Butter instead of vegetable oil

[torreyy]

The other day I asked my mother to bake me a lemon cake. It was after she'd opened the cake mix that I realized the cake she had called for vegetable oil. I don't buy vegetable oil, we don't use it. The only option was to melt butter, which we did. I must tell you, that is the lightest yet richest cake I have ever eaten! I don't know if it was because 'Momma' made it or if it was the butter! Lol. She said that when she made them at home they'd never turned out that good. So it has to be the butter.

I quit buying vegetable oil a long time ago, and it's been ages since I had a box cake, but this one might just make me reconsider.

 

[PattyCakes]

The other day I asked my mother to bake me a lemon cake. It was after she'd opened the cake mix that I realized the cake she had called for vegetable oil. I don't buy vegetable oil, we don't use it. The only option was to melt butter, which we did. I must tell you, that is the lightest yet richest cake I have ever eaten! I don't know if it was because 'Momma' made it or if it was the butter! Lol. She said that when she made them at home they'd never turned out that good. So it has to be the butter.

I quit buying vegetable oil a long time ago, and it's been ages since I had a box cake, but this one might just make me reconsider.

I hate the idea of using oil in cakes, and have avoided recipes in the past because of it. My husband loves carrot cake but I won't make it because I can't find a recipe that doesn't use oil. I have to say I don't buy cake mixes either, but I would be open to using them if I ever saw one that took my fancy. Nevertheless, your discovery has me wondering if I could replace the oil in a carrot cake with butter? Could be worth a try.

 

[tangela]

That's really interesting, I've never considered subbing veggie oil for butter. We buy vegetable oil not to use but to bake with (we cook with olive oil) so we always have vegetable oil on hand, but maybe now it's time to buy butter in bulk so I can use that...

Though I'm trying to not use boxed recipe cause I'm trying to learn how to bake a good cake from scratch. I wonder if this will work too if I make a cake from scratch!

Thanks for the share

 

[PattyCakes]

I think that a cake from scratch will always taste much better than a mix from a box; and if you use the freshest and best ingredients you can afford, you'll get a good result for sure.

There's a lot of knowledge and experience on this forum, and some members here have helped me a great deal in the short time I've been here. So, don't be afraid to ask.

Here's a nice little cake recipe that I learned how to master many years ago, before moving onto other things. It's a Victoria Sandwich, and it's very easy.

200g self raising flour
200g unsalted butter
200g golden caster sugar
1 teaspoon of baking powder
4 eggs
1 tablespoon of milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Butter and base line two 8 inch non-stick sandwich tins using parchment paper. Pre-heat your oven to 150 (fan) or 170C.

Put all of your ingredients into a large bowl and beat with a hand mixer until just combined. Scrape down the sides of your bowl with a spatula and quickly beat again for about 10 seconds. The trick with this cake is to beat as little as possible but just enough to combine everything perfectly - that way you'll end up with a lovely light cake.

Spoon the batter evenly between each of the tins and smooth over gently. Bake for 30 minutes, but check after 25 minutes. The cakes are done when you lightly press the middle and it springs back - if it leaves a mark, then put it back in the oven for a few more minutes. The cakes will also be coming away from the sides of the tin when they are done.

Leave to cool in their tins for 10 minutes before carefully turning out. Loose bottomed tins are a godsend for this type of cake!. Cool completely before spreading with strawberry or raspberry jam, and sandwiching together. A liberal sprinkling of icing sugar tops it off a treat!

Here's one I made earlier

 

[tangela]

I think that a cake from scratch will always taste much better than a mix from a box; and if you use the freshest and best ingredients you can afford, you'll get a good result for sure.

There's a lot of knowledge and experience on this forum, and some members here have helped me a great deal in the short time I've been here. So, don't be afraid to ask.

Here's a nice little cake recipe that I learned how to master many years ago, before moving onto other things. It's a Victoria Sandwich, and it's very easy.

200g self raising flour
200g unsalted butter
200g golden caster sugar
1 teaspoon of baking powder
4 eggs
1 tablespoon of milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Butter and base line two 8 inch non-stick sandwich tins using parchment paper. Pre-heat your oven to 150 (fan) or 170C.

Put all of your ingredients into a large bowl and beat with a hand mixer until just combined. Scrape down the sides of your bowl with a spatula and quickly beat again for about 10 seconds. The trick with this cake is to beat as little as possible but just enough to combine everything perfectly - that way you'll end up with a lovely light cake.

Spoon the batter evenly between each of the tins and smooth over gently. Bake for 30 minutes, but check after 25 minutes. The cakes are done when you lightly press the middle and it springs back - if it leaves a mark, then put it back in the oven for a few more minutes. The cakes will also be coming away from the sides of the tin when they are done.

Leave to cool in their tins for 10 minutes before carefully turning out. Loose bottomed tins are a godsend for this type of cake!. Cool completely before spreading with strawberry or raspberry jam, and sandwiching together. A liberal sprinkling of icing sugar tops it off a treat!

Here's one I made earlier

Sweet, thank you very much for the recipe! I'll have to try it out after I go grocery shop this coming weekend for the ingredients. My house is kinda empty on baking ingredients haha

By the way what's caster sugar?

 

[JessiFox]

I hadn't really thought of substituting butter for vegetable oil, but I like the idea a lot and I'm encouraged to hear that you had good results with it. I really hate using oil for baking when I don't have to, but it seems like so many recipes rely on it. I'll have to see if I can get similar results trying butter instead =).

 

[NThomas]

I do this all the time , It just make for a richer cake with better flavor. Using butter in brownies instead of oil make a huge improvement in brownies. I am not sure if you can do this with evreything it may effect the texure.

 

[PattyCakes]

Sweet, thank you very much for the recipe! I'll have to try it out after I go grocery shop this coming weekend for the ingredients. My house is kinda empty on baking ingredients haha

By the way what's caster sugar?

Caster sugar is very fine sugar, sometimes a golden colour. If you can't get it where you are, you can finely grind granulated sugar for the same effect. Some people would even say that using granulated sugar in place of caster sugar is absolutely fine, although I've never tried this, so I'm not sure if it would alter the texture.

 

[Mara]

I don't like using too much butter either, however I have used oil when I have run out of butter or when I feel 'that's too much butter'. Using a blend of the two works for me, so I get the butter taste, smoothness and also it's less calorific.
Sometimes I also mix the flour as well and add some whole wheat flour instead of all white, so it feels healthier too.