How To Make Butter and Easy Butter Molds

Every year around Easter I make my own butter.  I use spices, herbs and fruit to make compound butters and create pretty molds with the butter as well. This may sound very impressive to some, but it is really very easy. Here's how you make the butter. 

First, you don't have to have a churn. You only need an ordinary stand mixer and a whisk attachment (not the paddle.)

1 quart of Heavy Whipping Cream, or more depending on how much you want to make. 1 quart makes two batches about a 1lb of butter. 

Pour half the cream in the mixing bowl and start out at low med speed until the cream begins to form soft peaks, then gradually increase the mixer speed as the cream gets stiffer until you're at the highest speed and then let it run full blast for 5-6 minutes. 

It becomes very obvious when it's butter.  The yellow butter fat completely separates and will start to form a ball on the whisk leaving behind the whey.

You can save this and use it for baking.   

I just usually discard the whey. It's called butter milk, but it's not really what you buy in the store.  To make that, you have to add a special buttermilk culture, so what you're really left with here is a little bit of ordinary milk. 

Scoop out the butter and place immediately into an ice bath for a few minutes, then gently squeeze out the whey with your fingers, (make sure your hands are completely clean) keep dunking your hands and the butter in the ice bath so it doesn't melt while your working it. 

When it's all clean of the whey, it's done.  

Divide the two batches and salt one, ( I used a pink sel) and leave the other unsalted. 

Fill some molds and place them in the freezer. 

With the butter that's left over I make some compound butters. 

Here I made one with a fruit spread and a pinch of cardamom. I filled an ordinary plastic Easter egg to create an egg mold. 

Then I took the rest and made an herb butter, with salt, pepper, garlic powder, chopped fresh parsley and dried oregano. 

Also, if you've been invited to someone elses house for the holiday, a homemade butter mold is nice thing to bring for dinner. 

Be careful to use only a small amount of the ingredients in the butter. You want to flavor the butter a little, not over power it. 
Present it how ever you like and enjoy your holiday!!! 

        Happy Easter.