Does Salted Butter Change the Flavor of Cakes

Question

Hello,
Ive noticed in some of the cake recipes, salted butter is used. I have only used sweet butter in my cakes, so am curious if using the American Salted Butter will change the taste in the cakes?  Specifically the Lemon Almond Pound Cake.
Thanks in advance for your response.

Lynn Clark · Accepted Answer

Hi Cheryl -
Many chefs and bakers believe that using unsalted butter will allow you to control the salt content in your dishes better than using salted butter. But we've tested salted versus unsalted butter in a number of savory and baking recipes and we didn’t find any measurable difference between the two. The small amount of salt in salted butter (it's about 1/4 teaspoon per stick, depending on the brand) is undetectable when cooked or baked in a recipe, we found.
Still, we have a preference between the two. Though most culinary professionals and publications will recommend using unsalted butter, we prefer the salted kind because it tastes better when you’re not cooking with it. Unsalted butter doesn’t cut it on toast! Since we prefer to stick with one kind, salted butter is our choice. It also has a longer shelf life. So if you don’t go through butter at a fast rate, buying salted butter is a good idea.
You can certainly still use unsalted butter in our recipes if you prefer. You just may need to adjust the salt to your personal tastes. Using salted butter in the lemon almond pound cake will not make the cake salty, it will just give it a more rounded, deeper flavor.
Hope that helps!
The Milk Street Cooking Team

Does Salted Butter Change the Flavor of Cakes

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