How to cream butter and sugar for light and fluffy baked goods

• Creaming butter and sugar plays a role in making baked goods light and fluffy.
• It's important to start with softened butter.

Whether your baking cakes, cookies, or even quick breads, creaming butter and sugar is often an important first step to mixing a recipe. The creaming process combines the two ingredients until fluffy, turning them into a leavening agent that helps create a baked good's light texture.

We talked to Zoë François, host of ZOË BAKES on Magnolia Network and the author of Zoë Bakes Cakes, on the role of creaming butter and sugar and how to do it properly in just a few steps.

Why cream butter and sugar?

"The reason to cream butter and sugar together is to incorporate lots of air bubbles into the mixture," says François.

When the two ingredients are first incorporated, they're dense. By creaming them together, air is added and the butter and sugar mixture becomes lighter.

"The air bubbles created in the creaming process get trapped in the butter and create pockets of steam once they hit the oven, which helps a cake rise," says François.

It's essential to master this step for delicious, fluffy baked goods. And this applies to creaming butter and granulated sugar, butter and brown sugar, or a mixture of both granulated and brown sugar.

"In some cakes and pastries, the air whipped into the butter is the only rising agent, so it's crucial," says François. For other baked goods made with baking powder or baking soda (or both), properly creamed butter and sugar works alongside those ingredients to achieve the final texture.

Quick tip: While using a stand mixer or hand mixer is the most efficient method for creaming butter and sugar, it can be done by hand. Cut the softened butter into cubes and put them in a mixing bowl with the sugar. Stir and fold the mixture vigorously with a spatula or wooden spoon for 10 minutes, or until pale and fluffy.

How to cream butter and sugar

Creaming butter and sugar is an essential technique that's easy to master in just a few steps.

1. Soften the butter. Always start with softened butter. François says the butter should be left out at room temperature for an hour. If the butter is too cold and stiff, it can't incorporate the air bubbles. If it's too soft, or right on the borderline of melting, the air won't hold in the butter. While it may be tempting to speed up the process, avoid softening butter in the microwave. To help butter soften faster, it can be grated on a cheese grater or cut into cubes and then left out at room temperature until softened. Learn other ways to soften butter in our guide.

2. Start mixing the butter. Unwrap the butter and put it in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Turn the mixer speed to low to break up the butter.

3. Add in the sugar. Pour in all of the sugar in a gradual stream. Start mixing on low speed until the butter and sugar are incorporated.

4. Start creaming the butter and sugar. Turn the speed up on the mixer to medium-high or high to begin creaming the butter and sugar. The mixture will start out dense, with a yellow hue.

5. Scrape the sides of the bowl while creaming. Use a spatula several times to scrape any butter stuck on the sides and bottom of the bowl while creaming the butter and sugar. Butter and sugar that isn't fully creamed will translate to an uneven batter or dough, leading to unwanted results while baking.

6. Finish creaming the butter and sugar. François advises that the butter and sugar are fully creamed when the mixture is nearly white in color and about doubled in volume. The mixture will feel lighter due to the air incorporated — when you lift some of it with your spatula, it should give little to no resistance. This can take 3 to 8 minutes, depending on the mixer used. Creaming butter and sugar in a stand mixer will require less time and effort than with a hand mixer.

The best stand mixers

Cream butter and sugar more quickly with one of the best stand mixers that we recommend.

• Best stand mixer overall: KitchenAid Artisan Tilt-Head Stand Mixer with Pouring Shield, $399.99 on KitchenAid
• Best stand mixer for beginners: KitchenAid K45SSOB 4.5-Quart Classic Series Stand Mixer, $299.99 on KitchenAid
• Best budget stand mixer: Sunbeam FPSBHS0302 250-Watt 5-Speed Stand Mixer, $52.99 on Target

Quick tip: Depending on the recipe, eggs are often added to the butter and sugar mixture to finish the creaming process. Be sure the eggs are at room temperature and add them in one by one to properly incorporate them, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl with each addition.

Insider's takeaway

Creaming butter and sugar is an essential step in baking cookies and cakes. It plays a role in the final texture of the baked good. The keys to properly creaming butter and sugar are to start with softened butter, and to have patience while waiting for the butter and sugar to be fully creamed.