Butter instead of oil in a cake recipe

[RIALEATH]

Hi! Can anyone tell me how to work out the quantity of melted butter to use in a recipe instead of oil? I know there are a lot of factors including how much other moisture there is in the cake but for example, if the recipe says 125ml sunflower oil how much butter would you use?

BTW it's an apple and cinnamon cake (pic below). I upped the butter to 168g (bit of a random calculation from some website but can't remember which one. I think I might have got it the wrong way around in using more butter than oil?) - the cake is fine, cooked, tastes nice, but very dense. I guess this is because it has a large quantity of grated apples as well as 125ml apple juice. Maybe I should have used less butter, or just stuck to the recipe which said use oil. The thing is I just felt butter would make it taste better than oil.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Hi! Can anyone tell me how to work out the quantity of melted butter to use in a recipe instead of oil? I know there are a lot of factors including how much other moisture there is in the cake but for example, if the recipe says 125ml sunflower oil how much butter would you use?

BTW it's an apple and cinnamon cake (pic below). I upped the butter to 168g (bit of a random calculation from some website but can't remember which one. I think I might have got it the wrong way around in using more butter than oil?) - the cake is fine, cooked, tastes nice, but very dense. I guess this is because it has a large quantity of grated apples as well as 125ml apple juice. Maybe I should have used less butter, or just stuck to the recipe which said use oil. The thing is I just felt butter would make it taste better than oil.

Oil and butter are both fats. They perform the same function in the cake batter

Oil is 100% fat

Butter is 80% - 83% butterfat, 18% - 16% water, and then a couple percent other solids. The exact compositions brand of butter.

As a general rule, substitute similar ingredients 1:1. So 125 mL of melted butter.

Since their is water in butter, it will change the texture. You change the mixing method to a creaming method to lighten it up.

 

[RIALEATH]

Oil and butter are both fats. They perform the same function in the cake batter

Oil is 100% fat

Butter is 80% - 83% butterfat, 18% - 16% water, and then a couple percent other solids. The exact compositions brand of butter.

As a general rule, substitute similar ingredients 1:1. So 125 mL of melted butter.

Since their is water in butter, it will change the texture. You change the mixing method to a creaming method to lighten it up.

Thank you so much! I used too much butter. Next time I will do 1-1. Or just stick to the oil.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Thank you so much! I used too much butter. Next time I will do 1-1. Or just stick to the oil.

Just remember when you go to make a substitution consider what you’re substituting. Like for like is generally 1:1 substitution since they perform the same function.

When you’re dealing with things like artificial sugar, you definitely have to rethink the whole recipe. Also in gluten-free, vegan, and allergen free baking, where eggs, wheat flours, milk, butter, and other commonly used ingredients are eliminated.

But for a substitution of butter for oil, you’re okay with a 1:1.

 

[RIALEATH]

Thanks. That's really helpful. And regarding oil - do you think oil in cakes tastes alright? I mean I don't understand why they say use oil when we can use butter?

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Thanks. That's really helpful. And regarding oil - do you think oil in cakes tastes alright? I mean I don't understand why they say use oil when we can use butter?

Two major categories for cake are foam and creamed cakes. Foam cakes or cakes that are leavened with whipped eggs. Examples of foam cakes are chiffon, genoise, and sponge cakes.

Examples of creamed cakes are the Victoria sponge, yellow cake, and fruitcake.

Personally I don’t think it makes sense to substitute oil in a cream cake since the cake is based on whipping air into solid fat (usually butter). The butter serves two purposes: 1) as leavening; 2) as flavoring.

When making cupcakes I can understand the substitution. The small volume of batter causes the cupcake to dry out. But enriching a batter with sour cream can counter the drying effects without resorting to oil.

BUT Sometimes you want the cake to be neutral.

The chiffon cake, which is a foam cake is made with vegetable oil. Which is very neutral it doesn’t add any flavor.

And since the chiffon cake is made with water, and you can substitute a portion of that water with any flavored liquid you want.

I’be use elderflower cordial, freshly squeezed fruit juice, champagne, sparkling fruit juice. I’ve changed out the liquid in that cake with so many different things to create different flavors. The chiffon cake is my go to cake because the oil in the cake is neutral I can flavor that cake as I want. So I suppose it really depends on what you’re trying to create.


Some timed you want that rich buttery flavor. But sometimes you want a neutral flavor because you want to create a unique flavor.