I love baking non-dairy desserts. Most recipes I come across are dairy, though. So I challenge myself to develop perfect non-dairy versions. Sometimes turning a recipe from dairy to dairy-free is as simple as replacing the butter with margarine. But unfortunately, that doesn’t always work. When developing a recipe, I never start from scratch. I always take an existing, tried and true, recipe and tweak it. I try to look for recipes that don’t need too much changing. I prefer to try and change two ingredients or less. For example, if a recipe calls for butter, milk, and sour cream, I usually stay away from it.
General Substitutions
In order to tweak a recipe, you always need to replace the dairy ingredient with an equivalent non-dairy ingredient.
- Butter is a fat so it needs to be replaced with another fat like margarine, vegetable shortening or oil.
- Milk can usually be substituted with soy milk.
- Buttermilk has a little zing to it so it should be substituted with an equal amount of soy milk plus a teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice.
- Sour cream should be replaced with an equal amount of tofutti sour cream.
Cookies
Here is my usual cookie process. If a cookie recipe calls for butter, I try replacing it with an equal amount of margarine. Sometimes it works out and I do a little cheer! If the cookies spread too much, I will chill the dough sufficiently before baking and try again. If the cookies still spread too much I start over. This time I replace the butter with half margarine and half vegetable shortening. Vegetable shortening is a little more solid at room temperature than margarine so it usually helps to give cookies a nice shape.
Cakes
For cake batter I usually replace butter with equal amounts of margarine or vegetable oil. Since cake gets baked in a pan, I don’t worry about it holding its shape in the oven. The milk gets replaced with soy milk. I usually have success with most recipes.
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Challenges and My New Secret Weapon
My toughest challenge is tackling yellow cake. I have yet to develop the perfect non-dairy yellow cake recipe. I’ve come close but I’m still not satisfied with the results. Butter and milk are really the main ingredients giving dairy yellow cake its perfect flavor and texture. The one trick I have up my sleeve is pudding mix. I tried adding a packet of instant vanilla pudding mix to my typical non-dairy recipe and was so pleased! Then I started wondering what other recipes would be improved with pudding mix.
I added a packet of instant vanilla pudding mix to my classic chocolate chip cookie recipe and I got a fluffy, cake-like cookie. The pudding mix seems to stabilize the cookies and retain the moisture. I already have a perfect non-dairy chocolate cake recipe but it yields a pretty soft cake. I need a firmer cake for stacking tiered cakes. I added a packet of chocolate pudding mix and voila! Magic ingredient! I am hoping that instant pudding mix will work in many more recipes because the biggest struggle in changing a recipe from dairy to lactose free is keeping the texture. If pudding mix can help with that, then I will be a very happy baker. My secret is out!
Here is an example of how I converted a recipe for Red Velvet Cake.
You can see that all I had to do was replace the buttermilk with soy milk and extra vinegar. The results were fantastic. Enjoy the full recipe for my Non Dairy Red Velvet Cake.
Great site – thanks
Hi! Thanks for doing all the work figuring out the substitutions! One question, though. You said you use pudding mix in cakes, but isn’t that a dairy product? Or is it just the milk you have to add that makes it dairy? for some reason, I thought it had milk solids in it, like instant milk, or something.
Thanks again,
I haven’t tried it, but its a great tip! I will check it out.
Vanilla extract is already non-dairy, but if you are out of it, you can use other extracts or just leave it out. It won’t affect the texture, just yield a different flavor.
Often times vinegar is a good replacement for eggs. Look out for vegan recipes.
Yes! They have all worked well for me in most recipes.
I usually use Fleishmanns margarine, the original, not the butter flavored. It has no dairy but it does have soy. I’ve been switching over to earth balance buttery sticks lately, they are a vegan alternative that I really like!
Quick question… What kind of margarine do you use? I’m on a dairy free diet due to breastfeeding a HIGHLY dairy sensitive baby and the margarine I have (country crock) has whey in it which is derived from dairy……
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I am truly surprised that no one has suggested baking with orange juice. My mother converted her mother’s pound cake recipe from milk to orange juice,and 3 generations have been making this wonderful cake ever since. I bake bran muffins regularly, and use either orange juice or apple juice. I also have a great recipe for a one-bowl chocolate cake that uses mayonnaise and water, no eggs,and has a wonderful soft texture and great taste!
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Signed up for recipe of the day…l use substitutions often.
we don’t drink cow’s milk, but instead use coconut,almond or soy milk. can any or all of these be substituted for cow’s milk in baking?
jagar0047 at yahoo dot com
Signed up for recipe of the day. I have found that Earth’s best butter replacement holds up better than most margarines. I’ve been reading a lot about using avocado as a butter replacement have you tried this?
I have been getting the recipe of the day and I really enjoy the mailings. I would love to learn more about substitutes in baking!!
Here’s a link to a recipe for marshmallow fondant. I’ve made it a couple of times and its easy to make and work with.
http://candy.about.com/od/fondantcandyrecipes/r/mm_fondant.htm
Love the tips. Do you know of any for egg substitutes?
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I’m subscribed to the Recipe of the Day… and I love the buttermilk substitution tip. I use soymilk all the time, but I didn’t know what to do about buttermilk! Thank you!
nutmeg and a ‘little’ brown sugar.
Great tips!!
What is a good substitute for vanilla extract?
Thanks!
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Wanted to say I generally prefer both almond and coconut milk over soy milk for both taste and health issues. i try to go non-soy wherever I can so that when it *has* to be soy, I don’t have to worry about how much of it is in my diet.
I really like to use cinnamon in my baking, but what can I use to get that type of flavor as a substitute when I run out?
Is there a suitable substitute for garlic?
brich22 at earthlink dot net
What if a recipe call for cream, I often don’t have it on hand, any substitutions I can use?
If a recipe calls for shrimp or pork, is it cut and dry to use something like chicken?
p.s I am Tam S. 😉