Butter

Use high-quality unsalted butter with standard fat content unless high butterfat is called for in the recipe. Most of the cakes in this book require standard AA-grade unsalted butter. Unsalted butter is preferable because it makes it easier to control the amount of salt added to the cake and because of its fresher flavor. I recommend high-quality butter such as Organic Valley Cultured, Hotel Bar, or Land O’ Lakes. When butter is used in its solid form, it is essential that the butter be cool room temperature (65° to 75°F/19° to 23°C).