Learning how to make butter from heavy cream in a mixer is a simple process that will serve you well. Long gone are the days of making your own homemade butter by shaking a quart jar.
I’m sure it would work well, and you would probably have stronger arms for it, but I love the simplicity of using my Bosch Mixer for making homemade butter.
I grew up on good ole Margarine. That fake stuff you see in the store. It was all I knew. When I was in my late teens I tasted store-bought butter, and sort of loved it. It had so much more body than margarine.
Making my own didn’t happen until many years later. I tried it a couple of times at my sisters’ place, and that strong taste of cream just wasn’t for me. How could people say they loved it?
My inlaws always had store-bought butter, and I grew to love it. It was expensive, so I bought that for my toast, and used margarine for my baking.
I believe it was in 2014 when I first started making my own. I love to learn new things, so making butter was just another challenge to conquer. It worked great, and our children loved it.
Over the years, I learned how unhealthy margarine is. As I became more health-conscious, I completely switched over to real, homemade butter.
I haven’t bought margarine in years. I do sometimes still buy butter from the store when I am unable to buy cream from a local farmer, but we all prefer the raw stuff.
It’s important to remember that this heavy cream that I use to make butter is really thick. Thick like sour cream.
Trying to make butter from whipping cream that you get in the store will not work as well. You need heavy cream to make the best butter.
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How To Make Butter From Heavy Cream With A Bosch Mixer
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Butter comes from cream. You cannot make butter from milk. It just doesn’t work.
Homemade butter freezes well, so I usually try to make from at least a gallon of cream at a time. One gallon of heavy cream should give you about 4-5 pounds of butter.
I sometimes make butter from 3 gallons of cream at a time, because if I am making my dishes dirty, I might as well spend my time efficiently!
To make butter from heavy cream you will need:
Heavy Cream
Salt
Cold Water
Making butter with a bosch works better with a larger quantity of cream. Small amounts will not work as well. For less than 8 cups of cream, I would recommend just using a large blender or a Kitchen Aid Mixer.
If your cream is cold, let it stand on the counter for one hour. Heavy cream that is very cold tends to turn into butter more slowly.
Pour half a gallon (8 cups of cream) into your Bosch Mixer bowl. Cover with lid.
Turn to the lowest setting.
Mix. Now you need to watch it. It will whip into whipped cream.
Keep on whipping. Slowly it will get thicker and thicker.
As you keep on whipping, all of a sudden you will see the buttermilk separating from the butter. This is what you want!
Whip it for 20 more seconds. Your whisks should be completely full of butter at this point. If they are not, you need to keep whipping for a bit longer.
Next, turn off the machine. With your hands, carefully scoop out the butter and place it into a clean bowl. Strain the buttermilk through a sieve, saving the rest of the butter that stays behind. Here are some more ways to use up extra buttermilk.
Next, you will run ice-cold water over your butter. This is a crucial step. You want to rinse your butter from the buttermilk. If your butter has a lot of residual buttermilk left behind, it will taste and smell different (not as good), and it will turn rancid quickly.
With your hands, press and mix the butter thoroughly with ice-cold water. Dump off the water, and repeat. Once your water runs clear, you know that your butter is ‘clean’.
Squeeze out the excess water as best as you can. Now take a weigh scale, and weigh your butter. You need to add 1 teaspoon salt per pound of butter.
Mix the salt into your butter with your hands, kneading and turning it until it has been thoroughly incorporated.
Now place the butter into a mold. I use plastic containers, but a butter mold would be the best.
I usually use a 9X13 Tupperware container. Place a piece of parchment paper in the bottom to make it easier to remove after it has hardened.
Press it into your container well. You could also place it into small containers right away if you want to store it that way.
I always cut and wrap mine after they have hardened.
Leave your butter in the fridge overnight, or at least 6 hours. Take it out and flip it upside down onto a cutting board. Take a large knife, cut it into your desired size blocks.
Wrap each piece individually in cellophane wrap. Next place your blocks into a pail or container.
Butter sometimes will take on different flavors that might be hanging out in your fridge or freezer, so you want to take care to double package your butter.
I have so far never had this problem, but it could potentially be a problem so it’s best to be cautious.
How To Make Butter From Heavy Cream With A Blender
To make homemade butter in a blender instead of in a bosch is the exact same process. Pour your heavy cream into the blender.
Make sure your lid is closed tightly. Your cream will turn into butter very fast with a blender, so you need to be careful. Blend it for several seconds, then check to see how thick it is.
It turns into whipped cream very fast in a blender, and once the buttermilk has separated from the butter, you don’t want to overmix.
How To Make Butter From Heavy Cream With A Kitchen Aid Mixer
Using a Kitchen Aid to make butter is very similar to using a Bosch Mixer. Be sure to use a splash guard, because it can get messy.
Follow the same steps as the Bosch Mixer instructions, but use the medium speed.
Homemade butter not thickening?
Making butter is very easy once you have done it a couple of times, but sometimes you run into the trouble of your heavy cream just not thickening. This can be very frustrating. You don’t want to dump your entire batch of cream.
One way to encourage the thickening of your homemade butter is to let your cream stand out at room temperature for one hour. Slightly warmer cream turns into butter more easily.
How much cream to make a pound of butter?
To make one pound of butter you need one Litre of heavy cream. The amount of butter that you will get depends on the thickness of your cream.
Does Homemade Butter Need to Be Refrigerated?
Homemade butter needs to be refrigerated just like the store-bought stuff.
There are no added preservatives when you make your own, which is great. This also means it will get rancid more easily if you leave it on the counter for too long. Homemade butter is fine left on the counter for a day, but past that you want to refrigerate or freeze it.
Homemade butter made from heavy cream will keep in the fridge for at least 2-4 weeks. In the freezer, it will keep for up to 6 months.
How Long Does Butter Last Out of The Fridge?
How long can unsalted butter sit out at room temperature depends on the temperature of your home, but usually a day (24 hours), is the maximum. I find that if I leave my butter standing out much longer than this, it starts to smell a bit fermented
Making homemade butter gives me a sense of joy. Taking heavy cream and turning it into delicious butter is a simple process that anyone can learn how to do.
Don’t let the making butter intimidate you. If you have any questions then drop a comment below. I want you to start making your own butter today.
You can make it in any mixer that you have on hand. The process is the same for any mixer. Whip the cream until it becomes butter, rinse with cold water, press out excess water, salt, and press into containers.
As a side note, I have found that mixing in blackberries, blueberries, raspberries or similar fruit can make a VERY tasty frosting for cakes. Also, once mixed thoroughly, if placed in a parfait glass and refrigerated overnight it will separate into a very nice parfait. (Layered) Drain buttermilk before adding fruit/berries and mix until fruit is blended well into the butter. Shouldn’t need to add any sugar.
Wow I have never tried that, thanks for the tip!
I would love to try this. What is the fat content of the heavy cream you use?
The fat content is close to 40%. Try to find heavy cream, it turns into butter much more easily.