Hi everyone,
We've got a bit of a conundrum. We've been struggling to find an oil for baking cakes and sweets that is actually flavourless. I don't mean scientifically flavourless, I mean at least for a cake the main thing you smell / taste is *not* the oil.
We generally have this Zurich or Luzerne Rapsoel at home, and now we just tried sunflower seed oil from co-op, and the cakes literally coming out smelling and tasting like ... a field.
What do people do for oil? Also important to note: we're not using litres of oil, half a cup is enough to impact a cake.
I use butter. I've never found an oil that doesn't impart at least some flavor, and for me the texture is always nicer with butter.
I generally use butter, coconut oil (a good replacement for shortening) and canola (Rapsoel, huile de colza), sunflower or very very mild olive oil. There can be some taste/scent but the important thing is flavoring your cake well.
You can get Rapsoel at COOP see
here
Is this one you can recommend for a tasteless experience? We used this https://www.coopathome.ch/de/superma...?refCat=m_0140 (and the equivalent Zurich bottle) and it is strooooong.
Do you use regular butter or Kochbutter? I never tried Kochbutter, I wonder how it differs. I think we'll try that next time.
The more processed Rapsoel, (as in Markarina's post) has less taste than the more "natural" version, (as in the OP's link).
It might still be too "strong" for you. In salads, it has almost no character.
Good luck
I've used kochbutter, it seems the same as regular to be honest, just in a larger quantity. The only key for me is to make sure it's NOT salted butter when I am baking.
I tend to do half batches of a recipe first to see how it works out, so most of the time I only buy 100 g of butter. I like the Floralp brand, it somehow tastes better to me.
How you use the butter depends on the recipe. Sometimes it's better melted, sometimes just soft/room temp, and sometimes still a bit cold.
Honest answer is that I don't use much oil in baking so couldn't really say, recipes I tend to use call for butter usually.
Could it be matter of how much you use, rather than what?
I realise you've mentioned your measurement, and half a cup sounds reasonable if the recipe calls for it, but if everything (taking you more or less literally there) tastes of the butter/oil you used maybe that should be taken as a hint?
Maybe, not a professional baker over here
This recipe was 3 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup buttermilk, 1 packet vanilla sugar, 3 eggs, 1/2 cup oil (for the doughy part, then on top it was strawberries and blueberries with a crumble), doesn't seem like its too unreasonable? But I would try it (in a half portion, a lot was made) with butter to compare.
Thanks for all the help so far.
I use olive oil and honestly the last moelleux au chocolate were divine (plain dark chocolate, some coffee, rhum and a tad of cinnamon, too). Could be that you just know about your oil flavor so you taste it a lot, based on your expectations? That's a pretty normal cognitive trick we play on ourself. Just take it as an experiment, use less oil and more whatever liquid your fridge has (milk, orange juice if fruity dessert, coffee if chocolatey dessert), or larger eggs.
I miss my kitchen times
I don't know the recipe, but if you decide to swap butter, you'll probably want to melt it and then let it cool a bit before proceeding. You don't want the hot butter to scramble the eggs when you mix them in.
Alternatively you can cream softened butter and sugar together with a hand mixer and then continue with the recipe.
Let us know how it goes. 3 cups of flour sounds like a big cake!
Butter, Marlon Brando uses it too
I think that is the advice to follow. It will just give you more buttery taste
btw. who still bakes with vegetable fats in times of plenty? if not going for some special taste?
Vegans?
Then again, they wouldn't use buttermilk either so...
oh yes, I forgot about "them". But even than, it's usually coconut fat, no?
btw, the recipe sounds like the base of cupcake? And OP it's completely unfair if you don't share full recipe and photos of result.
Or just make cakes that have olive oil as part of the recipes. That’s what I do.
In general I find the cheaper the oil the more neutral it is since it generally has been more processed.
I love olive oil cake with almonds and oranges. Otherwise honestly between butter and coconut oil I rarely use the oils in baking anymore. For the recipe you posted I would try creaming butter and sugar as already suggested.
Good luck!
I didn't say it wasn't but since the OP was asking where he could get it, out of the goodness of my heart I supplied him with the information