Creaming

Sugar crystals are magic. Think of them as thousands of little workers with shovels, burrowing into butter and creating zillions of small air pockets. When you cream butter and sugar together, if the butter is at the right temperature, the sugar digs into it, making lots and lots of air pockets that ensure your final product will be light and fluffy. What is the right temperature? The butter should be around 68 degrees—slightly cool room temperature. It should be soft enough for you to bend a stick of it, but not so soft that you can poke your finger through it. If it is too cold, the sugar won’t be strong enough to dig those pockets; too warm and the sugar will slosh straight through the butter without creating any pockets.