Replacing butter with oil in baked goods

[benjamin163]

I just made muffins but instead of creaming 110g butter I creamed 70g and then added vegetable oil in a bid to try and give them that moistness I crave.

Whilst they came out delicious, they did spread more than they rose.

I wonder if that's because of my meddling with oil.

The rest of the recipe remained the same. Baking powder and Bicarb were used.

The only other thing that was different is that I pushed the blueberries in on top after spooning the batter into each case in order that they didn't sink - which they didn't.

I guess another thing was that I mixed the dry ingredients with the wet only a tiny bit, just until it was incorporated and no more.

Which of these things contributed to them spreading a bit rather than fully rising?

Any help gratefully received

.

[Kerry Beal]

When you do an experiment you change only one thing at a time - break this into a series of batches, and make one change in each

[Katie Meadow]

I've always heard that if you are subbing oil for butter, you use about 3/4 the amount. So a recipe calling for 1 cup of butter would be replaced by 3/4 cup of veg oil. Since I usually use whichever a recipe calls for I can't speak from experience, so more research might be warranted.

[Tropicalsenior]

I've converted a lot of my recipes from butter to oil, mainly for the moisture and also for the, probably mistaken, idea that they are a bit better for your health. I have converted them just one to one with good results.

Years ago, when we first moved to Costa Rica, with the change in the quality of ingredients, the banana bread recipe that I had always used turned out very dry. I decided to try it with oil and I mistakenly used one cup of oil instead of one half cup of butter. It turned out to be the best banana bread that I have ever made and I have used the recipe that way ever since and I am always asked to share it.

[benjamin163]

2 hours ago, Kerry Beal said:

When you do an experiment you change only one thing at a time - break this into a series of batches, and make one change in each

Totally. Me being greedy!

[benjamin163]

1 hour ago, Tropicalsenior said:

I've converted a lot of my recipes from butter to oil, mainly for the moisture and also for the, probably mistaken, idea that they are a bit better for your health. I have converted them just one to one with good results.

Years ago, when we first moved to Costa Rica, with the change in the quality of ingredients, the banana bread recipe that I had always used turned out very dry. I decided to try it with oil and I mistakenly used one cup of oil instead of one half cup of butter. It turned out to be the best banana bread that I have ever made and I have used the recipe that way ever since and I am always asked to share it.

Great story. Yes I substituted butter for oil for exactly the same reason. Carrot cake is a great example. Same with your banana bread.

I dunno, these just didn't rise properly. I wonder if it's because I only creamed half the butter with sugar and that's somehow not worked.

[Kerry Beal]

Remember too, that butter is 85% flat and 15% water. When you are substituting do you need to substitute for both components

Edited January 18, 2023 by Kerry Beal (log)

[heidih]

Have you tried recipes that were tested with oil instead of butter - can't be an empty field Quick breads that get good reviews for me like banana, zucchini, pumpkin, and I'll include carrot cake (though my recipe includes beaten fluffy whites) all use oil.. All consistently moist.  Getting a muffin top I do not have experience with, Went off muffins after the bran fad. But just the thought has the Seinfeld epuisode stuck in my brain https://www.google.com/search?q=seinfeld+muffin+top+episode

[Tropicalsenior]

38 minutes ago, heidih said:

Have you tried recipes that were tested with oil instead of butter

Now when I look for new recipes, I look exclusively for recipes that use oil. I love the jump to recipe button. Jump to the recipe, oops, butter, jump to another one.

[paulraphael]

Funny, I always do the opposite. When I see a recipe like carrot cake that uses oil, I see how much butter I can substitute. Butter tastes better. Especially if you brown it. I'll get additional moisture from water in added dairy (yogurt, sour cream, creme fraiche etc.) or by subbing in a sugar syrup (honey, trimoline). 

[Katie Meadow]

Okay, now I'm curious. I know carrot cake (and often other root vegetable and zucchini cakes) almost always call for oil rather than butter. Is there a reason? Is it moisture? Fresh carrots have plenty of moisture themselves. I'm a very amateur baker, so I usually just follow the instructions when it comes to oil vs butter. I've seen a few chocolate cake recipes that also use oil, but never was tempted to make one. I don't eat enough cake to worry about the health benefits, but I admit to being pretty generous with butter in general. I've probably eaten my weight in butter ten times over in my life on toast alone. Not that I want to do the math. 

[paulraphael]

On 1/25/2023 at 2:06 AM, Katie Meadow said:

Okay, now I'm curious. I know carrot cake (and often other root vegetable and zucchini cakes) almost always call for oil rather than butter. Is there a reason? Is it moisture? Fresh carrots have plenty of moisture themselves. I'm a very amateur baker, so I usually just follow the instructions when it comes to oil vs butter. I've seen a few chocolate cake recipes that also use oil, but never was tempted to make one. I don't eat enough cake to worry about the health benefits, but I admit to being pretty generous with butter in general. I've probably eaten my weight in butter ten times over in my life on toast alone. Not that I want to do the math. 

I believe the historical reason is that carrot cake was a 1970s attempt at healthy. Butter was being demonized so oil was seen as a good substitute. And carrots! Oil is also has a quasi-moisturizing effect, since it's liquid at room temperature. But you can get moisture in other ways, including from actual moisture.

 

I'm making a carrot cake today, as it turns out. I've been working on a recipe that replaces just over 60% of the oil with brown butter. There's also sour cream and trimoline for added moisture. And cardamom. It's my favorite version by miles. 

[Elkyfr]

The oil prevents the development of flour gluten into stringy protein chains, lightening the result. The egg and flour provide the firm body and the fat and sugar weaken it, making it fluffy and tasty. It is the way to get more volume.

 

[Tropicalsenior]

22 hours ago, Elkyfr said:

 

Those cakes are gorgeous. Would you share a recipe?

 

Host's note: the recipe is here in RecipeGullet.

Edited January 27, 2023 by Smithy
Added host's note (log)