Mary Berry's Butter Tip To Bake Better Cakes

When baking, Mary Berry says to use butter with "over 75%" butterfat. "The problem with lower fat [...] butters is they have a higher water content," she wrote for BBC Good Food.

She continued, "When it evaporates it causes layers [to] bind together in your mix." Butter that's higher in fat tends to be better for achieving a soft and moist crumb structure.

This advice is particularly needed for American bakers. Butter sold in the States needs a fat content of at least 80%, but the EU says it must have between 82% and 90% butterfat.

For this reason, European butter is regarded as the best option for butter-centric bakes. This includes pastries made with laminated dough, pie crusts, and butter cakes.

There are other uses for richer butter besides baking cakes. For instance, the buttercream frosting in Mary Berry's Victoria sponge sandwich is better with high-fat butter.