Why butter is used
Butter is a versatile dairy product that provides a rich and creamy flavour, tender and flaky texture and moisture to desserts, such as cake and pastries. It also binds ingredients together, contributes to a baked good’s golden-brown colour, and when creamed with sugar, provides a light and airy texture.
How to replace it
- With oil: If you’re out of butter, a neutral oil like canola or vegetable is a great choice and it ensures your dessert stays tender and moist. Also, if we keep a cake or muffins in the refrigerator, the oil won’t harden in the cold like butter would. For every 1 cup of butter, swap it with ¾ cup of oil.
Given that butter normally adds flavour to a recipe, using oil will slightly affect the taste. You’ll therefore need to adjust certain aromatic ingredients, such as cinnamon, salt or sugar.
- With coconut oil: Another interesting oil option to replace butter with that’s already a popular choice among vegans is coconut oil. It does bring some flavour along with it, so it’s probably best to use it in a recipe that doesn’t have any contrasting flavours. We enjoy using it in these vegan sticky buns. For every 1 cup of butter, use 1 cup of coconut oil.
PASTRIES
Vegan Sticky Buns
- With shortening: This is a great option for treats that have a pastry dough base. It acts just like butter, with the solid pieces of shortening creating gaps as they melt and steam, providing croissants and other pastries with the necessary flaky layers. In fact, it’ll even leave them flakier than butter would. For every 1 cup of butter, use 1 cup of shortening.
For those who prefer baking with it, you can use 1 cup of margarine for every 1 cup of butter in cakes and cookies.
And, bonus? It’s plant based! Looking for ways to substitute other ingredients in the kitchen? Read these articles: