The $2 Upgrade That Transforms My Baked Goods into Irresistibly Delicious Treats

Experienced bakers know that the secret to transforming ordinary desserts into exceptional ones often lies in the quality of ingredients. Ina Garten has always championed the use of premium vanilla, and it's common knowledge that top-tier chocolate is the key to outstanding cookies. But there's one powerhouse ingredient that doesn't get nearly enough attention: cultured butter. By simply swapping regular sweet cream butter with cultured butter, you can elevate your baked goods from good to extraordinary. The subtle tang and savory notes of cultured butter can take everything from pound cake to biscuits to a whole new level. Here's everything you need to understand about it.

What Exactly is Cultured Butter?

Regular sweet cream butter is made by churning cream until it solidifies, but cultured butter begins with adding bacterial cultures to the cream before churning. These cultures ferment the cream, lending it a tangy, sour cream-like taste. Once churned, the resulting butter is what we know as cultured butter. The fermentation process enhances the butter's flavor, making it richer, more buttery, and with a noticeable tang that cuts through fat, allowing the other flavors in your baked goods to really pop.

Baking with cultured butter allows these complex flavors to shine through in your final creations, adding an unexpected savory depth. It might not be obvious, but you’ll immediately notice something special. Your baked treats will carry a more pronounced butter flavor and an irresistible, creamy aroma.

How to Use Cultured Butter in Recipes That Call for Unsalted Sweet Cream Butter

While cultured butter typically has a slightly higher butterfat content (around 82%) than standard American sweet cream butter (which has about 80%), the difference is small enough that you don't need to adjust your recipe. Any dish that calls for regular butter can easily be made with the same amount of cultured butter.

Keep in mind that cultured butter is usually sold in 8-ounce blocks, not sticks. You can easily cut each block in half horizontally to create two 4-ounce portions that match the size of a stick of butter. Additionally, some cultured butter is pre-salted, so if the packaging doesn’t specify, be sure to check the ingredient list. If salt is included, reduce the amount of salt in your recipe by ¼ teaspoon per 4 ounces (one stick) of butter.

The Best Recipes for Baking with Cultured Butter

Since cultured butter is a bit more expensive than regular sweet cream butter, it's best to use it in recipes where its flavor can truly stand out. Dishes that highlight butter as the main flavor—like scones, shortbread, biscuits, or pie crust—are ideal candidates for cultured butter. Many butter-based frostings can also benefit from its richer taste, giving cakes that extra boost. However, recipes where the butter is browned or used as just one component of a more complex flavor profile—such as brownies or spiced desserts like carrot cake—don’t need the added expense of cultured butter. Stick with sweet cream butter for those, and save the cultured variety for your simpler, butter-forward bakes.

Ready to bake? Here are some recipes that are perfect for using cultured butter:

• Shortbread Cookies
• Simple Scones
• Grandmother's Pound Cake