3 Quick Ways to Soften Butter

So. You're in the mood for baking and you're mind is on cake. It's like your lucky day as all the right ingredients are ready and waiting! You get your measuring scales ready and start on your first ingredient only to read: "160g butter, softened". Darn, you only just removed that butter from the fridge, so it's stone cold!

Believe me, I've been there. Sometimes, I just want to bake something spontaneously and waiting for butter to soften at room temperature is not on my mind. So, it's only fair I share a few ways I go to get that butter the right temperature.

1. Dice the butter into squares and put into a bowl of warm water. Carefully remove the butter after ten minutes, by which time it should be soft. This is my favourite method as it gets good results all the time. 


2. Use a rolling pin and bash the butter on a hard surface like a chopping board until flat and squidgy.


3. If you trust your microwave, evenly dice your butter then slowly heat in the microwave on a 'warm' or 'defrost' setting for a few seconds, but do keep an eye on it.

Ultimately, if you can reach the gold standard of forward thinking and remove your butter from the fridge hours before, then do so and happy days to you! I always find a post-it note seen early in the morning is a great reminder!