Butter

Because butter melts so close to body temperature, it also acts as a flavor enhancer to other ingredients. Butter gives a soft and tender texture to layer cakes, gives the best flavor and texture to pastries, and brings out the most flavor when spread on bread. It is best to choose grade AA or A butter for baking because it contains about 81 percent fat and 15.5 percent water. Lower grades often contain more water, which will have a detrimental effect in cake batter, will not work well at all in mousseline buttercreams, and will make a less tender pie crust and a puffier cookie.