Butter Brands

Have been looking for another brand of unsalted butter, Tesco used to do one I think but don't think it was any cheaper than Avenmore. I find the unsalted butter pretty expensive because I use a lot but have started to use regular salted butter lately in recipes where you have to go and add a pinch of salt anyway so I think it's all the one really except on things like banoffees where there's a lot of salt in digestives so I find adding salted butter ruins it makes it way too salty.

I have used Dairygold in the past to substitute but I find in things like butter cookies and some cakes that the real butter is best esp. in fairy cakes/cup cakes.

Have started using the Aldi brand of real butter because it's cheaper it has a decent flavour to it it's real Irish butter so same diff. really.

I use margarine (usually Stork) for sponge cakes.

The main reasons for using unsalted instead of salted butter are that brands of salted butter have varying amounts of salt added, so there's no standard amount. Using unsalted butter eliminates the risk of adding too much salt to a recipe.

Also, using salted butter in some recipes adds too much salt, as Sigma Force said for example, in cheesecake/banoffee bases, when you're using already salty biscuits. In applications like buttercreams as well, where you're using a lot of butter, salted butter can ruin the taste.

Unsalted butter can be tasted to test if it's fresh, whereas salted can easily mask off flavours. Butter in Ireland is typically 82% butter fat, 16% water and 2% salt/milk solids. The amount of butterfat has an effect on the recipe. Anything 82% or over is good in baking application.

Président is an excellent brand of unsalted butter. I used to use Avonmore until I discovered it. Dairy spreads don't work the same way in baking when used instead of butter; the ingredients, composition and texture are completely different, so shouldn't be used.

And the reason margarine is better than butter for sponges is that when using the creaming method (blending fat and sugar until light and creamy) margarine works best, giving the best texture over butter. A 50/50 blend of margarine/butter also works, to get the structural benefits from the margarine and the flavour from the butter.

In things like pound cakes and Madeira, where there are so few ingredients that they've no-where to hide, using butter for its superior flavour over margarine is ideal.

Whereas in some sponges where you're adding extra flavours, e.g. jam and cream in victoria sandwich cake, having a prominent butter taste can drown out those other flavours. A nice "neutral" flavour from using margarine is best in this instance. Also, margarine gives a finer, more absorbent crumb, which is useful if you intend using a cake soaking syrup.

Has anybody used other stuff like veg oil you would usually fry with, I notice most commercial cakes or biscuits will have veg oil.

I was also wondering about coconut oil, many people in the nutrition & diet forum are looking for ways to eat the oil as it is regarded as very healthy by some. I have used it in batter in a waffle maker before.

You can get light olive oil which has less flavour than most standard veg oils for frying.

I use sunflower oil in banana breads and they always turn out nummy.
Have a thing about veg oil though dunno why always picture a heart attack on the bottle which is silly when butter is probably as unhealthy but then again all that goes out the window when baking and veg oil can improve a recipe (and roast spuds).

Must look out for other brands of unsalted butter even lidl and aldi near us don't sell it which is a bummer.

Lornen wrote: »

I didn't realise it wasn't usual to use oil with cakes.. Is it?

I don't bake much but I never saw it in recipie books, most were oldish books though. Might have seen it in a flapjack recipie.

It is common in storebought stuff, thats where I have seen it a lot.

Your veg oils would be unsalted and far cheaper. Looking on tesco, unsalted avonmore is €6.97/kg, while veg oil is as low as 1.50/litre, a litre being about a kilo. Could make a difference if cooking for cakes sales or something.

Lard is 1.40 per kilo, I have seen coconut cakes using lard.

Butter & marg would be solid at room temp, so I figure this is why cakes made with veg oil would be more moist being left at room temp.

Coconut oil is a strange one, it starts to solidify at ~25C. They are meant to use it in cinemas as it gives it a buttery sort of taste, your hands would heat it enough to make it liquid.

butter is probably as unhealthy

I have seen many posts in the nutrition forum warning against frying with veg oil as it turns into nasty byproducts, while others like coconut oil and lard are more stable at high temps. Not sure how hot cakes actually get when baking.