Reverse creaming

In the reverse-creaming method the butter is mixed with all of the dry ingredients first, instead of being beaten with the sugar. The mixture becomes a sandy, crumbly blend before eggs and liquids are added.

Coating the flour in fat limits gluten development, so the cake comes out very tender with a fine, velvety crumb. Because less air is beaten in, the cake is usually a little shorter and has a flatter top, which many bakers prefer for stacked layer cakes.

Recipes written for the method are generally straightforward: blend dry ingredients with softened butter, add part of the liquid to moisten, then add eggs and the remaining liquid in stages. It is a forgiving method because overmixing the batter is harder to do.