Have you ever looked at those packages of “light” or whipped butter in the grocery store and wondered how they could charge the same amount for a product that has less butter and more air than the regular sticks? It’s a mystery to me. I do, however, make my own whipped butter at home. You can too, because the process is quite simple.
What is whipped butter?
Regular butter is just heavy cream that has been churned enough that the solid particles of fat stick together, while the protein-rich whey runs off. Salt may or may not be added, and then the butter is formed into sticks, rolls, or whatever shape you decide to make. (Have you ever seen old-fashioned butter molds? Some of them are very pretty!)
Whipped butter goes a step further by taking the soft butter and whipping it with some kind of liquid. In effect, you are beating air into the butter, and the liquid helps to thin it out a little. Why would anyone want to do this, you ask? There are actually some good reasons.
Why make whipped butter?
First of all, whipping butter increases the volume. Yes, the extra volume is provided by air (and some extra liquid), but that doesn’t matter too much when you’re spreading the butter on bread or pancakes.
However, you DO NOT want to substitute whipped butter for regular butter in recipes, as equal volumes of regular and whipped butter don’t contain equal amounts of fat. Just stick to sticks for cooking! (Sorry.)
That’s why whipped butter is sometimes labeled “light butter” on the package. It has fewer calories per tablespoon than regular butter, because the volume is partly made up by air.
This can be a good thing if, like me, you’re constantly wondering how the butter disappears so fast! At the rate we eat it, extra volume is a prime benefit.
Another reason to whip butter is because it’s easier to spread. More air = less density, meaning whipped butter reaches room temperature faster than regular butter when you take them out of the refrigerator. It’s also softer at room temperature. This is an especially useful quality when you’re serving bread for supper and forget to take butter out of the refrigerator until it’s almost time to eat.
If the above reasons haven’t convinced you, here’s one final try: whipping butter allows you to incorporate other flavors, in order to give your butter a distinguished taste. Try whipping honey or maple syrup, or even orange juice into your butter for a sweet accompaniment to corn bread or muffins. Or add herbs such as rosemary or thyme for a savory spread. The options are only limited by your imagination!
Method
The process is really quite simple. Place 4 sticks of butter (1 pound) in the bowl of a stand mixer. If you will be using a hand mixer, a large mixing bowl will do. Let the butter soften until it is room temperature.
With a whip attachment on the mixer, whip the butter on low speed for a minute or so. Then slowly pour in 1/3 cup of heavy cream while the mixer is running. Continue to mix on low speed for another minute or two until the cream is incorporated.
Turn the mixer to high speed and beat the butter for another two minutes. The butter should be pale and fluffy. The timing doesn’t have to be a precise measurement. You can stop mixing at any point, but the longer you mix it, the more air will get beaten into the butter, resulting in more volume.
I have gotten a yield of anywhere from 2 3/4 to 3 1/2 cups of whipped butter, depending on how long I mixed it. That’s about a 30% increase in volume from the 2 cups of butter we started with!
Notes
I have seen other recipes for whipped butter that use milk or even water as the liquid that is beaten into the butter. I have not tried these variations, but if I don’t have any cream someday, I might. My mother always used heavy cream, so that’s what I do.
Variations are pretty much unlimited, as I said before. Instead of cream, use a sweetener such as honey or maple syrup. If you decide to go this route, I would suggest starting out with only one or two sticks of butter–unless you anticipate needing a LOT of honey butter! Add the sweetener one tablespoon at a time, while the mixer is on low speed. That way, you can taste for sweetness so you don’t end up with a mixture that’s too sweet. Try adding sweet spices such as ground cinnamon or cloves to complement the sweetened butter!
Savory herbal combinations that work well in butter are rosemary and sea salt, garlic and Italian herbs, or thyme and lemon. I am excited to try some soon with my lemon thyme!
If you come up with any new flavor combinations, let me know in the comments! I would love to hear of your adventures with whipped butter!
Whipped Butter
Equipment
- Stand mixer or handheld mixer
Ingredients
- 2 cups salted butter softened
- 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Place butter in mixing bowl. Allow it to come to room temperature.
- With a whisk attachment, beat the butter for 1-2 minutes until creamy.
- With the mixer running, slowly add the cream. Continue to beat on low speed for 2 minutes until thoroughly combined.
- Turn the mixer setting to High. Mix for 1-2 minutes more, until the butter is pale and fluffy.
CJ says
I have heard that using olive oil mixed in with butter is very healthy. Land-O-Lakes makes this product, but I have a recipe (below) to make that from scratch so I can use grass fed organic butter (which Land-O-Lakes does not use). I would think that using olive oil in your whipped recipe would work the same as using heavy cream and you would end up with healthier butter that was reduced in calories too. What are your thoughts?
Here is the recipe I found:
1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature (8 ounces)
1 cup oil (I have used canola & extra light olive oil – now I use avocado oil)
1/4 teaspoon salt