Did you Know Tuesday- Baking Substitutions

We don’t always have everything on hand, through the years, I’ve made note of what can be switched in for something else and have found it a lot easier to approach a recipe knowing I can switch it up if I wanted too. There’s a lot more substitutions out there, but my list is what I tend to run into the most and some you may not even have thought about before. In a pinch though, they work perfectly!

Some things you may not know-

 * Baking powder ( 1 teaspoon ) You can use 1/3 teaspoon baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

* Make your own brown sugar (1 cup) Use 1 cup white sugar , and 2 tablespoons dark corn syrup or molasses.

* Make your own buttermilk (1 cup) Put about 1 tablespoon lemon juice (or vinegar)  in a measuring cup and fill with milk till you reach 1 cup. Or you can use a cup of plain yogurt, which will be a healthy addition.

* Don’t have cake flour? Use 2 tablespoons of cornstarch in 1 cup measuring cup and fill the rest with all purpose flour.

* I never have cream on hand, not a problem. Use 3/4 cup milk and 4 tablespoons of softened butter or melt it and add to the milk. This makes 1 cup.

* Don’t have a full cup of sugar? Not a problem either, use 1 cup of honey or corn syrup!

* Self rising flour (1 cup) Use 1 cup all purpose flour with 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt added

*Don’t want to use white wine in a recipe? Not a problem, use 1 cup of chicken broth.

*Don’t drink red wine? Use 1 cup beef broth and it will be just fine.

*My store never has Vanilla beans, that’s why they make Vanilla Extract! 1 whole bean can be subbed with 2 teaspoons extract.

*During the holidays if you just love Pumpkin Pie spice, there’s no need to spend anything on a bottle of it when you can make it yourself. — 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon plus 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice, 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg. Mix this up in an old spice jar.

* Powdered Sugar- Combine 1 cup sugar, and 1 tablespoon cornstarch and blend together till powdery. makes about 1 1/3 of powdered sugar.

Have any substitutions you use in the kitchen?