Cómo sustituir la mantequilla por aceite en un pastel
La mantequilla ha tenido muy mala reputación en los últimos años. Tampoco voy a elogiarla nutricionalmente, pero creo que es perfectamente aceptable comerla, siempre que sea de buena calidad y se consuma con moderación, sin excesos, y obviamente, sin tener una condición médica que justifique no comerla.
Butter has had a very bad reputation these past few years. I'm not going to praise it nutritionally either, but I do think it's perfectly fine to eat, as long as it's good quality and consumed in moderation, without overindulging, and obviously, without having a medical condition that justifies not eating it. It's true that butter faces stiff competition from extra virgin olive oil, since our liquid gold is a product with extraordinary health benefits.
The answer to the question of whether you can substitute oil for butter in a cake or muffin with good results is… it depends. Here are some tips on how to do it.
Examine the recipe for a cake you like. If you see that it contains butter, pay attention to the preparation process. There are usually three typical cases:
If you want to change it to improve the nutritional properties, I understand that the change should always be to extra virgin olive oil. It's true that certain varieties of extra virgin olive oil are stronger than others and less suitable for this type of baking. The Arbequina and Hojiblanca varieties are ideal. Don't confuse this with those olive oils that have the word "mild" on their packaging: these are usually not extra virgin, but refined oil mixed with virgin oil, and they won't have all the properties you benefit from when using extra virgin, pure olive juice. In my early days as a baker, I used sunflower oil for both frying doughnuts and making some cakes, but I don't use it anymore. This decision is a personal one.
If a recipe calls for 100 grams of butter, you can substitute 85 grams of extra virgin olive oil. The rule is simple: reduce the amount by 15%. Note: I always give measurements in grams because it's easier for me to weigh all the ingredients on the scale than to weigh them separately and measure the liquids separately.
I never use margarine. There are detractors and supporters of this product. I don't know enough about its specifics, beyond what you can find in nutrition articles, to advise against using it. You can imagine that on the margarine manufacturers' own websites they present it as a fantastic product.
No. You can get very good results with cakes and muffins, some cookies work well with the change, but puff pastries, croissants and brioches among others do not work without butter.
In any case, the important thing is to keep trying. Good results are refined through experimentation. Nothing will be so disastrous that it will discourage you from continuing to investigate!
