cakes made with oil rather than butter are they lower in fat?

[mothersmilk]

i got a recipe off here for low fat carrot cake and instead of butter or marg you use corn oil. is this lower in fat? i know it sounds a dumb question but i just dont get it
thanks

I saw this...
"Fats ranked in order of saturated fat content: coconut oil, butter, palm oil, animal fat, cottonseed oil, vegetable shortening, margarine, soybean oil, olive oil, peanut oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, canola oil. Fats with cholesterol: butter, animal fat".
(On here www.switcheroo.com/Fatsoils.html

So it looks like it is lower in saturated fat.

I do the Cranks carrot cake recipe that uses oil too - it's so lovely and moist

If you want to eat less fat in your cake, have a smaller slice!

Oil is still fat (nothing but fat, in fact), but as Paisley says it is a different type of fat.

There is a book called 'Red Velvet and Chocolate Heartache' which has many recipes where all/much of the fat element is replaced by fruit or veg - courgettes in cake, yummy!

Nigella has a citus/almond one (it is clementine in her book, but can be done with other things) which has ground almonds, sugar, eggs but no fat - tis also tasty, but not sponge cake as we know it. But I have to say I haven't analysed the fat content of the ingerdients v standard spongecake.

Its only lower in fat if it uses less oil than you would have used butter.

Almonds are full of fat!!

the best way to avoid fat content in a cake is to make a sponge cake. (they don't have fat and the texture comes from the way you beat the eggs) (although eggs also contain fat in the yolk, but not as much as butter)

I have seen carrot cake recipes that have less fat in: they use the carrot juice to provide the moisture.
guarantee i won't be able to find one now...

I think cakes are made with oil instead of butter either to be kosher or to stop the cake getting a dome shape in the middle when it is baked; you get a flatter cake when you use oil or margerine so if you are icing the cake that can be better.

Nicklebabe - but it has to be a fatless sponge as normal ones are made with fat!!!

sorry, mistlethrush: a sponge cake does not usually contain fat.

fact.
i'm not mistaken.

(i will have to refer you to my previous rants that a Victoria Sandwich is not a sponge cake because it contains a large amount of fat)

(i'm not being drawn in.... )

marsbars,

100g ground almonds contain 55.8g fat, 4.7g Sat fat

100g butter is 82.2g fat, 52.1g of which is saturated

i refer you to: this

and this

I would agree with marsbars - >50% fat sounds like 'full of fat' to me!

As I said, just eat a smaller slice!!

I didn't say it wasn't full fat, just lower in fat than butter.

True, true Let's not argue about cake, that would be just wrong, and contrary to the true meaning of cake!

nickelbabe how do you make sponge cake?

Nickelbabe - even if you are correct based on the dictionary definition, the common usage is not clear cut - for instance...Delia's sponge cake

Which is why I suggest that its called a fat-free sponge as its very clear that way and leads to no misunderstandings - otherwise some people (clearly not you ) might think that Delia's recipe is fat free, even though its made with butter...

OP - I think the point of carrot cake having oil rather than butter in is so its lighter not so much to do with fat. I think.

Delia is wrong.

plain and simple.

you make sponge cake by beating the eggs to make it light and fluffy and fold in the sugar and flour.

although i'm with Umami.

oh, btw, at people thinking it's fat free even though it's got butter in it! that's one way to make butter fat-free: but it's a sponge it doesn't have fat in it!!
ergo butter isn't a fat in this instance.

So can you substitute oil for butter in lots of normal cake recipes? And what would the quantities be?

Sponge may not have fat, but it's got TONS of sugar

i'm not so sure that you can: i think it has to be a recipe that is specifically designed to be made with oil. Mainly because if you use the wrong amount, you can end up with your cake sinking or having a big thick stodgy layer at the bottom.

I don't think it's a simple case of swapping 2 oz of butter for 2oz of oil.

(go for a run after eating, or better, while eating! )

I agree with Nickelbabe ( cake love-in)! I suspect you need more flour/ egg/ something else that provides structure when using oil. When you heat and cool an oil, once it's cold, it's still liquid. Do the same with butter and it's still solid, so I would feel like butter provides more support in the finished cake?? No scientific basis for this though.

There is something self-righteous about eating a cake made with olive oil though - you can practically feel it cleansing your arteries as you eat it, especially something like Nigella/ Anna del Conte's apple cake, which contains fresh fruit and monounsaturates, and is therefore basically a health food