Description
This homemade butter recipe teaches you how to transform fresh heavy whipping cream into rich, creamy butter using simple whisking techniques. With just a few ingredients and steps, you can make your own fresh butter that’s perfect for cooking, baking, or spreading on bread. You can choose to make salted or unsalted butter, and you’ll learn how to separate the buttermilk and properly store your butter to preserve freshness.
Ingredients
Scale
Butter Ingredients
- 4 cups heavy whipping cream
- 2 tsp sea salt (optional, for salted butter)
- Ice water (for rinsing the butter)
Instructions
- Prepare Equipment: Get out a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or a large mixing bowl and hand mixer with whisk attachment. Ensure the bowl is large enough to accommodate the volume increase of whipping cream.
- Whip Heavy Cream: Pour the heavy whipping cream into the mixer bowl and whisk on medium speed for about 10 minutes. Whip until stiff peaks form, then add sea salt if using. Continue whisking until butterfat separates from the buttermilk; butter will stick to the whisk, and buttermilk will be liquid in the bowl.
- Strain Butter and Buttermilk: Place a mesh sieve over a smaller bowl. Pour the whipped cream mixture into the sieve so the butter is caught on top and buttermilk drains into the bowl below.
- Squeeze Excess Liquid: Pick up the butter and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Dip the butter into ice water, then squeeze again to remove any remaining buttermilk. This helps improve shelf life.
- Shape and Store Butter: Place the squeezed butter onto parchment or wax paper and form it into a log or brick shape similar to store-bought sticks. Wrap tightly with paper and tie ends with kitchen twine. Optionally, slice into smaller sticks individually wrapped. Store wrapped butter in the refrigerator to firm up.
- Chill and Preserve: Keep the butter refrigerated for up to 3 weeks or freeze for up to 9 months for long-term storage.
Notes
- This recipe yields approximately 1 lb (4 sticks) of butter or 32 tablespoons total.
- Heavy whipping cream is the only suitable ingredient; substitutes will not work.
- Adding salt is optional and can be adjusted to taste.
- Thoroughly rinsing and squeezing the butter removes buttermilk that can cause quicker spoilage.
- Use parchment or wax paper and twine for traditional butter sticks or store in airtight containers.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 tablespoon
- Calories: 102
- Sugar: 0.1 g
- Sodium: 90 mg
- Fat: 11.5 g
- Saturated Fat: 7.2 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4.3 g
- Trans Fat: 0.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 0 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 0.1 g
- Cholesterol: 31 mg
