Running low on baking items? These simple swaps will use up store cupboard ingredients, avoiding another run to the shops...
Short of eggs?
For recipes that use eggs for moisture and binding such as cookies and brownies try one of the following:
- About ¼ cup = 1 large egg
- Pureed avocado
- Mashed banana
- Mashed sweet potatoes or squash
- Mayonnaise – which is made with egg
- Milled flax seeds – 1 tablespoon soaked in 3 tablespoons of water for 5 minutes = 1 large egg
- Aquafaba, the liquid from a can of chickpeas that is usually drained away, can be used as an egg replacer. 3 tablespoons can substitute for 1 large egg in muffins and cookies. When chilled, it also whips up like egg white and can be made into meringue.
Wrong sugar?
If you don’t have caster sugar for baking, whizz granulated in a blender until it is finer. Whizz demerara till finer and use as soft brown sugar.
Short of flour?
If you’re short of some flour make up any difference in weight with some ground porridge oats. Put a handful or porridge oats in a blender and whizz until quite finely ground.
No piping bag?
If you want to try doing some piping on cakes, but have no piping bag, use a small plastic food bag. Spoon your icing mixture into the bag, push it towards one corner then use scissors to snip a little of the corner off.
Making cupcakes?
Top with a Fruity Buttercream Frosting. Sieve 200g icing sugar into a bowl and add 75g softened butter and 75g Bonne Maman conserve or marmalade. Gradually beat all the ingredients together until smooth. Spread or pipe onto your cakes. Any left-over frosting will freeze for the next batch of baking.
Sweet & Sour Stir Fry Sauce
Make your own sweet and sour sauce for stir-fries by mixing together:
- 2 tablespoon Bonne Maman Marmalade (any variety)
- 2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons of vinegar.
Simple Pudding
- Halve 2 apples or pears and remove the cores.
- Sit in a small ovenproof dish and put a tsp of butter into the hollow of each half.
- Sprinkle with a large pinch of ground cinnamon or ginger and add a teaspoon of Bonne Maman Conserve or Marmalade to each one.
- Finally spoon on some crumbled breakfast cereal such as granola, crushed cornflakes or puffed rice.
- Bake in the oven at 180C, 160C fan oven, gas 4 for 15-20 minutes, or until golden and bubbling.
The above image is from our Little Ice Cream Sandwiches recipe.