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?!

The recipe is just a Victoria sponge cake. I couldn't get too bothered about the type of fat tbh. It's not as if we eat cake every day. Trex is free from preservatives, colours, e-numbers and hydrogenated vegetable oil.

Given the gluten free comment, I would definitely try a Spanish orange cake one day. No oil, no butter, no flour.

Harry Eastwood has a book with cakes which are gluten free. The cakes themselves are butter free, she uses butter in the icing though.
I made the St Clements cupcakes and they were very nice, you wouldn’t know about the lack of butter or the vegetables.

A word of warning, the intros to each recipe are odd to say the least!

www.amazon.co.uk/Red-Velvet-Chocolate-Heartache-feel-good/dp/0593062361

Duh - forgot to mention they are all vegetable cakes!

I use walnut oil in my carrot cake but it isn't cheap. It's moist without being greasy.
Fortunately I only make carrot cake about once a year.

I use a National Trust recipe for scones with lard instead of butter and they come out so light and airy, just not quite so golden, so be aware of that when baking. It's by far my preferred scone recipe!

Can you get Trex? It's a white tasteless baking solid fat. In my American past I would have used Crisco which is much the same. I wouldn't actually use lard unless it was a lardy cake.

Maybe because I’m vegetarian but the thought of lard in a cake just turns my stomach. I’d rather just bake with all butter but less often. Have you tried using a ratio of coconut oil? I’m not a coconut fan, but often use coconut oil to make granola and don’t find the taste overwhelming at all. Or would avocado oil work in a cake designed to use liquid oil?

Margarine is banned in the UK due to the amount of trans fat in it. Some spreads are not suitable for baking, but I believe stork do one especially for baking

Crisco contains hydrogenated palm oil.

I have more of an issue with palm oil on ethical and environmental grounds than other vegetable oils. Trex contains RSPO palm oil.

I use lard in a biscuit recipe. It's fine - it makes the biscs nice and crumbly and crunchy I use lard from the supermarket which I think is pig fat.