Whisk cream at medium to high speed. After two to three minutes you have perfect whipped cream. A few minutes later, it starts to look like whipped butter. Be sure to scrape sides of bowl down as the cream thickens and sticks to the sides of the bowl. When the cream is very thick – usually after about 10 minutes – you can turn the mixer up to high without worrying about getting cream everywhere. After 14 minutes, the liquid and fat begin to separate. The butter will look little pebbles in liquid. Turn off mixer.
Rinse and wring out several layers of clean cheesecloth or kitchen cloth and drape inside a sieve or colander over a bowl. Transfer the whole butter mixture into the cheesecloth so the liquid (whey) collects in the bowl. Gather the cheesecloth into a bundle and twist a wooden spoon around and around and around until you have a tight orb like a hobo’s sack tied to a walking stick. Remove the sieve and set the wooden spoon across the bowl, letting the butter dangle – its whey dripping slowly into the bowl. Set in the refrigerator for a full day and come back and twist occasionally to retighten the ball of butter/cheesecloth.
This butter is best used for cooking. One litre of cream yields around 400 grams of butter.
This is an edited extract from Prune by Gabrielle Hamilton,