Using Butter Instead of Oil in Muffins? | Ask Nigella.com (2024)

FAQs

Using Butter Instead of Oil in Muffins? | Ask Nigella.com? ›

For your recipe you will need to use just over 30% more butter, ie 170g butter, but you will need to reduce the other liquids by 40ml (170-125) to offset. Also you will need to melt the butter and let it cool slightly before using it.

You can absolutely substitute butter for the vegetable oil. Use the same quantity specified in the directions (for example, if it calls for 1/3 cup of oil, use 5 1/3 tablespoons of butter). Melt it down, then let it cool a bit. You might not ever go back to oil!

The spongy texture and moist flavor that oil creates can be a boon to certain recipes. Not to mention oil is cheaper and easier to work with. Butter will always provide superior flavor and that melt-in-your-mouth texture. In many recipes, combining the two gives the best of both worlds.

Butter makes everything better, right? Spread softened butter on each side of a halved muffin and crisp it up over high heat in a nonstick pan or griddle. You'll be amazed how an ordinary muffin can be transformed with crisp, buttery edges. Go the extra mile and top with homemade fruit jam or preserves.

You can swap in 125g butter for the oil but the muffins may be a little dry and will possibly stale more quickly as the fat content of butter is lower than that of oil. For better results you may have to make some minor adjustments to the amount of fats and other liquids used.

Vegetable oil can be replaced with a 1:1 swap of Greek yogurt or sour cream — just keep in mind that the tartness of these products might alter the flavor profile of the baked goods. If you want to try buttermilk, use ¾ cup buttermilk with ¼ cup of oil or melted butter to equal one cup of oil.

A good rule of thumb is to replace about 3/4 of the butter in a recipe with olive, canola, or vegetable oil. (If the recipe calls for 1 cup butter, use ¾ cup oil.)

It depends on your personal preference and the recipe you're following. Generally, butter is the more traditional choice for cakes, as it lends a rich flavor and moist texture. However, some recipes may call for oil instead, as it can create a lighter and fluffier cake.

Why use oil in muffins? ›

Baking with oil not only requires less work, and results in fewer dirty dishes, than butter, but it also produces tender, moist baked goods that get better with age and boast an impressively long shelf-life.

Indeed, cookies made with butter are usually softer and more tender than those made with oils. And last but not least, butter in cookies helps achieve that perfect texture. That's because butter melts at a lower temperature than other fats, allowing cookies to spread evenly while baking.

If you're wondering which muffin recipe to make, here's a tip: Less butter and sugar in a recipe makes a drier bread-like muffin, while more butter and sugar produces a moister muffin that's more like cake.

If you're hoping to create extra moist muffins or aren't going to eat them for a while, consider using paper liners instead. Paper liners will help keep the moisture inside of the baked goods, allowing the muffins to remain fresher for longer.

Baking recipes typically call for unsalted butter because the amount of salt in salted butter varies depending on the brand – there is no “industry standard.” For example, if you use one brand of salted butter in a recipe, and we use another, our baked goods could end up tasting very different from one other.

Grapeseed Oil

It is one of the best baking oils for health because it is a great source of vitamin E and oleic acid. Another great bonus of grapeseed oil is that, like vegetable oil options, it doesn't have a strong flavor.

Canola Oil

Canola oil is, without doubt, one of the best types of oil for baking. It's preferred in many recipes since it has the most neutral flavor compared to other types of oil. It also tends to be lighter in flavour, so it will not negatively affect the baked product's flavor and texture.

Oil, being a liquid, distributes easily in the quick-mix batter and is readily absorbed into the baked muffin, producing a light non-greasy texture. Vegetable oil is ideal because its mild flavour doesn't compete with the main flavour of the muffin.

In general, we don't recommend using olive oil in baking recipes that call for vegetable oil. Olive oil is perfect for strongly flavored desserts like olive oil cake, but vegetable oil's neutral flavor makes it ideal for providing baked goods with the fat they need without affecting the recipe's flavor.