Mary Berry has shared some essential baking advice for all bakers out there – and it centres around the type of butter you should be using when it comes to making cakes
Mary Berry, a true icon in the world of baking and possibly its most renowned name, has shared some essential advice for bakers of all levels. Whether you’re just starting out, or you bake professionally, the 90 year old culinary master has flagged the importance of choosing the right type of butter for cake making.
With vast experience stretching from her training at Le Cordon Bleu to having authored over 70 cookbooks, the former Great British Bake Off judge knows that the choice of butter can significantly affect your baking outcomes. When aiming for perfection in a homemade birthday cake or her signature Victoria sponge, it could make all the difference.
While you may think any choice of butter or spread will do the job, Mary said that’s not the case. It’s all about the right fat content.
Writing for BBC Good Food, Mary emphasised checking the label for one critical detail while at the grocery store rather than during baking at home.
She advises: “I always aim at over 75%. The problem with lower fat spreads and butters is they have a higher water content. When it evaporates it causes layers bind together in your mix.
“In the UK we tend to always have high fat content so it’s not usually a problem, but it’s always worth checking your ingredients.”
The use of high-fat butter is crucial for Mary as it ensures cakes are light, moist, and tender.
Butter boasting a fat content above 75 per cent naturally possesses less water, which means it’s better at maintaining those precious air pockets for the ideal texture, reports the Mirror.
Moreover, she reminds bakers not to overlook allowing the butter to soften.
In the world of baking, it’s not uncommon to overlook taking out an ingredient or two from the fridge.
Butter, for instance, needs a bit of time to soften and become workable.
A handy trick for softening butter is to chop it into cubes right out of the fridge and let it sit in a bowl of lukewarm water.
Give it about 10 minutes while you get on with prepping other ingredients until it’s nice and soft.
However, it’s crucial to measure your butter beforehand rather than cutting up the entire block.
This is because “melting” the butter and then returning any unused portion to the fridge can alter its flavour for later use.
Heeding this straightforward tip from Mary Berry will help ensure that your next sponge cake (or whichever cake you opt for) is as creamy and tender as possible.
The more fat there is, the richer, moister, and fluffier your bake will turn out – and if this is your first attempt, it’s unlikely to be your last.
