The Blending Method

The blending method is the most modern and convenient for forming butter cake batters because it is almost always done in a single bowl. Because the fat is liquid, bringing all the ingredients together into a creamy mixture is an easy task. However, it is relatively more difficult to aerate the batter with this method. The solid fat used in the creaming method has more body, enabling it to create and trap air bubbles. Liquid fat lacks this quality of easy aeration. Therefore, baking powder and/or baking soda are called for to help provide the volume. Any butter cake recipe that qualifies for the blending method can be a candidate for the combination method. For example, in the recipe for Chocolate Cake Squares, a blending-method cake, you could separate the eggs and fold in whipped egg whites, thereby producing a drier, slightly higher cake.