Substitutes for essential baking ingredients

To stay productive and creative amid this pandemic, people are experimenting with cooking every now and then. Baking appears to be at the top of that list.

Are you craving new items but have also run out of few essential baking ingredients? We are here with some tips to make things easier for you. Here is a bunch of substitutes that you can easily apply.

So, keep baking spongy cakes that pacify the tongue and satisfy the tummy.

Sugar

Sweetness is the thing that needs to be ensured when baking things. And to keep the taste perfect, we use sugar. But instead of sugar you can use honey, maple or golden syrup too. It is not just a substitute – it is healthy too.

Butter

There is also a replacement for soft, squashy butter. Use margarine or oils – olive or coconut, which are handy, worthy and cheap. And a dash of Greek yoghurt will work well too.

Eggs

Who does not like a slice of fluffy cake? To get that fluffy feel, we use eggs. Yet instead of egg, there is applesauce or pureed bananas that can work as alternatives. In that case, you need to take care of the amount of sugar that is going to be added to the recipe. It might vary according to your taste buds.

As a replacement of egg whites, you can also use aquafaba – made out of chickpea liquid. Use one tablespoon ground flaxseed or ground chia seeds with three tablespoons of water as a replacement for egg.

Flour

Finding a replacement for flour is really difficult. But if it is mentioned that you use self-rising flour specifically, then you can simply make it at home. Just add two teaspoons of baking powder to 150g of plain flour. And, it is ready!

Use different options and look at the texture. With oat flour use equal portion normal flour, use extra liquid with whole wheat flour and more eggs with coconut flour to bind more.

If you are willing to experiment, try making your own flour, maybe using whole grain rice, dried beans or oats, put those in a food processor or coffee grinders and then sieve.

Buttermilk

Did you just run out of buttermilk? Here is a solution to make your cake tender yet tangy?

Mix four tablespoons of yoghurt with 25ml milk. You can also mix 80ml milk with one teaspoon of white vinegar or lemon juice. Now, leave it for around 15 minutes to get the best result.

Baking powder

Do not you have baking powder at home? As your saviour there is lemon juice and white vinegar.

Take half a teaspoon of baking soda and mix it with half a teaspoon of lemon juice. Now, use it instead of baking powder, while baking.

Yoghurt can be a good choice too. Put all the dry ingredients in a separate bowl with a teaspoon of baking soda and add half a cup of yogurt into that mixture.