Grating Butter: A Baker’s Secret {The Mountain Kitchen Tips

The greatest baker’s secret ever kept is that if you grate the butter, it will soften faster. Grating butter is life-changing for non-bakers like me!

Let me ask you some questions…

Have you ever come across a recipe that says to use softened butter and you do not have the time to let it sit at room temperature?

Have you ever forgotten to take the butter out of the refrigerator to soften for a recipe you are making?

Yeah, me too!

I have done encountered this issue too many times to count. It is a little frustrating and if you are impatient like I am, you try to warm it up. Unfortunately, warming up the butter to soften it does not give you the same creamy consistency as if you had left the butter sitting out on the counter for a few hours.

Guess what happened last week when I made David’s carrot cake?

Yep, I forgot to take out a stick of butter to soften for the cream cheese frosting. I knew the cream cheese had to be soft, but I did not read the recipe all the way through, so I didn’t know the butter had to be soft also.

Coincidentally, the week before, I came across a pin on Pinterest that was a baker’s secret tip about grating butter to help it soften faster. I went back and referenced it, and decided I would give it a shot.

As I grated the butter, the texture immediately began to get creamier. By the time I had grated the whole stick of butter, it felt soft enough to add to the bowl. I waited another 5 minutes before I mixed the butter into the cream cheese, just in case.

I don’t think I even needed to wait. The frosting came together perfectly. It was smooth and silky. How cool is that?!?!

I did some research about this baker’s secret tip. Grating butter dramatically reduces the time it takes to ‘cut butter into’ a mixture. This is something you would do for a crisp topping or when making biscuits.

Grating butter does wonders in the kitchen when baking cakes and making cake icing. The smooth texture of the grated butter ensures that the butter is quickly and easily mixed into the mixture. Because the butter is broken into really tiny flakes, it ensures there are no lumps and bumps.

In conclusion, the best part about grating butter is that it saves you time. There is no need to wait for the butter to ‘soften’, as it instantly softens once is it grated.

I hope this helps you out the next time you forget to take the butter out to soften. I mean, who has time for that?!?!