How to Make Butter at Home

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5 from 4 votes

Using a stand mixer, simple kitchen gear, and heavy cream you can make the most delicious butter.

Prep Time20

Total Time20

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Keyword: butter, stand mixer

Servings: people

Calories: 260cal

Author: Amy Desrosiers

Cost: $4.00

Equipment

Stand Mixer
flat paddle attachment
whisk attachment
kitchen towel
Rubber Spatula
measuring cup
fine mesh sieve
cheesecloth optional

Ingredients

2¼ cups heavy whipping cream
¼ teaspoon sea salt I used Redmond's Salt

Instructions

First, pour the heavy cream into the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Then, turn your mixer on low speed, and gradually increase the speed to medium. Let it run until the mixture thickens and becomes lumpy. This will take about 3-4 minutes.
Once the mixture has thickened, increase the speed of your mixer to high and continue mixing until the mixture becomes even thicker and forms soft peaks. This will take an additional 5 minutes or so. This is the whipped cream stage.
Cover the stand mixer with a kitchen towel and increase the speed. The color of the cream will start to yellow and become lumpy. Since the mixture will begin to splash, reduce the speed until you have about 1 cup of liquid in the bowl. The cream with be separated from yellow butter, and buttermilk.
At this point, you'll need to strain the mixture to separate the butter from the buttermilk. To do this, line a strainer with cheesecloth (this is optional, but helps to remove any small pieces of butter that might get through), and then pour the mixture into the strainer. Use a spatula or spoon to press down on the mixture so that all the buttermilk is strained out.
Once all the buttermilk has been strained out, transfer the butter back to the mixer, and pour ¼ cup of ice water over it. Mix for 10 seconds to manipulate the butter. The water will be cloudy. Repeat this step until the butter water is clear. If you plan on eating the butter within a day or two it is not as important to remove it all.
Pat dry the stand mixer bowl and return the clean butter to it. Add about ¼ teaspoon of sea salt or Redmond’s salt to it. Using the paddle attachment mix for 15 seconds.
Transfer the butter to wax or parchment paper and wrap it tightly. Store it in an airtight container until you’re ready to enjoy it!

Notes

Nutritional values may vary and are meant to be a guide.

This recipe made 7.2 ounces of clean, soft, salted butter.

With proper storage, homemade butter can last in the fridge for up to two weeks. To prevent your butter from going bad, be sure to store it in an airtight container at 40°F or below. If your kitchen is particularly warm, you may want to consider storing your butter in the freezer—just be sure to thaw it in the fridge overnight before using it.

Nutrition