Yesterday I intercepted a question left on the Contact page at Shenanchie’s Kitchen. Since I don’t receive comment notifications from this source, I have to check out the page every few days. Someone write asking me what would be an oil substitute for use in a cake:

Your website is the really cute. I love the attention to the back ground and other details. I wish you had a list of substitutions. I need to make a cake but I am out of Veg oil, can I use applesauce in place of it? Or can I use olive oil?

Frankly, I have never thought of using a substitute for oil in cakes, but it stands to reason some people might want an alternative. I did some browsing and found the following bits of information:

If you don't have oil for your recipe you can use yogurt (typically non-fat); flavored or not. Substitute the same amount of yogurt for oil. Example - recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups oil use 1 1/2 cups yogurt. Cakes apparently come out nicely moist.

Here's another tip from Chef Mom:

In most baked goods, you can substitute applesauce (or fruit puree) in place of up to half of the oil in order to reduce the fat content. For example, if the recipe calls for 1/2 cup of oil, use 1/4 cup oil and 1/4 cup applesauce.

 

Baking with Olive Oil:

Using olive oil in baking sweets or breads can dramatically reduce the saturated fat and cholesterol in your recipes. You will actually use less olive oil than you would other fats. Try olive oil instead of butter in breads, pizzas, brownies, biscotti and cakes.

 

The question of substitutes leads me to wonder if I should add such a page to Shenanchie’s Kitchen; a listing of substitutes for a variety of ingredients in all sorts of dishes. It might require some research, but I think it would be a valuable addition to the site. It bears some thinking about; I credit the reader’s comments for inspiring me (as well as her kind word about the design at Shenanchie’s Kitchen).