Swap Butter For Oil For A Softer Refrigerated Cake (It Really Makes A Difference)

Butter is making a big comeback as much of the younger generation takes their health advice from influencers who disagree with the general consensus of medical professionals over the safety of certain cooking oils. It is hard to argue that butter isn't delicious. Baking with butter can result in fiercely flaky croissants and biscuits. As it melts, the water in the butter steams the inside of the baked goods, leaving behind deliciously crisp layers. It is this water in the butter that can create a denser cake. Butter is generally 15% to 18% water, and in the cake it strengthens the gluten, giving the end result more structure and less tenderness. On the other hand, using oil leaves more fat in the finished product, resulting in a nice, soft cake. It is perfect when you are making a delicate chiffon cake.

What oil does lack, however, is that rich, buttery flavor. Many cakes require the essence, like in a buttery pound cake. It is not just about flavor, though, as some cakes, especially ones with a frosting, will often need the strength the butter brings, which is why you will see it used in most wedding cakes. Luckily, you can have the best of both worlds. Try substituting 20% to 25% of your butter by volume with a neutral oil.

You may miss out on butter flavor, but you have a lot of other tastes available for you to play with. Oils like hazelnut, walnut, and peanut bring a tasty nuttiness to your creation. You can also add a bit of a concentrated citrus oil to neutral oil to bring a little zest to the cake. Be careful not to use too much, though. You will also want to remember that oil-based cakes are better straight out of the fridge than butter-based ones. The butter in a cake hardens when refrigerated and needs time to soften before it is at its peak deliciousness. Oil-based cakes, meanwhile, are ones you can shovel into your mouth straight from the fridge.

You can always lean into the oil by making a straight up olive oil cake. A good, fruity olive oil tastes wonderful and results in a lite, delicate crumb. Adding lemon zest to an olive oil cake really punctuates this fruitiness. Adding another fruit element, like blueberry sauce, goes great in olive oil cakes, too. So, while it may not be buttery, there are still plenty of ways to bring great flavors to your oil based cakes!