So the other day when I was making John's chocolate birthday cake I forgot to soften the butter that morning and was in a rush to get softened sticks, or else I wouldn't be able to bake the cake before the pot roast needed to go in the oven. It was a nice warm sunny day - maybe 70 degrees or so - and it dawned on me that the sun might be just what I need to make soft butter (but not melted in the microwave). Microwaving butter to soften it is not a good idea when baking, because it usually just starts to melt the butter.
So I set up a little sun oven outside. I place a small sheet of foil (shiny side up) outside and placed a small tupperware bowl on top with my butter inside. Just because I wasn't sure if it would attract bugs, I put saran wrap on top. The saran wrap probably wasn't necessary because it didn't have to be out there long. It took less than an hour for the butter to become extremely soft - I was shocked at how quick it was. So next time you are in a pinch (and it's sunny), soften your butter outside.
I wasn't going to post about this, but John insisted!
I'm so glad John made you post about it!! It's ingenious! Too bad I live in Chicago where the sun doesn't exist.
ReplyDelete