To mix lard with butter in a cake?

[britneyisfree]

I can't bear margarine. I had to use it in a cake the other day and it smelt all chemically and I didn't enjoy making it.

Everyone enjoyed it, but it was all crumbly an made a mess. But it's so unhealthy I just can't buy it again.

Unfortunately, butter isn't sustainable for me at the moment. I want to sub some of the butter for a different fat.

I don't use most liquid oils so sunflower, rapeseed etc aren't an option.
Olive oil and coconut oil taste too strong.

So can anyone help?!

I guess beef dripping could be an option but I don't have any today.

Goose fat and duck fat aren't cost effective options for this.

Some of Delia's cakes mix lard and butter so I don't see why you couldn't. The banana loaf cake I make from her Cakes book does it - although I just use butter.

What do you have against liquid oils? Surely it's just as easy / coast effective to buy a bottle of sunflower oil and use that?

Simpler and cheaper to buy a cake with that many parameters surely.

Can you make a style of cake that doesn't call for butter?

Fairly sure I've done Swiss rolls fat free. Chiffon cake, Spanish orange cake.

Or buy some vegetable oil, and make a cake asking for liquid fat.

Ahh!!! Good to know. Thank you!

Forgot to mention DH is against me doing it as he thinks it will make the cakes yucky.

I haven't used them for years. They aren't meant to be very good for us and we are meant to use animal fats or coconut/avocado/olive as they are more stable when heated etc. I can't explain it properly I'm afraid it's been about ten years since I read about it.

We still do have some as it's unavoidable in ready made/ processed food so my way of limiting it is to not cook with it/add it to my own foods.

@daisyjgrey we are gluten free too so makes it more difficult.

Also I've always enjoyed baking and my toddler loves it as an afternoon activity

@LionessesRules avoiding vegetable fats!

@doradoo thanks for the tip on delia's cake

Lard is a fat traditionally used in cake like lardy cake. Lardy cake is very flaky and delicious. I'd rather use lard than margarine in a cake personally if butter is not an option.

I've used sunflower oil as a sub for butter in the past. The texture of the cake is different and it can be very greasy.

GF complicates it as I’d suggest suet otherwise. But not sure if you can get GF suet.

i tend to use a mix of coconut oil, local rapeseed oil, and butter, depending what the cake is. Also lots of fat free/lower fat options including subbing some fat with apple purée in stodgier cakes. Almond oil nice too but expensive. Don’t think lard would hurt but I’d have to make a mental note not to offer it to veggie friends.

Trex is the obvious solution.

If you're using gluten free flour, a lot of "normal" subs won't work as well. The only thing I've found works well in gf cakes for stability is butter or the stork baking margarine block. I haven't tried lard as I don't eat meat or meat fats. In terms of margerine, it very much needs to be a baking one otherwise the water content is too high and changes the texture of the cake, which is more noticeable in gluten free baking.

@LovelaceBiggWither fab - so it should be lush if I do a 50/50 mix. If I make say a Victoria sponge, I'll still use all butter in the butter cream!

Rapeseed oil is OK as it is mono unsaturated like Olive oil, I use it but avoid corn oil. You can also buy light olive oil that is not strong in flavour.
Another option is to buy big tins of ghee from an Asian supermarket, they keep for ages and can be quite economical if you shop in the right place.
I think lard works fine in solid cakes that are designed to keep and traditional recipes where you melt the fat like gingerbread but I wouldn't try it in a sponge.
You could also just make fatless sponges!

I've always loved the sound of a lardy cake. Sounds like the type of snack you'd grab when taking a 5 min break from your tavern job in the 17th century.

Lardy cake is delicious!

A fatless sponge is probably the best idea if you are using GF flour.

Trex is vegetable fat would rather not @InsertPunHere

@UpdateStoleMyProfile thanks for pointing that out - I hadn't considered that but yes of course will not offer to veggie pals!

@DinosaurOfFire I hate marg and had stopped using it before I even had to go gluten free. I only used it as this weekend I had to make 4 Vicky sponges and couldn't stretch to use butter in them all!

@Wbeezer thanks v much. I'll have a look at light olive oil I think that could work well

Also I've been baking gluten free for about 8 years now and I honestly use the same recipe I did when I was making it with wheat flour. Everyone loves it and it's spongy and delicious.

I'll share it incase it's helpful for anyone as so many recipes make GF complicated but doves farm and Asda gf self raising flour is the perfect replacement.

It used to be on the back of the stork tub when I used to use marg all the time (I had no idea what butter was and grew up believing marg was butter )

175g butter/marg/fat
175g sugar
175g self raising flour
3 eggs
1tsp baking powder (I never use it)
1tsp vanilla

Divide into two tins bake on 170c for 15 mins approx.

I used to do all in one but it's spongier if I mix the fat and sugar for a good while first with my mixer and then mix the flour by hand

Just go the whole hog and make Lardy cake

My mother used lard and butter in her baking, she used just bog Lardy cakes, I think it was 50/50 butter to lard.
Im the opposite to you op, I prefer cakes made with Stork baking block instead of butter but that’s me..
I’ve made cakes with Mayonnaise instead of fat, not for a while though so can’t recall the method but I’m sure Google can help.

You can use apple puree in place of butter in a cake, you can also use it as a substitute for eggs when baking

Ooooh Lardy cake. Haven’t had that for years.

Sorry, * Lard, not Lardy cakes.

@britneyisfree really sensible to avoid chemically processed seed and vegetable oils as they contain higher levels of Omega 6 which promotes inflammation.