I tested 5 methods for softening cream cheese – this is the fastest and easiest way to get away

I am an insincers milk fan and an enthusiastic baker, which means that there is always – always – –always– Cheese in my fridge. The ingredient is essential for many cakes, pastries and frostbite, whereby the cone contributes to compensation to compensate for desserts, which would otherwise be too sweet. In most recipes, cream cheese must be at room temperature before you include it. If you do not do this, you risk granular results. However, it can feel like making a cold block of cream cheese too soft foreverWhat is no fun when there is a high -towering case Cheesecake Or spicy sweet Cupcakes Wait to be made.

In my hurry and despair, I tried many methods to quickly soften cream cheese. The internet is plenty of tips and tricks: some recommend it to microwaves. Others dipped packed cream cheese in warm water; And impatient bakers use their stand or hand mixers to beat them until it is soft and functional. Determined to find the best way to make cream cheese soft, I recorded five popular approaches to find out which would work best – and get closer to a bite of cheesecake.

Why fresh cheese soft?

If, like me, cream cheese have added or butter To use a recipe before it was ready, you probably regretted it. What you can win in time, you lose in texture: When cream cheese is completely soft, it mingles seamlessly into icing or cake dough and creates a smooth, silky finish. Use it cold and your dough or icing is affected by granular spots, visible blobs or white strips. This is most evident in cream cheese sugar effusion, which should have an ultra-smooth, swirl texture. (Back expert and former serious Eat editor Stella Parks even goes so far to add a pudding element to her Cream cheese butter cream sugar effusion Recipe to ensure that it is as smooth as possible.)

How to determine when cream cheese is registered correctly

The best way to evaluate the softness of your cream cheese is to check its inner temperature with one Immediate reading thermometerInserting the probe into the center where it becomes coldest. Some recipes require “room temperature” cream cheese, but this can be confusing, since the ambient temperatures vary greatly depending on the season and their location. As a former serious Eats Editor Kristina Notes in your guide too Soft butter70 ° F (21 ° C) is typically regarded as a room temperature. However, this is on the warm side for cream cheese. At this temperature, the cream cheese can become too soft and liquid during mixing, especially since the friction by mixing increases its temperature.

In general, an internal temperature of 60 to 65 ° F (15 to 18 ° C) gives the cream cheese really softer for baking. It should easily give in for gentle pressure and leave a move in when it is pressed with a finger or spoon, but not so soft that it does not offer resistance. It is also important not to miss cream cheese for too long, even after it has been installed in a icing. The FDA does not advise more than two hours at room temperature at room temperature. Jagdes, and the ingredient can begin to house bacteria that can lead to a disease -related food. As soon as it is soft, cream cheese should be used immediately – and all the remains cools immediately.

The tests

In my research, I came across various common methods for softening cream cheese: it leaves it entirely and seasoned at room temperature; Dive a sealed package in warm water; microwave upstream; Or use a blender to beat it to the soft. These are the most widespread approaches and those that I tested for this article.

During the test, the ambient temperature of my kitchen was 71 ° F, very close to the standard “room temperature”. I used 8 -unzen blocks from Philadelphia original fresh cheese, a national brand that is widespread and is generally considered the standard for baking. Using an immediate thermometer, I showed the starting temperature of each chilled block and then, how long it took to reach up to 60 to 65 ° F in the middle (15.5 to 18.3 ° C). I also found an internal temperature fluctuation (e.g. whether the ends heat up faster than the center in entire blocks) and the final consistency, comfort, lightness and cleanup requirements of each method.

• Whole block on a sheet metal pan: I unpacked an 8 -unzen block of cream cheese and put it flat on an aluminum Baking sheet. As a former editor Kenji to be observed in his guide Purify food quicklyAluminum is one of the best kitchen ladder of the heat. To maximize the contact, I set the block flat and inserted a Sample thermometer In the middle of the block and started a timer, which recorded the temperature every five minutes. First, the temperature of the center rose every five minutes by three to five degrees and rose from a cool 2.7 ° C to 52 ° F (11 ° C) in 20 minutes. Then the temperature rose and only increased one to two degrees per interval. It took 50 minutes for the cream cheese to reach the minimal benchmark of 15 ° C and a full hour up to 17.2 ° C. The ends of the block heated up a little faster than the center, and reading in general only one or two degrees warmer than the middle.
• Wall block on a sheet metal pan: I used the same setup for this method, but cut the block into eight 1 -unzen cubes. I removed the cubes about 1/2-inch on the baking sheet so that the air can circulate. This method proved much faster: the cubes reached 61 ° C in just 25 minutes and 65 ° F (18 ° C). Each cube had a consistent temperature throughout the test.
• Diaper block in warm water: Many bakers recommend a warm water bath to accelerate the softening. For this test, I left the cream cheese in its foil cover and placed water in a bowl with 32 ° C). The inner temperature of the block rose from 37 to 2.7 to 15 ° C in just 10 minutes and reached 17.7 ° C after 15 minutes. However, this method only works if you plan to use a full 8 -unzen block of cream cheese, and let a thermometer penetrate through the penetration by the penetration of water. Without a probe, it is difficult to see how soft the block is through the packaging.
• Whole block in the microwave: When speed is the goal, the microwave is often the first solution that comes to mind. For this test I unpacked a block of cream cheese and put it flat on a plate. With a 50% power I microw them in 10-second bursts and checked the inner temperature after each. From 39 ° F (39 ° C) the middle hit 61 ° f (16 ° C) after four 10-second burds. However, the ends of the block warm up much faster: at 20 seconds, the center was 54 ° F (12.2 ° C), while the ends were already 17.2 ° C (63 ° f). At 40 seconds they had reached 72 ° F (22.2 ° C) and were visibly soft, fluid and started to bubble-signed not only overrogating, but of overheating.
• Diceed block in the microwave: For this test, I followed the same method in the microwave as above, but cut the cream cheese block into eight 1 -unzen cubes and placed it about 1/2 inch on the plate in front of the microwave. Similar to the results from the baking sheet test with room temperature, this method proved to be significantly faster than the block for 20 seconds until all cubes register at 50% power 60 ° F (15.5 ° C) or higher. Similar to the entire block in the microwave, the cubes on the outer edge of the plate were heated faster than that in the middle and registered on the 20-second mark of 71 ° F, while the middle cubes only reached 60 ° f (15.5 ° C) and signs of them.
• Whole block in a blender: Many bakers recommend using a blender or a hand mixer to paddle cream cheese to soften it quickly. For this test I unpacked a block and put it directly in the bowl of my stand mixer. With the paddle attachment I hit the cream cheese at medium speed (to avoid excess air) and pause every 30 seconds to check the temperature. After 2 1/2 minutes the center reached 15.5 ° C and took a full five minutes to reach 18.3 ° C. I scraped off the bowl regularly to make sure the cream cheese was completely excited, but despite my efforts, much remained of the racket, spatula and bowl-and ended up with less than the full 8-oneces-

The results: What is the best way to alleviate cream cheese?

The best way to soften cream cheese is to cut the block into smaller portions such as 1 -unzen cubes, put them on an aluminum baking sheet and to leave it at room temperature for 25 to 30 minutes. Since aluminum is such an excellent heat ladder, it becomes soft and evenly cream cheese. The cubes will get to temperature in about half of the time of a whole block without special equipment or additional cleaning. If you take this step first, your cream cheese is likely to be ready when you measured your other ingredients and preheat the oven.

While a microwave can soften a cream cheese in seconds, it is easy to overdo it, which leads to an uneven texture and excessive soft stains. The performance levels vary significantly from one model to the other, so that the settings that work for a microwave may not work in another. Of course, you can learn the quirks of your special microwaves and adapt accordingly. However, this requires an attempt and error and can still be the risk of overheating some portions of the cream cheese.

As far as the hot water method is concerned, the risk that the five to ten minutes are saved is the risk of sucking or sucking the thermometer through a hole of the thermometer into the cream cheese to seeper or sucking the thermometer and instead measuring its softness through the packaging. The mixer method has now been by far the most messy and least practical: it requires cleaning a bowl, a paddle and a spatula, and they lose precious cream cheese to the equipment. The next time I have to soft cream cheese, I can bet that I will grab my trust Quarter blade pan And train a little patience.