Homemade Butter
Mercy, the heroic pig in Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo, loves hot toast with a great deal of butter on it. And the best kind of butter is the kind you make yourself! This kid-friendly Homemade Butter recipe has just a touch of salt and is perfect for slathering all over anything your heart desires.
Good To Know
- I did try making this recipe with a hand mixer as well as a stand mixer, but it was very tiring on my arms and my butter didn’t fully separate from the buttermilk, even after 15 minutes of mixing. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can try this recipe with a hand mixer fitted with flat beaters (not whisks), but be prepared for an arm workout, plan to take turns if you can, and be careful not to let the towel fall into the bowl as you move the mixer around.
- Heavy cream has a higher percentage of butterfat in it (36%) than whipping cream (which has 30%), so it will yield more solid butter after churning, but both will work in this recipe.
- To make the cream whip faster, chill the stand mixer bowl and the paddle in the refrigerator for at least 10 minutes before starting the recipe.
Equipment You'll Need
- Stand mixer with paddle attachment
- Large, clean dish towel
- Fine-mesh strainer
- Medium bowl
- Rubber spatula
- Airtight container
Measure Your Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy or whipping cream, chilled
- ¼ teaspoon table salt
Let's Cook!
- 2 cups heavy or whipping cream, chilledPour the chilled cream into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat the cream on medium speed until it starts to thicken and form whipped cream, 2 to 3 minutes. Stop the mixer.
- Drape a large, clean dish towel over the top of the mixer so it hangs down around the outside of the bowl, but not inside it (the towel will contain the splashes and drips in the next step).
- Beat the whipped cream on medium-high speed until it separates into liquid buttermilk and solid butter, 8 to 10 minutes (you’ll hear the buttermilk start to slosh around when it happens!). Stop the mixer.
- Move the towel out of the way to see if the yellow chunks of butter look solid and are clinging to the paddle and the liquid buttermilk has pooled at the bottom of the bowl; if not, re-cover and keep beating for another 1 to 2 minutes until they do.
- Set a fine-mesh strainer over a medium bowl. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the butter off of the paddle and into the mixer bowl. Scrape the butter and buttermilk mixture into the strainer, catching the solids. Use the spatula to gently press out as much liquid as possible from the butter solids into the bowl. (You can use the buttermilk in another recipe or discard it.)
- Hold the strainer with the butter in it under cold running water in the sink. Gently press and knead the butter with your hands or the rubber spatula until the water runs clear.
- ¼ teaspoon table saltTransfer the butter to a small bowl. Sprinkle with the salt, then press and mix with the rubber spatula until it’s evenly incorporated and the butter is smooth. If any liquid pools on the bottom, drain it off into the sink. Serve (especially on hot toast!), or transfer the butter to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.