In a Pinch

We've all been in the situation. We're moving right along with our recipe, cooking or baking a culinary delight (hopefully) and we reach for that one ingredient we didn't check because we always have it on hand -- except this time the cupboard is bare.

Next time this happens to you, before you run to the neighbor with measuring cup in hand or dash off to the grocery store, take a deep breath and check to see if there's a quick fix substitution.

I found this great list of substitutions in the back of a cookbook published by Good Shepherd Parish of Martha's Vineyard. My aunt, who spends a good portion of the year on the Vineyard, gave me this book last year, and it has already saved me several unnecessary jaunts to the grocery store. Thanks AB!!


FOR ................... YOU CAN USE

1 T. cornstarch -- 2 T. flour OR 1 ½ T quick cooking tapioca

1 C. cake flour -- 1 C. less 2 T. all-purpose flour

1 C. all purpose flour -- 1 C. plus 2 T. cake flour

1 square unsweetened chocolate -- 3 T. cocoa and 1 T. shortening

1 C. melted shortening -- 1 C. salad oil (may not be substituted for solid shortening)

1 C. milk -- ½ C. evaporated milk and ½ C water

1 C. Sour milk or buttermilk -- 1 T lemon juice or vinegar and enough fresh milk to measure 1 C. (let stand 5 minutes before using)

1 C. heavy cream -- 2/3 C. milk and 1/3 C. butter

1 C. heavy cream, whipped -- 2/3 C. well-chilled evaporated milk, whipped

1 tsp. baking powder -- 1/4 tsp. baking soda plus 1 tsp. cream of tartar

Sugar -- Equal amount of brown sugar (it will result in a slight molasses flavor)

Superfine sugar -- Process regular granulated sugar in your blender

1 C. Honey -- 1 ¼ C. sugar and ¼ C. water

Catsup -- 1 C. tomato sauce, plus 1 ¼ C. brown sugar, 2 T. vinegar, ¼ tsp cinnamon and a dash of ground cloves and allspice

Bread Crumbs -- Use crushed corn or wheat flakes, or other dry cereal

1 C. butter -- 7/8 C. solid shortening plus ½ tsp. salt

1 C. corn syrup -- ¼ C. of water plus 1 C. sugar

One egg shy in a recipe that calls for many? Use 1 tsp. cornstarch for the last egg

No fresh herbs or spices? Use 1/3 the amount of dried herbs or spices


It's pretty easy to see how a substitution list like this could come in handy. The good news is, as of today, there are still copies available of the Favorite Recipes of Good Shepherd Parish of Martha's Vineyard Cookbook. For $15 plus shipping, it's a great buy -- jam packed with recipes as well as a ton of helpful household hints like these substitutions, tips for staying organized, food fun kid's crafts and more. You can secure your copy by calling the parish center at 508.693.0342.

Now if only I had checked this out before the great Whipped Cream Form Cake blunder!

Lessons Learned: Is All-Purpose Flour Really All-Purpose?

You know that saying about, "The best-laid plans of mice and men??" Well, yesterday my best-laid plan resulted in a baker's lesson learned.

My contribution to our Mother's Day dinner was to be dessert, and I thought it would be nice to make something special from my Gram's Recipe Box. Only problem was, I really hadn't tried very many of her cake recipes to know what would be good, nor did I have a ton of time to start experimenting. I needed to make something relatively quickly with the ingredients I had on hand.

Mrs. Boehler's Whipped Cream Form Cake caught my eye. It was a pretty basic recipe, dated May 1924 -- and as I read it, I had images of a light, airy white cake that would be nice served with whipped cream and berries. I had all the ingredients on hand (or so I thought), so I proceeded with great optimism. After all, a recipe from 1924 that's still around in 2009 had to be pretty good, right?

I whipped the cream, beat the eggs, added the sugar and vanilla -- and then paused when I got to the line that said add 1 and 3/4 cup cake flour. What follows is the stream of thoughts that went through my mind over the course of the next hour.

While Preparing the Batter

Hmmm....cake flour? ....Is that different than all-purpose flour? ...No, cake flour is just what they called it back in 1924.....right?...Why would they call it 'All-purpose' flour if it couldn't be used for all-purposes?....it will be fine.

After Putting into Tube Pan

....Yeah...it looks fine....batter tastes good....hmmm....batter doesn't really fill the tube pan. ...no worries, it will rise when it bakes.

30 Minutes Later

Why isn't this cake rising at all? ....hmmmm, maybe cake flour has some kind of leavening agent in it?

As the Oven Timer Was Buzzing

Interesting...it didn't rise very much...Cake tester comes out clean so I guess it baked ok....Good Lord this cake weighs a ton. I think I better stop at the grocery store and pick up an Angel Food cake....arghhh...that's what I get for trying something new.

Well, I did stop at the store to pick up an Angel Food cake, but Mrs. Boehler's recipe wasn't a complete failure. Everyone who tried it agreed that the flavor was good -- some even liked the consistency that was like an extra-dense pound cake or slightly under-baked shortbread.

Lessons Learned

1. In retrospect I probably should have realized that a recipe that called for 1 cup of heavy cream would be a heavy cake -- whether that cream is whipped or not.

2. I also should have taken 2 minutes to slow down and investigate the difference between cake flour and all-purpose flour. It turns out that there is a difference (although I'm still not sure what it is) --but it turns out, the fix is a breeze. If a recipe calls for 1 cup of cake flour and you only have all-purpose -- you just need to reduce the amount used to 7/8 cup. How easy is that?

3. Even when your recipe is botched you can never go wrong when whipped cream and mixed berries are a part of your dessert!

Stay tuned tomorrow for the actual recipe -- and later in the week for other great "in the kitchen" substitutions.