Jennifer Garner’s brilliant hack for softening butter has millions raving

Personally, I find baking rather therapeutic. It’s hard to tell whether it’s the process that’s more enjoyable, or digging into the end result.

Baking, however, also requires a certain amount of planning — and does take time. Some ingredients have to be pre-planned — and softened butter is a prime example.

But, with our busy day-today lives, who has time to remember all these details. Thankfully, according to actress Jennifer Garner at least, there is last second solution to taking ‘un-softened’ butter to softened, real quick!

Butter is a staple ingredient in both cooking and baking. But when a recipe calls for softened butter and you didn’t have time to plan ahead, what do you do?

People have long come across this conundrum and resorted to a variety of unconventional ways to solve the issue.

They may place the butter next to a hot oven, microwave it, or even stick it under their pits — but let’s face it, none of these are ideal.

Star of ’13 Going on 30′ Jennifer Garner however has a simple, brilliant tactic to share with the world.

She recently woke up very early one morning to bake chocolate bread for her three kids and filmed the process for her very relatable Instagram #PretendCookingShow.

“This time of year it is extra cozy to send kids to school with something warm in their bellies,” she explained on Instagram. “My kids feel extra cozy about @realbakingwithrose’s chocolate bread. This recipe isn’t crazy sweet and, with a good swish of peanut butter, is just the thing for my early rising middle schooler.”

But when came time for softened butter to go into the recipe, Jennifer was stuck. She hadn’t laid it out on the counter the night before.

The solution? Simple as ever: simply grate the butter and it will give it a ‘softened like consistency’.

Watch Jennifer in action below.

View this post on Instagram

This time of year it is extra cozy to send kids to school with something warm in their bellies. My kids feel extra cozy about @realbakingwithrose’s chocolate bread. This recipe isn’t crazy sweet and, with a good swish of peanut butter, is just the thing for my early rising middle schooler. You can find the full episode on IGTV. #PretendCookingShow #bangwentthecabinet #????‍♀️wentmybrain #hurryupchristmas?? . #TheBreadBible Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bread Ingredients: 3 Tbs plus 1/2 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder 3 Tbs boiling water 1/2 Tbs pure vanilla extract 3 large eggs 1 1/2 cups sifted cake flour 3/4 cup plus 2 Tbs sugar 3/4 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp salt 13 Tbs unsalted butter, softened 3 Tbs chocolate mini chips or bittersweet chocolate (chopped) . Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 350F. 2. Whisk cocoa and boiling water until smooth. Allow to cool to room temperature, then gently whisk in vanilla and eggs. 3. In a mixer bowl, combine cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds to blend. Add half the chocolate paste and the butter and mix until dry ingredients are moistened. Increase speed to medium-high and beat for 1 minute to aerate and develop structure. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Gradually add remaining chocolate paste in two batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition to incorporate the ingredients and strengthen the structure. Scrape down the bowl. Fold in chocolate mini chips/chopped chocolate. 4. Scrape batter into prepared loaf pan and smooth the surface with a spatula. 5. Bake for 50-60 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center will read about 200F. (The bread shouldn’t start to shrink from the sides of the pan until after removal from the oven.) 6. Set the bread on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Loosen the sides of the bread and invert onto an oiled wire rack. Reinvert so it is top side up and cool completely.

A post shared by Jennifer Garner (@jennifer.garner) on Dec 11, 2018 at 12:02pm PST

What a brilliant trick — and not to mention hilarious way to present it! Share with your family and friends if Jennifer’s quick-thinking tactic inspired you, too!