Whether you've always been a baker or the pandemic was the impetus for trying your hand at recipes for sourdough boules, focaccia, banana snacking cake, and caramel cake, finding out you're short on an ingredient is frustrating. Luckily, there are all kinds of clever shortcuts and substitutions to make up for what you lack — so you can continue with those salted caramel brownies. Baking is a craft of precision, but let's be real: If you go to the trouble of making a cake or cookies, anyone who is lucky enough to get them is not going to complain, even if you had to make a few swaps here and there.
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A quick note on substitutions, though: Using what you have is about managing your expectations. A cake made with bread flour because that's what you have on hand will still be a cake, but it won't look or taste the same as if you had the original specified ingredient. If you're worried about that and crave something specific, it might be worth gently redirecting your plan toward a recipe for which you have most of the ingredients rather than be disappointed when, say, your tahini brownies don't taste great because you had neither tahini nor sugar. But a little swap here and there can be helpful in a pinch.
When substituting ingredients, you need to consider not just volume, but also the weight of something. If you have a kitchen scale on hand, that's a valuable tool when making substitutions, because the weights of ingredients differ, and swapping out a cup of granulated sugar for a cup of powdered sugar actually means very different amounts by weight. If you don't have a scale, that's OK — do your best, but keep weight in mind when you're making swaps.
Here are a few substitutions you can make in case you find yourself short.
Egg substitutes
It's useful to take a page from vegan baking cookbooks, where no eggs are ever used but the recipes still yield tasty baked goods. If you need to swap out eggs, it's helpful to know what you're using the eggs for in the recipe. In cases where you don't need to whip eggs or separate yolks and whites, one easy trick is to substitute 1/4 cup of carbonated, unflavored water for every large egg you need. You can also combine 2 tablespoons of water, 2 teaspoons baking powder, and 1 teaspoon vegetable oil for every large egg. A 1/4 cup applesauce or mashed banana per egg needed can also work. If you have ground flaxseeds or chia seeds on hand, add 1 tablespoon of seeds to 3 tablespoons of water and stir to make a paste, which will also be the equivalent of an egg. If you need egg whites, use aquafaba, the cooking liquid in a can of chickpeas.
Flour substitutes
Cake flour substitute
The best way to substitute cake flour is to follow a pretty simple formula. For every cup of cake flour called for, measure a cup of all-purpose flour, remove 2 tablespoons of flour from each cup, then add in 2 tablespoons of cornstarch or arrowroot powder. The cornstarch will help inhibit the production of gluten, allowing for the delicate cake crumb that cake flour gives your baking project.
Bread flour substitute
It helps when you're making swaps to be familiar with why specific ingredients are called for in certain recipes. Bread flour has a higher percentage of protein than all-purpose flour; protein strengthens the dough, encourages gluten formation, and helps the bread rise. But it's not a huge percentage difference we're talking about here — King Arthur bread flour has 12.7% protein, while its all-purpose flour has 11.7% protein. That means on most occasions, if you have bread flour and not all-purpose (or vice versa), you can just make an easy one-to-one swap. The only caveat here is that bread flour is not great for recipes where you do not want a lot of gluten formation, like biscuits or pie dough. But in most cases, it works fine.
Leavener substitutes
Baking soda substitute
Since baking powder is actually made from baking soda, you can use baking powder as a substitute for baking soda. You do need to adjust the proportions, though — use three times the amount of baking powder as a substitute for baking soda. So if a recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of baking soda, add 1 tablespoon of baking powder instead. There's usually a bit of salt in baking powder as well, so if you use this approach, cut down slightly on whatever salt you're adding to the recipe.
Baking powder substitute
For every teaspoon of baking powder you need, combine 1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar with 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda. If you don't have cream of tartar, you can use another acid you have on hand, like lemon juice or vinegar. In that case, you'd combine a 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda with 1 teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice.
Sweeteners
Brown sugar substitute
The easiest substitute for brown sugar is granulated sugar. If you happen to have molasses, you can make an even closer substitute by adding the dark syrup to regular sugar. For every cup of brown sugar you need, add 2 tablespoons of molasses (or maple syrup or agave nectar) to 1 cup of granulated sugar and blend it briefly in a food processor.
Powdered sugar substitute
No powdered sugar on hand? You can approximate some by grinding up granulated sugar in the food processor. For every cup of granulated sugar, add a teaspoon of cornstarch, and pulse until it's very finely ground.
Honey substitute
If you need honey but don't have any, you can replace it measure for measure with maple syrup, agave syrup, molasses (as long as it's not blackstrap molasses, which is too bitter for this use), or corn syrup.
Cooking fats
Butter substitute
If you need butter in your baking but none is available, there are lots of butter substitutes you can use. Margarine works, of course, as do vegetable oil or coconut oil. If you have butter but are a little short, add a bit of Greek yogurt to the butter to help stretch it. Or you can take a page from the vegan cooking playbook and swap in half a cup of applesauce for every cup of butter you need.
Vegetable oil substitute
If you have another neutral-tasting oil, like avocado oil, coconut oil, or a milder olive oil, just replace the vegetable oil with the oil you have. You can also use butter for vegetable oil at a one-to-one ratio, or swap out the oil for an equal amount of mayonnaise (after all, it's just oil with an egg yolk!) or yogurt.
Dairy free guidance
Milk substitute
When you need milk for baking but don't have it, you have a few options. If you have another dairy product in your fridge, like yogurt or sour cream, you can use those as a one-to-one substitute. If you don't, but you do have a can of evaporated milk lying around, you can thin out 1/2 cup of evaporated milk with 1/2 cup of water to approximate milk. And in a pinch, just use water.
Heavy cream and half-and-half substitutes
If you need heavy cream, there are a few ways to approximate it. You can use the same amount of evaporated milk or coconut cream. Or, you can whisk together 1/4 cup of melted butter with 3/4 a cup of whole milk, half-and-half, or coconut milk. If you have half-and-half but no cream, use that as you would the cream (and vice versa).
Buttermilk substitute
If you don't have buttermilk or buttermilk powder and you need it for baking, swap in a cup of milk soured with a tablespoon of lemon or white vinegar for every cup of buttermilk you need. If you don't have milk on hand, you can also use yogurt or sour cream thinned out with water until it's pourable.
Sour cream substitute
If you need sour cream and you don't have any, you can swap in an equal amount of yogurt, mayonnaise, or pureed cottage cheese.
Chocolate substitutes
Unsweetened chocolate substitute
If you're in need of unsweetened baking chocolate but none is available, you can use cocoa powder as a swap. For every 1 ounce of unsweetened chocolate you need, mix 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. If you need unsweetened chocolate but you have semisweet chocolate, use that at a ratio of 1 1/2 ounce of bittersweet or semisweet to every ounce of unsweetened chocolate, and omit 1 tablespoon of sugar from the recipe per ounce, as a well.
Semisweet chocolate substitute
You can replace semisweet chocolate with unsweetened chocolate plus a little sugar. For every ounce of chocolate you need, swap in 2/3 ounce unsweetened chocolate and 1 tablespoon sugar. You can also sub in 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder mixed with a tablespoon of vegetable oil and 3 tablespoons sugar.
Chocolate chips substitute
If you don't have chocolate chips but you do have bars of chocolate, just chop those up and use them as a one-to-one replacement. If you have neither, but you do have unsweetened chocolate, you can do the same ratio of chocolate and sugar per ounce as you would to replace semisweet chocolate.
