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 great website and love your recipes. I need to buy a piping bag and nozzle kit do you have any recommendations as there as so many to choose from.
Hi Jane! I love your website so much, you are my go to when I want to bake anything!
How do you ensure that your cakes are level every time? I find mine usually rise more in the middle. Do you use cake tin strips or how do you do it?
I don’t use anything – I have a fan oven so the heat distribution is really good! You can try baking belts, or even lower the temp of your oven and bake for longer instead!
Hello Jane!
I have only just found your website and I can’t wait to try out all the recipes ❤️. Unfortunately, I am based in Germany and won’t be able to get treacle here (at least not quickly enough before I start baking the gingerbread loaf 😂).
Do you have any advice for a substitute, please?
Much appreciated, thanks a million,
Carolyn
A golden syrup would work well!! xx
If a cake mix suggests that one box makes 2×8 inch pans, how many boxes would I need to make a 3 layer cake using a 6 inch pan thats 3 inches deep?
I’m afraid I don’t use box cake mixes so I have no idea x
Hello I’m just wondering on average how deep the cakes are mainly the mini egg one as I’m wanting to order a cake box to give it to my Nan. I just don’t know what size I’ll need to order!
Thank you!
Which mini egg one do you mean? I have a few! Either way they’re about 6-7″ tall!
Sorry the mini egg drop cake! Thank you for replying means a lot. I don’t want to order a box and it be too small. I use the same tins as yourself so would a 8” wide box be okay?
No you will want a 10″ wide box otherwise the sides of the box will squish the cake! x
Hi Jane. Thank you for sharing all your recipes, I’ve done your Terry orange and salted Caramel millionaires many times, but today I done the flapjack millionaires, please can you tell me why is the ingredients for the Caramel is different in the flapjack?
Hi, I love your various stuffed cookie recipes and they’re a huge hit with my stepson! We’ve tried them with all sorts in the middle and he wants me to make some for Christmas Eve…but with doing a full Christmas dinner as well I was wondering whether making and freezing the cookies, then baking them from frozen would affect the centres in any way? Thanks!
The cookies may need reheating slightly to get the centres gooey again, but otherwise yes they all freeze well!
hi! hope you’re well – just wanted some advice! any tips for setting the cheesecakes better i feel as if no matter how much i follow the recipe it seems to come away a bit when i take the springform sides off, is it worth putting baking paper round the tin or anything & also how best to take the cheesecake off of the tin bottom & present it/transport it, i end up just keeping it in the tin and it looks awful 😭 any tips to help it set really strongly & to present it/transport it would really be appreciated 🥰
Hey! So the perfect set is annoyingly just based on practice and getting it right – the annoying part about no-bake! You can line the sides, but sometimes it can still stick to the paper. You can use a gelatine to help it set better though and that helps! You can line the bottom of the tin as well, but again it’s hard to get off sometimes! One good trick I’ve learnt is to add a different base into the tin, so it doesn’t have the lip anymore! x
Hi there,
Firstly thank you so much for your brownie recipe – I always struggled and now they’re always delicious!
I am using a couple of your lovely recipes for Christmas gifts but would like to start now so I have plenty of time. I just wanted to ask if you’ve ever frozen your fudge recipes – I am looking at making the Baileys and biscoff ones!! Thank you so much!
Hey!! Ah yay thats amazing! So they can definitely go in the freezer – they don’t usually ever freeze completely solid because of the sugar, but they can easily go in the freezer! x
Hello! I love your website – thank you so much for all of the tasty treats 😋 . I’m making a birthday cake this weekend, your recipe uses 3 x 20cm tins but I have a deep 28cm tin I was hoping to use and cut in half. Would it be possible to tell me the amount of time I should leave the cake in for if it’s just in one bigger tin?
Many thanks xxxx
Hiya – so if you were just planning on increasing the tin size you would need to double the recipe. I’m afraid I really don’t often bake cakes that size, or with that amount of mix so I am unsure!x
Hi Jane. Id like to make your chocolate fudge cake but using 6″ pans and 4 layers. Do you know the weights of ingredients I’d need please? Many thanks
hi,
how to convert your 8 inch cake recipes to 6 inch and 2 round pans.
please reply
Hi Jane! I am wanting to create a white chocolate cake, what white chocolate do you recommend? the cooking chocolate or a branded bar like milkybar? Also which bar is best for the buttercream also?x
I usually use a cooking chocolate, or a supermarket own! x
Hi,
I really love all your recipes, I aim to try a new one once a week!
I made your mini egg cupcakes a while back and managed to get my buttercream perfect, very smooth lines when I piped the roses. On the past few cupcake attempts my buttercream roses/swirls have jagged edges but I feel like I did the exact same method as the first time. Any tips or ideas where I went wrong? Thank you
Hey! So this can happen for a few reasons – assuming you use the same brands of ingredients as well as the method, it’s often down to the temperature. If the butter is slightly colder, or slightly warmer, or the general temperature is different it can change the buttercream! x
Hello I am wanting to make your Mars cheesecake and take it to my fathers for his birthday. Thing is it will be a 3 hour car journey! Would it be okay to freeze the cheesecake whole do you think? Or would this change the taste upon defrost? Or is there some other way?
Thank you
Hey! So yes you will have to freeze it, also store it in a cool bag, and preferably with freezer blocks – as three hours is a long ol’ time! It can change the texture ever so slightly but is usually okay! x
Hi Jane,
I’m looking to do your mini egg cake for my little girls birthday minus the mini eggs. She really doesn’t like the sound of the mixer! If I made the sponge or the whole cake I can keep it in the fridge overnight can’t I? I just don’t want the sponge to dry out
I personally wouldn’t keep the sponges on their own in the fridge – they should be wrapped with clingfilm and kept at room temperature. The decorated cake should be fine in the fridge until cut though!