the lighter the end product will be.
Be sure to hold down the bowl to prevent the whisk from flying out into the kitchen!
How Long Does It Take To Make Whipped Butter?
The time required depends on your butter.
If you have a large amount of cream sitting around in your fridge, then you may find that it takes less than 20 minutes to whip up the butter.
But if you don’t have much cream, you might need 30 to 40 minutes to get it done.
When making whipped butter, it helps to start out with cold ingredients.
Cold butter will yield better results.
In addition, you should let the mixture sit undisturbed while it’s being beaten so that all of the fat comes together into one mass.
Once the butter stops separating into layers, it’s ready to be scooped onto a plate and served immediately.
(You can also store it in the refrigerator.)
What Is The Difference Between Whipped Butter And Regular Butter?
Regular butter isn’t really whipped because it doesn’t become liquid when beaten.
Butter contains fat molecules with solid fatty acids attached to them.
The fatty acid chains are arranged so they don’t want to separate from each other.
When you beat butter, these fatty acids break down into smaller pieces, leaving most of the fat particles intact.
As they break apart, some of the tiny bits form emulsions with water droplets, which gives whipped butter its smooth consistency.
Regular butter also tends to taste somewhat sweet due to its high sugar content.
You may have heard people refer to butter as “softened,” which means it hasn’t been whipped yet.
But there’s a big difference between softened butter (which still has the same composition) and whipped butter.
Whipped butter has more moisture than softened butter, making it less dense and easier to spread.
Can You Make Whipped Butter Without A Mixer?
Yes!
And if you don’t have one, we recommend getting one because they are great tools with many uses beyond mixing ingredients together.
They come in handy when making whipped cream, smoothies, sauces, and more.
Even better – they look cool too.
If you want to whip your own butter without a mixer, here’s how…
- Put softened unsalted butter into a bowl.
- Add heavy cream (or milk) and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon until all lumps disappear.
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit over night at room temperature.
- The next day, whisk the mixture vigorously for 10 minutes.
- Transfer the mixture back to a clean bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap.
- Store in refrigerator overnight.
How Do You Store Whipped Butter?
You should keep whipped butter tightly wrapped so that the fat doesn’t melt too quickly.
If your butter starts melting within three days, refrigerate it immediately.
Whipped butter tends to separate very easily when exposed to heat so if you want to freeze it, wrap it well with plastic wrap first before putting it into the freezer.
For longer storage times, transfer it to the refrigerator as soon as possible after opening it.
Whipped butter will only get softer over time — like regular butter would, but this process happens faster than normal because there are no crystals forming in the butterfat itself.
If you have leftover whipped butter, don’t throw it away!
Just whip up another batch and save some for later.
How Long Does Whipped Butter Last?
If stored properly, whipped butter will keep for several weeks.
The best way to preserve whipped butter is to keep it tightly wrapped in the refrigerator.
To ensure freshness, whip butter immediately before serving.
If you don’t have time right away, freeze it instead.
You can also make whipped butter ahead of time, then wrap it up and refrigerate it.
It should stay fresh in your fridge for about a week after opening.
When making whipped butter ahead of time, avoid letting it sit out at room temperature too much as this will cause it to melt.
Instead, let it cool down completely and put it back into the freezer.
What Are Some Other Uses For Whipped Butter?
You may have already tried putting whipped butter into your favorite recipes.
Whipping the butter adds additional flavor and also helps prevent clumping when you’re adding it to dough products such as cookies, brownies, cakes, etc.
The fluffy consistency also works well with sauces because it doesn’t break apart easily.
If you want to know more about how whipped butter differs from regular butter, keep reading!
Spread it on bread
A lot of people love making their own homemade butter and spreading it on bread instead of store-bought spreads.
If you don’t mind spending the time to whip up this tasty treat, here’s what you need to do:
- Melt one stick (1/4 cup) of unsalted butter in a microwave safe bowl. Make sure there’s no water inside before melting.
- Add 2 tablespoons powdered sugar and beat with a handheld mixer until smooth. This will help make your butter nice and fluffy.
- Gradually add 1 tablespoon milk while beating, then continue mixing until all the milk is added.
- Mix in another teaspoon of powdered sugar if needed.
- Refrigerate for 15 minutes so that the mixture thickens slightly.
- Whip the remaining sticks of butter in the same way.
- Spoon the melted butter over the top of each slice of bread and spread evenly to cover.
Use it in baking
Whipped butter is great for making everything taste better.
For example, try adding whipped butter to your next batch of muffins or pancakes.
Adding whipped butter to baked goods actually gives them a lighter texture than they would normally have without it.
Here are two examples of ways you could use whipped butter:
To make banana cream cake, mix together 6 ounces (175 grams) of softened unsalted butter, 3 ripe bananas, ¼ cup granulated sugar, 4 eggs, ½ cup flour, ⅓ cup coconut oil, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
Then bake according to package directions.
To serve, spoon the warm cake batter into a large serving dish, sprinkle generously with confectioners’ sugar, and chill.
Garnish with fresh fruit slices and drizzle with chocolate syrup.
When making angel food cake, you should first combine 5 egg whites, ½ cup granulated sugar, and ¾ cup of vegetable shortening until completely blended.
Add 9 ounces (250 grams) of softened unsalted butter and beat again until fluffy.
Then sift 2 cups of flour and 1½ teaspoons of salt into the batter and fold in gently.
Finally, stir in 1¾ cups of sweetened condensed milk and 1¾ teaspoons of pure vanilla extract.
Bake according to package directions.
Once the cake comes out of the oven, let cool for approximately 20 minutes before cutting.
Serve with a scoop of frosting.
Make whipped topping
One of the best things about whipped butter is that it mixes really well.
Try combining it with different ingredients to create something new.
Some ideas include:
- Making ice cream sandwiches – Spread whipped butter between pieces of graham cracker crust and freeze overnight.
- Make marshmallow fluff – Mix 1 cup of powdered sugar and 1 cup of heavy cream until combined. Fold in 1/8 cup of whipped butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
- Make brownie bites – Prepare brownie batter according to package instructions. Once cooled, cut into bite size squares. Place a square of brownie in the middle of a piece of parchment paper. Spoon half of a tablespoon of whipped butter around the edge of the brownie, leaving room in the center. Top the butter off with another piece of brownie and repeat until you reach the edges of the parchment paper.
- Make cookie dough pops – Combine 8 ounces (225 grams) of softened butter with 1 cup of powdered sugar and 1 cup of white whole wheat flour. Blend until smooth. Stir in 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon lemon zest.
- Make cinnamon rolls – In a small bowl, whisk together 1 cup of chopped pecans, 1 cup of raisins, and 2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon. Gently mix in 12 ounces (340 grams) of softened unsalted butter.
- Make peanut butter fudge – Melt 4 ounces (115 grams) of unsalted butter with 1 cup of creamy peanut butter and 1 cup of dark brown sugar. Gradually add 4 ounces (115 grams) of semisweet chocolate chips and ½ cup of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips and mix well.
- Make caramel sauce – Pour 2 cups of evaporated milk into a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook slowly for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add 2 cups of brown sugar and 1 cup of corn syrup. Return pan to stove and cook slowly over low heat for 30 minutes stirring constantly. When mixture reaches 235 degrees F (110 C), remove pan from heat and transfer to a glass measuring container with a pouring lip. Let cool for 10 minutes.
- Make crème brûlée – Preheat oven to 350°F. Use a pastry brush to coat the insides of six individual ramekins with nonstick cooking spray. Divide 1⅔ cups of heavy cream among the prepared ramekins. Sprinkle ½ cup of sugar on top of each ramekin and place the ramekins on a baking sheet. Fill a deep roasting pan with hot tap water and set the baking sheet containing the rameks in the pan. Cook for 25 minutes. Transfer the ramekns to a cooling rack and refrigerate until chilled. Meanwhile, prepare a torch. Light the torch and hold it close to the surface of the custard for several seconds. Slowly move the torch away to avoid burning the outer layer of the crème brûlées. Repeat steps 2 through 5 for each crème brûléé.
Equipment
- 1 Bowl
Ingredients
- 150 g butter
- 2 tbsp milk
Instructions
- Place butter into a large bowl, along with the milk.
- Place your handheld mixer inside the bowl before turning it on, and then wrap the top of the bowl in a fresh tea towel.
- For one to two minutes, blend on low speed while adding the milk.
- After the milk has been included, mix the butter at a high speed, scraping down the edges as necessary, until it is light and fluffy.
- When not in use right away, keep chilled until required.
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Nutrition
My blog is all about creating delicious meals with ingredients that are easy to find in your local grocery store. I’m passionate about making yummy meals that I can share with my friends and family.