Learned that one the hard way. Always get it in writing now.

Tried a language podcast once. My French is still at 'bonjour croissant' level, so maybe I need a different show. What's the one you're listening to?

Seeing that faster creaming method you mentioned, I gave it a shot and it worked for me. Like @gray_hall4 pointed out, some shortcuts fail, but using really soft butter and a steady mix speed keeps the texture right. So sometimes new tricks do pay off if you tweak them just a bit.