Helpful Tips
This page is designed to be able to help those of you who don’t work in grams, or if you just need some help converting ingredients, weights, ingredients or temperatures etc! I myself have ALWAYS worked in grams, so forgive me if my conversions on my recipes are a little off, but hopefully this will help
Vegan Baking Swaps
- Milks – Instead of dairy milk, I prefer to use almond, soy or other nut milks – it’s a straight 1:1 swap.
- Creams – There are some good alternatives now, you just need to make sure they are full fat alternatives. Or, coconut cream works well.
- Buttermilk – add 20 ml of lemon juice to a dairy free milk to make a homemade vegan buttermilk.
- Soured cream/yoghurt – any vegan full-fat yoghurt works, typically with a coconut base
- Butter – you want to find a dairy free alternative that is as firm as possible. Spreads should be avoided if possible as the oil content is higher to make it softer.
- Eggs – 1 tbsp flax seeds or chia seeds with 3 tbsps of water makes a good alternative to replace eggs in some bakes. 60g of applesauce, half a mashed ripe banana, or 3 tbsps of aquafaba are also good swaps.
- Chocolates – there are many good swaps out there, but some plain chocolate are naturally vegan so check the labels
- Honey – maple syrup works wonders, or golden syrup
- Cheese – I have often made my savoury dishes vegan using straight swaps. Nutritional yeast is lovely to add to a cheesy dish as it brings the cheesy flavour, on top of using a vegan cheese alternative.
- Meat – you can find some brilliant vegan meat alternatives out there now such as fake chicken, sausages etc, and these all work well. Mushrooms make a brilliant swap for a more meaty texture, as well as pressed tofu and tempeh.
Gluten Free Baking Swaps
- Flours – Most flours have gluten free alternatives now, and they work well. The texture can vary slightly, but xanthan gum is a useful addition.
- Pasta – rice and lentil based pastas are often gluten free, but the gluten free pasta options work perfectly.
- Xanthan Gum – it can vary, but a good start is about ¼ tsp of xantham gum per 150g of flour.
- Custard powder – this can help like xanthan gum as well. As it has a cornflour base, it works wonders. I add 50g of custard powder to a cupcake mix, and 100g to a cake mix
- Biscuits – Again, the swaps work perfectly. Add butter to biscuits slower for a biscuit base as some may need slightly less to make a good biscuit base.
- Cornflour – some bakes such as cupcakes can be improved by using cornflour. A lot of custard powders contain just cornflour and are gluten free – custard powder can improve the texture of a bake tenfold.
Cooking Temperature Conversion Table
Fahrenheit to Celcius (F to C)
500 F = 260 C = 240C Fan = Gas Mark 10
465 F = 240 C = 220C Fan = Gas Mark 9
445 F = 230 C = 210C Fan = Gas Mark 8
425 F = 220 C = 200C Fan = Gas Mark 7
400 F = 200 C = 180C Fan = Gas Mark 6
375 F = 190 C = 170C Fan = Gas Mark 5
350 F = 180 C = 160C Fan = Gas Mark 4
325 F = 160 C = 140C Fan = Gas Mark 3
300 F = 150 C = 130C Fan = Gas Mark 2
285 F = 140 C = 120C Fan = Gas Mark 1
250 F = 120 C = 100C Fan = Gas Mark 1/2
Weight Conversion Tables
Cups, Tablespoons and Teaspoons to Millitiers (cup to ml)
1 cup = 16 tablespoons = 48 teaspoons = 240 ml
3/4 cup = 12 tablespoons = 36 teaspoons = 180 ml
2/3 cup = 11 tablespoons = 32 teaspoons = 160 ml
1/2 cup = 8 tablespoons = 24 teaspoons = 120 ml
1/3 cup = 5 tablespoons = 16 teaspoons = 80 ml
1/4 cup = 4 tablespoons = 12 teaspoons = 60 ml
1 tablespoon = 15 ml
1 teaspoon = 5 ml
Cups to Fluid Ounces (cup to fl. oz)
1 cup = 8 fl oz
3/4 cup = 6 fl oz
2/3 cup = 5 fl oz
1/2 cup = 4 fl oz
1/3 cup = 3 fl oz
1/4 cup = 2 fl oz
1 tablespoon = 0.5 fl oz
1 fl oz = 2 tablespoons = 6 teaspoons
Ounces to Grams
1 oz = 28 grams
2 oz = 56 grams
3.5 oz = 100 grams
4 oz = 112 grams
5 oz = 140 grams
6 oz = 168 grams
8 oz = 225 grams
9 oz = 250 grams
10 oz = 280 grams
12 oz = 340 grams
16 oz = 450 grams
18 oz = 500 grams
20 oz = 560 grams
24 oz = 675 grams
27 oz = 750 grams
36 oz = 1 kilogram
54 oz = 1,5 kilograms
72 oz = 2 kilograms
Pounds to Grams
1/4 pound = 112 grams
1/2 pound = 225 grams
3/4 pound = 340 grams
1 pound = 450 grams
1,25 pound = 560 grams
1,5 pound = 675 grams
2 pound = 900 grams
2,25 pound = 1 kilogram
3 pound = 1,35 kilograms
4,5 pound = 2 kilograms
Ingredients – This demonstrates how different 1 cup of different ingredients can weigh!
Flour – 1 cup = 140g
Butter – 1 cup = 2 sticks = 8oz = 230g
Granulated Sugar – 1 cup = 200g
Brown Sugar – 1 cup = 220g
Cocoa – 1 cup = 105g
Icing Sugar – 1 cup = 160g
Yoghurt – 1 cup = 235g
Milk – 1 cup = 245g
Cream – 1 cup = 245g
Sugar Temperature Conversion
Thread = 107C/225F
Softball = 119C/238F
Firmball = 125C/256F
Hardball = 138C/280
Soft Crack = 151C/304F
Hard Crack = 168C/336F
Cake Tin Sizes
Round Tins = Square Tins
6 inch/15cm = 5 inch/13cm
8 inch/20cm = 7 inch/18cm
9 inch/23cm = 8 inch/20cm
11 inch/28cm = 10inch/25.5cm
HI Jane
Love your site and instagram page!
I wanted to ask I dont like adding too much sugar but if I reduce the amount does in affect the other ingredients?
If so, how would I go about reducing sugar in baking?
Yes, changing a recipe can have an effect on the recipe. A recipe is designed to use all ingredients specified. I don’t do reduced sugar baking, sorry.
Hi Jane do you use stork ( in the tub for your cakes) and the block for biscuits ? Love love LOVE your recipes thank you
I use either stork often, but only when specified – if I write unsalted butter I mean actual butter (such as for buttercream, you need to use actual butter). I tend to stick to the tub stork in general though!
If I wanted to make half a batch of cupcakes and a recipe for 13 cupcakes says 3 eggs, how many should I used?. And if I wanted to bake three cakes at once to make a three tier, will they all cook at different speeds? If so what do you do or would you recommend ? .
You have to stick to a 1 egg mix, or 2 egg, or 3 egg. So you’ll either get 4, or 8, or 12 cupcakes out of it. And I’m not 100% sure what you mean… do you mean tiered like a wedding cake or three layers of one cake?
Hi, i’ve already made your gin and tonic loaf cake and it was amazing! Probably the best cake i’ve baked. I want to make the biscoff cake for my sisters birthday, i only have 2 8″ tins so went to buy some more but realised the ones i have are sort of slanted on the edges so the cake is never going to be quite even when stacking, is this normal? And what are the best sandwhich tins for baking cakes? Thanks
Ahh that’s so lovely! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! The baking tins I use for cakes are either PME tins from amazon, or the cheaper ones from Asda! I’ve bought £4 ones before that are 8cm with a loose bottom from Asda and they’ve been great!
Hi jane
Could you please tell what actual size piping nozzle you use as mine are too small and I’ve been out looking for 1 today but haven’t a clue on the size! Thanks
Most posts have the exact piping tips linked – I buy them all from Iced Jems.
Hello my lovely, I came across your website a few weeks ago and it is the best discovery i’ve made, a real hidden treasure!!
I’ve always struggled with getting cakes to stay moist and to decorate them properly so they don’t look like a tipped over trifle… Your pictures and decorations are incredible, did you sit a class or is it a matter of trial and error?
I love your blog, my little secret when baking for the family! x
Thank you Jane
I will look them up!
I am managing your cheesecake cream piping with what I have but I’m pretty sure they are not big enough..
Nicola x
Hi Jane
Absolutely love your recipes, have tried out a few now with great success. I am looking for a bit of advice from you! I am planning to do bright coloured cake pops for my sons birthday and thought about using white chocolate for dipping but I am unsure how to colour white chocolate. The last time I tried adding the regular bottles of food colouring bought in the supermarkets it went all thick and grainy.
Hiya! Yes, basically, supermarket food colours suck. You need to use gel/oil colours such as Sugarflair, Wilton or Progel – you can get them in places like Hobbycraft, or on amazon! You need to use such a small amount to colour, that it doesn’t tend to affect the chocolate. Alternatively, you can use candy melts, that are already bright colours!
Thanks for replying Jane, will have a practice soon and see how I get on! Tried your vanilla cake at the weekend, very yummy!!
Hi Jane! I hope you don’t mind me asking I’ve recently bought a new oven and I can’t seem to work out the best setting for baking average sponge cakes they don’t taste as nice as normal and seem to take 1 hour and a half if not more to cook, so I was just wondering what the best setting is to bake a sponge cake please? Your cakes always look amazing and I love your recipes too!
Hiya! It depends entirely on your oven – which one do you have? I have a fan oven, so use the fan setting at 160C x
Thank you for replying! It is a hoover oven it has a fan, but has lots of different settings –
Fan cooking
Conventional cooking
Fan and lower element
Pizza
And eco setting.
My old oven was the best on one called soft cook but I’m not sure which is best for this one!
I would just go for the fan cooking I guess?! Try a Victoria sponge recipe, and at 160C it should only take 25-30 minutes or so to bake if you use a 250g ratio recipe! (250g flour, sugar, butter and 5 medium eggs) x
Okay I will give it a go! Thank you for your help it’s much appreciated! x
Hi Jane me again. I want to invest in a stand mixer can you recommend any? I don’t want to spend an absolute fortune but mine is a bit to basic
Price rank wise, a cheaper one I’d recommend Vonshef, a Middle range I’d recommend Kenwood, and top range I’d recommend Kitchenaid!
I recently discovered Biscoff spread, then days later discovered your recipe for Biscoff cake and Biscoff brownies, and… oh my gosh… as soon as the shops opened the next day I shot down to get the ingredients and made the brownies for my flatmates and I. Cannot express my love for the recipe, it was a big hit, thank you!!!
Biscoff is the best!!
Hi Jane.
Love making your cakes and want to start baking for family more. Where do you get your cake tins from? Last time I made your 3 tier salted caramel cake I only had 1 tin so had to repeat over and over which was very time consuming. Also what nossle for icing on the cake do you recommend as mine are all plastic and seem cheap and don’t work well
The tins I use for cakes tend to be the cheap 8″/20cm ones from Asda (that are deep, not the cake sandwich tins) that were £4 each last time I bought them! Nozzle wise, I can’t recommend the ones from Iced Jems enough – here’s a link to them https://bit.ly/2DtRN49
Thanks Jane, are the tins the ones where the base comes out? Worried it will get stuck otherwise.
Hiya! Yeah the cheap asda ones have loose bottoms! x
You have lovely recipes, I recently made the billionaire tart which was very tasty. Just need to ask that the base was too hard almost rock solid. I used 300 grams of biscuits with cocoa and 150gram of butter as per recipe. Do you have any suggestions? Thank you
Hiya! It might be that you actually pressed down on it slightly too much, but you can also reduce the butter slightly, but it will make it more crumbly.