Baking with oil instead of butter

ruby2shoes, Oct 8, 12:42am
was there a thread recently with recipes? If not, can we start one, lol?

pinkrose, Dec 2, 8:17am
I was just going to create a new thread and found this one. If you have tried and true baking recipes using canola or other oil instead of butter, I'd be very happy if you would post them.

skylarking1, Dec 2, 8:11pm
I just googled the question and found this:

As a general rule of thumb, substitute three-quarters of the butter in a recipe with olive oil. In other words: If a baking recipe calls for a stick of butter (8 tablespoons), for example, use 6 tablespoons of olive oil.

sla11, Dec 2, 9:43pm
Question to skylarking1 - adding 6 Tbspn Olive Oil for stick of butter, I get that part. Please clarify - do you still have to add 2 Tbspn of Butter to bring quantity up to stick of butter?

skylarking1, Dec 2, 11:25pm
Yes that’s my understanding. You still get the taste of butter but by adding oil you are making the butter go further.

I also add a small amount of oil to a small dish of butter for spreading on bread. But please don’t tell my husband because he would be adamant that he wouldn’t like it! It’s a case of what they don’t know won’t hurt them! Haha!

skylarking1, Dec 3, 11:56pm
On second thoughts. no, I don’t think you still have to add the butter. I think the oil is a total replacement. Sorry about that. Maybe others can add their thoughts.

pugswal, Dec 4, 7:39am
I never use butter in my muffin recipes. Always oil, and they are light and taste great. 100 grams butter = a bit less than half cup oil.

pinkrose, Dec 4, 11:25pm
Thanks everyone. I will experiment.

ruby2shoes, Dec 5, 1:46am
ooh, thats interesting. I might experiment tonight and make some bikkies using olive oil. That's if its not too flippin' hot to put the oven on.

vomo2, Dec 6, 9:04am
I use rice bran oil and butter and have beautiful cakes.

wahinetoa62, Dec 6, 12:00pm
can also use baking margarine which is cheaper than butter - in chch you can get it at the food factory. It is what they use in commercial baking as it has more fat than margarine so goes hard like butter - and has less water - with the cost of butter going up so much might try it for biscuits. For cakes, I do prefer to use oil

zsazsa777, Dec 8, 10:43am
This is a lovely, special occasion cake

Soonafai's Chocolate Cake

2 cups caster sugar
3 cups self-raising flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ cup cocoa
3 eggs, separated
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons malt vinegar
2 tablespoons golden syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 ½ cups cooking oil
1 egg 

Combine all dry ingredients.
In a large bowl, beat the 3 egg whites until stiff.
In a separate bowl, combine milk and vinegar, then add the rest of the wet ingredients, including the whole egg and three egg yolks, and beat.
Mix wet and dry ingredients together, then fold in the beaten egg whites.
Pour into two well-greased or baking-paper-lined cake tines about 20-23 cm.
Bake for 25-30 minutes at 180ºC. Cool on a wire rack.
(It freezes well.)
Whipped cream and icing of your choice for finishing cake.
To serve, pile whipped cream on one cake, place the other cake on top and ice - try chocolate frosting.

zsazsa777, Nov 25, 4:53pm
Here's another favourite that doesn't use butter, but is special because it doesn't use oil either.

Kendall and Richard's Christmas Cake

1kg Tasti Christmas fruit mix or 1 kg dried fruit
1 cup orange juice
1 cup black tea (We prefer ½ cup tea and ½ cup brandy.)
2 cups wholemeal flour
3 tsp baking powder
70g slivered almonds (small packets in the baking section of the supermarket)
70g walnuts pieces
2 generous tsp cinnamon
2 generous tsp mixed spice
2 tsp vanilla essence

Soak the fruit in tea preferably overnight, but at least for a couple of hours.
Preheat oven to 160[Degree] fan bake. Place the rack just under halfway.
Line the bottom and sides of a 20cm square cake tin with baking paper.
Mix in the remaining ingredients except for the almonds with soaked fruit.
Sprinkle with slivered almonds. Bake for approximately 1½ hours or until a skewer stuck into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Cool, then cut into small fingers as required
The cake is pretty when decorated with nuts and can be glazed with 1tspn apricot jam and 1tspn orange juice warmed together in microwave.