I think it’s pretty safe to say I like Mary Berry’s recipes, having tried (and loved) her banoffee pie, lemon curd, apple crumble, and Yorkshire pudding instructions.
Her scone advice and carrot cake ideas have transformed some of the recipes I previously thought were untouchable, too.
So, when she shared her advice for tender, fluffy cakes with BBC Good Food, you’d best believe I was all ears.
The former Great British Bake-Off judge has shared tips like adding 25% extra time to a recipe’s stated duration in case of emergency and using the right tin for every job.
And, she says, there’s one sign she always looks for when buying butter that makes all the difference to your baked goods.
Don’t go below 75% fat in butter or margarine
She told the BBC outlet that she always goes for butter with over 75% fat (and the same goes for margarine).
“The problem with lower-fat spreads and butters is they have a higher water content,” she said. “When it evaporates, it causes layers [to] bind together in your mix,” preventing fluffy, tender crumbs from forming.
“In the UK,” she continued, “we tend to always have high fat content so it’s not usually a problem, but it’s always worth checking your ingredients.”
AllRecipes has also said that fat is key for carrying flavour and creating a fluffy crumb by inhibiting the build-up of rubbery, stretchy gluten.
That’s why shortening makes such deliciously “short” and tender desserts – it’s 100% fat.
Most butters in the UK are at least 80% fat, but as Mary says, it’s still worth a check (especially when buying baking spreads, which can sit at around 70% fat).
Mary Berry’s not alone with this baking tip, either
If Anthony Bourdain’s famous New York Times article taught us anything, it’s that any chef worth their (heaps of) salt loves butter.
Martha Stewart swears by an 82% butterfat European-style butter brand, Food & Wine reports.
Hell’s Kitchen’s site specifies an 83-84% butterfat butter for Gordon Ramsay’s French croissant recipe.
As Taste wrote, even a slight increase in butterfat percentage can make “the difference between cookies that are good and cookies that keep you awake at night wondering when you might have a chance at eating more of them.”
Seems Mary’s as correct as ever on this one…
