Just a question. I was experimenting making my cake today and used a whip to mix my butter and sugar. I usually use a beater for the whole process. When the sugar and butter were beaten the mixture was really light. I have yet to try this in my larger quanity mixes but the cake seemed really light after the cake was baked. I did'nt taste it but i'm wondering if anyone has tried this? Maybe I could just whip the butter and sugar and switch to a beater when I start adding the eggs and everything else. This could make the cake a lighter and maybe not as dense. Any thoughts?
Andrea

I don't have any thoughts but would love to see the response to this.

BUMP!

You can't go wrong with this. I allways do the same if a recipe calls for butter and sugar.

Often wedding cakes require a more dense layer to support the decorations and the stress of moving and setup.

Fondant is heavy, and on a light cake, can cause some sagging. You can fix it, but you have to be aware that it can happen.

It will depend on your personal taste.

I just always use my paddle, like you said you do. I whip it a little higher, but I don't switch to the whip. Tell us how it turns out!

well we just learned about this in culinary school, so here goes...

Creaming (basically whipping the butter and sugar together) is what you are supposed to do when mixing a cake with room temp or softened fat used in it. You are actually supposed to incorporate a lot of air into the sugar and fat as is a part of the levening process. (so the short answer to your question is: Yes that it makes it lighter). The whisk is ideal for this. If your batter isn't to heavy then it's fine to use for the whole thing.


That was probably WAY more info than you needed...but I have a test on it in the morning, SO I just used you to practice on

Happy baking!
-Michelle

I always do the same thing for every cake recipe...cream the butter & sugar with the paddle, then switch to the whisk for the eggs onwards. Works really well!

Except for my Tahitian Vanilla Genoise cake, that starts out with the whisk anyway for all those eggs! End with flour & melted butter...mmmmm!

The whisk aerates the thin batters well and makes for a lighter, fluffier cake.

Thanks for the input everyone. There's always room for improvement.
Andrea

I always use the paddle for the butter and sugar and onwards because I always go for a dense cake due to the fact that I only make tiered cakes.

mine are all tiered...

I've never tried it, either...always use the paddle attachment, except when it says to use a whisk.

Interesting.

will definitely try this,thanks