Forum: cooking.stackexchange.com
Tags: <substitutions><baking><oil>
Title: What happens if I use vegetable oil in a cake?
Question: I want to bake a cake out of baking mix bought at a shop. The mix already contains flour, baking soda, vanillin, other minor components. The manual says I need to add butter.  I'd like to use vegetable oil instead of butter - most likely sunflower seed oil. Is that a good idea? Should I expect any problems? Will the result likely be a decent cake or something to just throw away?

Answers:
sents: text: The major difference between butter and oil is that butter is only 80% oil, with the rest being milk solids and water ( source ).
text: This means that using oil you will lose some of the water content that your cake should have, possibly resulting in a dryer cake.
text: On the plus side, cakes made with oil tend to dry out slower than those made with butter.
text: The other possible different, but one that is unlikely with a mix I'd think, is that it depends on the method of mixing in your fat.
text: If the butter is to be whipped or creamed while softened this creates a different texture than one you could get with oil or melted butter.
text: Whipped butter or especially butter creamed with sugar provides a network of air bubbles that act as a raising agent during cooking, and the result is a pound cake like crumb.
text: If your recipe calls for melted butter, though, this is not a concern - the result is more like a traditional muffin or quick bread crumb.
text: Finally, a vegetable oil has a fairly neutral taste.
text: Usually when a vegetable oil is called for, this is desirable.
text: Butter on the other hand has a more interesting flavor.
text: Your cake may be a bit bland without it.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/1816/justkt
score: 19
sents: text: One big difference is the texture at different temperatures.
text: Butter is a soft solid at room temp while (most) oil is a liquid.
text: So the oil-based cake will be moister but also may feel oily.
text: If you plan to refrigerate and serve cold though, oil can be an advantage because butter is so solid it will make the cake seem tough and dry.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/1393/Michael Natkin
score: 11
sents: text: Believe it or not...
text: I use yogurt in lieu of the oil.
text: Works like a champ
text: and it makes the cake a lot lighter.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/None/
score: 5
sents: text: I have made a box cake with oil instead of butter plenty of times.
text: I prefer to use oil with strong flavored cakes like chocolate or lemon.
text: I find that with a yellow or white cake the lack of butter leaves the taste of the cake rather bland.
text: I supposed if I did use oil instead of butter with a white or yellow cake again I would add a teaspoon of vanilla or almond extract.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/None/
score: 4
sents: text: You can certainly substitute butter with some light oil or margarine, not with high flavour oil like olive oil, though!
text: The main drawback is the lack of buttery taste of the final result, which is something highly desirable in a lot of cakes.
text: You can also use yoghurt or lard (in some rare cases).
text: Yoghurt will make the cake much softer and change the texture.
text: Lard has a very strong flavour but it is called for in some recipes, like the Italian "Torta Sbrisolona".
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/1537/Sklivvz
score: 1
sents: text: Many posts here are saying cakes with oil lack the buttery flavour.
text: On the co tract alot of blogs on cup cakes and cakes will tell you oil is easier to mix, the taste is also preferable.
text: You need to use 3/4 the amount of oil to butter when substituting.
text: I'm not surprised oil tastes better as it has more fat content.
text: Fat changes the taste texture and odour of food.
text: Generally fat breaks down chemicals in flavour creating a more concentrated flavour and odour.
text: I would suggest using baking powder for a more robust cake.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/79807/Amy Louise Hunt
score: 0

Summary of the answers:
This is possible with a neutral oil, but since butter contains some water you are likely to end up with a moister but more oily result unless you add 3/4 of the amount of oil. You will also lose the buttery taste in the cake. You can also replace the butter with yoghurt for a softer cake.
You can replace butter with oil for a box cake. The texture will be slightly different. You should add slightly less oil than in the recipe.