what do I use instead of butter

[Sugarmag]

Does anyone know whether it's better to substitute butter with non-dairy margarine or with vegetable oil when baking? I have used marg in the past and it's come out ok but I don't do a lot of baking. Just wondering if someone with more experience knew if there was a good reason to use on or the other. Thanks!

I use normal marg all the time. Does it have to be non dairy?

I use goats butter in some recipes where the butter makes a huge difference. But that is because cows milk/butter makes me ill.

margarine will give you a perfectly good result when baking and is the best thing to use. I have found that if I substitue vegetable oil, the texture can be a bit tough (maybe I was using the wrong amount iyswim, it is difficult to judge what is the equivalent amount).

some cakes (eg passion cake) have veg oil in the recipe anyway though.

9oz flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 - 4oz granulated sugar
3 - 5 oz dried fruit

mix above together

1 egg
8 fl oz milk
3oz melted butter (or 3 fl oz veg oil)

mix togehter

mix wet ingredients into dry ones, don't overstir

put into muffin tin / cases and bake at 190 (gas mark 5) for 20 - 25 minutes until top is lightly browned and springs back

uses oil instead!!

sorry auntybrandybutter but what are we making?

I was actually thinking of making chocolate brownies and wondered whether to use marg or oil (ds can't eat dairy)

that was muffins sorry!!
I add choc chips and cocoa..but u could use none dairy choc!

I think vegetarian lard is the closest thing to butter, for cooking, as it's the right sort of fat ...

dairy free brownies

I ALWAYS use butter cause i hate all the hydrogenated stuff they put in 'spreads'.

Id sooner eat full fat, than hydrogentaed fat, and sugar than chemical sweetners any day!

Good for you, NannyL, but you're not allergic to DAIRY! Please read the thread carefully

Oh, and in answer to the original question, I've successfully used Pura/Pure? (olive oil version I think) in dairy free baking and it's been fine.

NannyL - there are a few spreads that are free from hydrogenated fats. Granose is the one that springs to mind. but, yes, I tend to agree with you!

Where is the rolling eyes emoticon when you need one?

(Yes, I too use butter when a recipe says butter, but then, I'm not allergic to dairy. Sheesh.)

Nope - I think it is much healthier to use butter than most manufactured spreads.

If you must go with manufactured I would try the olive oil ones like Olivio or the likes, but check the ingredients very carefully to ensure they do not contain hydrogenated fats.

Oops - I've read the question and can't see where it says that the OP is allergic to dairy????

it says so on the thread!!
just make sure it says ok for baking on pack as some have too much water!!!

NQC - Im dairy intolerant, and also a goats butter fan. I thought that was a perfectly reasonable contribution actually!

Eh, I'm tired and cranky this morning. Sorry.

Nightynight - I think rolling eyes was for nannyL who only ever uses butter - no mention of goats there.

"ds can't eat dairy" at 8:29 BTW.

Think I'ld be inclined to use the non-dairy marge, and look for one that specifically says it is suitable for baking.

The whole butter/hydrogenated/non-hydrogenated fats thing is just as relevant to people who are dairy intolerant though. We often find ourselves with dairy free alternatives that are made with hydrogenated fats, which is quite worrying.

You can find lots of cake recipes that don't call for butter in the first place. (Alternatively, a naturally saturated fat, like palm oil? or lard, even? is presumably better than hydrogenated vegetable oil.)

One of DS1's best friends, when he was little, was extremely allergic to dairy, so I have lots of cake recipes that don't use butter, and instead use liquid oil.

Olive oil works realy well insted of butter, we use it at work to make dairy free cakes.

Wow, thanks for all the tips - didn't mean to cause a big punch up!!!

Nightynight- where on earth would I get goats butter? I don't know whether ds reacts to goats milk/butter as I've never tried it but I would be willing to give it a go.

Ånyway, I tried making some chocolate brownies last night using Pure (the sunflower version as the organic one tastes a bit funny) which seemed to work just fine. They came out a bit light and cakey (I like my brownies really rich and gooey) but I think that was probably due to the recipe and not the butter substitution.

BTW merrySOAPBOXingday, the thread was originally about a non-dairy substitute for butter - nothing to do with hydrogenated fats. Maybe I should be worried about them but to be perfectly honest, I'm not really. Almost all spreads except Pure and Tomor, including Olivio, contain some dairy.

goats butter at any health food shop. even ours in suburb of scruffy northern town. haven't tried in cooking (but a bit "goaty" on toast)

have you tried carrot cake make with veg oil....its the best

You can get St Helens goats butter in many supermarkets. It doesnt taste strong at all. Their website is St Helens Farm
Delamere dairy also do goats butter, stockists are given on their website Delamere Dairy
These 2 are the largest goats milk dairies in the UK.

My mother used to make butter at home, using cows milk (cream, obviously). It also had a strong flavour, so I think the flavour of butter depends on how you make it. The flavour of goats milk depends on the breed, and what you feed the goats. I think the big dairies now are v careful what their goats eat, as the mild flavour is obviously v important to them.

It is worth trying goats milk products, also bear in mind that some milk intolerant people cant manage cows or goats milk, but can manage sheeps milk.