Butter substitute

[cowprintavenger]

I'm hoping someone in the UK can give me some advice on what is best to use when a recipe requires butter (specifically when baking cakes etc). Margarine is OK for some things but generally butter is used for a reason so margarine wouldn't work as well. I know in the USA there is a butter substitute made by a company called Earth Balance, but I can

Comments

[emmzzi]

in cakes I use slightly less sunflower based marg (less flavoured than olive based I find.) What problems are you getting without butter?

[cowprintavenger]

It's not so much problems as things just not turning out quite as I want them to. Butter and margarine behave differently when used in baking because of their different melting points, for example a biscuit made with butter will spread out and be quite flat and crispy, whereas one made with margarine will keep its shape and be lighter and more cake-like. I'm just looking for something that's as close to butter in texture and fat content as I can find so it works better when I'm veganising recipes.

[lorcas_novena]

I'm glad I know that now! When I made the gingerbread that I usually make at home for my sister at her house(and so with butter) they were way too flat and crisp.

[supercarrot]

sounds like the margarine you've been using has too much water content.

earth balance cookies don't get puffy unless extra water is added. (smart balance light definitely makes puffy cookies, and that only has 5 grams of fat per (tablespoon/14 g) but earth balance has 11 g of fat per tbsp.

look for another margarine that has a higher fat content.

[tarvae]

Vitalite works just fine in most things. If you want a harder textured substitute there is a brand called Tomar available from some supermarkets and kosher retailers that's good.

[pollyannagoth]

I like Tomor for a proper hard set, too (It's great in fridge cake/veganised 'Rocky Road'). NB You'll want the block margarine, not the spreadable one, as they sell both types under that brandname.

If you don't live in an area with a serious Jewish population, the manufacturers have a page here (http://www.rakusens.co.uk/faqs.php?answer=10) with more info, inluding links re where you can mail-order it.

[cowprintavenger]

It probably isn't different, it's just that Earth Balance isn't available here.

[cowprintavenger]

They didn't suggest anything, they just said they'd never heard of a vegan butter substitute that wasn't just margarine. To be fair, I did say I was looking for something that wasn't just ordinary margarine so if it doesn't actually exist, I'm not surprised they couldn't help me!

[lizardphunk]

I don't know, never felt that I couldn't just substitute margarine or oil. For cookies/crackers, add some type of starch or ammonium bicarbonate (don't know what the product would be called in English).

[piggelin]

The ammonium whatsit is really hard to find in the UK. Before I moved to Sweden I used to bulk buy and take it back with me. Pure works really well for everything. As does Trex when a recipe calls for shortening.

[lizardphunk]

Yeah, we have it in Norway, it sure smells like it should be a controlled substance. But works great for cookies!

[lizardphunk]

Just to add to this: vegan cooking often turns out a bit different. As far as I know, there is no exact vegan substitute for butter, so you pretty much just have to make do. :)

[noisehello]

I would try using non-hydrogenated shortening, I use that in place of butter/margarine all the time.

[showingup]

I just use Pure marge or Cookeen shortening, too.

Most vegan cake/biccy recipes I've seen over the years have been specifically formulated, using oil, so I rarely come across the problem of straight subbing. For "buttercream" icing, though, I prefer to use straight Cookeen.