sprinklefingers

lots of recipes request that you use specific items at specific temperatures.

i’m bringing this up because i know quite a few people these days who really wing it when it comes to specific baking directions- and i’m here to tell you that winging it and baking sometimes really don’t mix.

take butter, for example. if you’re working with a recipe that calls for room temperature butter, make sure your butter is room temp. odds are you’ll be creaming that butter together with sugar - and if that’s the case, you want it to blend together so that it reaches a light & fluffy stage. this creaming causes air bubbles and the air bubbles will help convince your cake to rise. cold butter won’t mix with sugar well which will result in a less than desirable rise. not good for cakes. unless you roll like that.

moving on to eggs - room temp eggs are easier to crack than cold eggs. room temp eggs will blend better with the aforementioned room temp, creamed butter and sugar. a cold egg added to the beautifully light & fluffy butter and sugar would just cause bits of butter to re-harden. not optimum. because then it would no longer be light & fluffy.

so, next time you set out to bake a cake and you only have cold butter on hand, do the following:

• put the butter on a microwave-safe plate
• put the plate inside the microwave
• set the microwave timer for 15 seconds
• turn on the microwave for 5 seconds, then stop it
• touch your butter. can you press your finger into it with a bit of resistance? if so, stop now. if not, repeat the 5 second spin and touch your butter again.
  
  you basically just want your butter soft. not melty, not oozy, but soft enough so you can press your finger into it without a ton of effort.

as for eggs:

• turn on your kitchen tap - get the water medium warm
• put your eggs in some kind of vessel
• carefully pour the medium warm water over the eggs
• swish them around for a few seconds, then pour the water out into the sink
• refill the vessel of eggs with medium warmish water then let it sit for several minutes
  
  you’ll have room temp eggs in no time.

no more excuses. it’s not hard to follow directions…especially when following directions can mean the difference between a great cake and, well, a pancake.