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Start by pouring heavy cream into the bowl of a standing mixer. In this example, I started with a quart of heavy whipping cream. Traditionally, butter is made from soured cream. The milk is allowed to sit for a long time (perhaps a week) and the cream is skimmed off regularly to build up enough cream for churning. During this process, acids are formed as the cream sours. These acids help to break down the fat globules during churning so that they can stick to each other - thus aiding the creation of butter. The acids also provide a flavor to the butter that we no longer enjoy with manufactured butter. Since we are using an electric appliance to churn the butter for us, it's not necessary to sour the cream prior to butter making. However, for stronger flavor, you can add a tablespoon (15 mL) of store bought cultured buttermilk to each cup (235 mL) of cream used. Let sit for about 12 hours at room temperature before beginning the butter making process.
Start the mixer with the whisk attachment on low speed (to avoid splatter) and progress to medium speed as the liquid begins to thicken. At this stage, the cream drips in long thick strings.
Increase the speed to medium-high or high (if the cream allows that without splattering). Just a short while longer will bring the whipped cream to what is known as soft peaks. At this point, dipping and withdrawing a whisk or other implement (such as your finger) from the cream will form a sharp rise in the cream that has a drooping tip. This is referred to as forming soft peaks. Whipped cream in this stage is often used for baked goods and usually involves folding the cream into another mixture.
The next stage that the cream enters happens very quickly. The cream begins to form stiff peaks (when an implement is dipped and withdrawn, the peaks that are forms stand up straight without drooping). This is typically the target stage for whipping whipped cream. Whipped cream that forms stiff peaks is often used as a topping for fruit, pies, beverages, and anything else you can think of. (Try adding a little horseradish and serving with prime rib). This picture shows the cream just past when stiff peaks begin to form. To avoid overwhisking, it's often a good idea to whip the cream to soft peaks and then take it to stiff peaks with a hand whisk.
Next up, is a stage for which I do not know the name (or even if there is one). It's just past stiff peaks where the cream just begins to crinkle up. This is when the cream is about to seize and become butter. The color of the cream also takes on a very pale yellow color. This stage is a favorite of mine for topping cakes and cupcakes. I like how it's not as airy as regular whipped cream and has a rich, full flavor. You can "save" the cream from entering the butter stage by adding more cream and whisking it back into stiff peaks. It won't be quite the same as if you stopped at stiff peaks, but it should suffice.
A few seconds later, the mixer should churn the cream into butter. This happens quickly and rapidly - the
cream suddenly seizes and buttermilk floods out while pellets of yellow butter form. You'll want to slow down your mixer at this point to prevent slashing the buttermilk all over your kitchen.
The amount of liquid that is expelled as the butter begins to mash together into a larger lump is considerable. At this point, it's best to remove the buttermilk (you can reserve it for use in baking recipes - use as if it was whole milk, not buttermilk) and keep mixing a bit longer. The buttermilk is only about as acidic as regular milk because we did not sour the cream before churning. You can approximate store bought buttermilk (which is actually cultured buttermilk) by adding a little lemon juice, but it won't be quite the same. Also, our butter milk has a bit more fat than the 1% fat cultured buttermilk sold in the supermarket.
The butter should be washed to remove as much of the butter milk as possible. This can be done by placing the butter in a bowl with cold water and kneading the butter. When the water discolors, pour it out and more cold water. Not washing the butter will result in butter that my go rancid because of the buttermilk.
At this point, the butter can be wrapped and frozen or refrigerated for storage. But why not keep working it a little? Continuing to whisk the butter at high speed will start to beat in some air making the butter a little lighter and smoother.
Additional ingredients can be added to make new kinds of butter. Salted butter can be made by whipping 1/4 teaspoon table salt to every 4 ounces (115 g) of butter. Other popular additions are herbs and garlic. Use about 1 clove of garlic, finely minced, for every 4 ounces of butter (or more if you like garlic). For herbed butter, I use about 2 Tbs. of dried herbs for every 4 ounces of butter. In this example, I used an even mixture of dried basil, parsley, tarragon, and crushed rosemary.
Once you're done whipping your butter, measure out reasonable portions (I like going with the U.S. standard of 4 ounces per stick) onto separate pieces of wax paper or plastic wrap. Roll the butter into cylinders and twist and close the ends. Slip them into the freezer or refrigerator for future use.
Of the 32 ounces of heavy cream I started with, I ended up with 14 ounces of buttermilk and 14 ounces of butter. I assume the other four ounces were buttermilk rinsed away during the washing phase.
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