Fats, Sugar and Water

• Nondairy creamer doesn't lie about what it is, namely that it's not a dairy product. Liquid nondairy creamer is mostly water with added sugar in the form of corn syrup solids, usually dextrose made from cornstarch. Nondairy creamer also has a high percentage of fats in the form of partially hydrogenated soybean or cottonseed oil and mono- and di-glycerides used as emulsifying agents. The "creamer" also uses carrageenan, a seaweed extract that acts like gelatin. The closest component resembling milk in nondairy creamer is sodium caseinate, a lactose-free milk protein. Sodium caseinate provides the only real nutrients in nondairy creamer.

Caseins and Lactose in Whey

• So, if nondairy creamer can be said to be anything, it's a mixture of fats and sugar suspended in water. In contrast, milk contains fats, lactose and proteins in a watery liquid known as whey. Yet when milk is added to recipes for baked goods and put in an oven, amazing and delicious chemical reactions take place.

Milk Strengthens Baked Goods

• Milk strengthens baked goods because its proteins coagulate in the oven's heat to give structure along with flour and eggs. The liquid portion of milk dissolves salt and sugar as it hydrates all the other dry ingredients. When heated in the oven, milk gives off steam to help the mixture rise. Milk also aids leaveners, such as baking soda and baking powder, to produce carbon dioxide gas, which gives more lift to baked goods.

Milk Products Add Benefits

• Besides milk's crucial functions, dairy products that come from milk benefit baked goods as well. Buttermilk and sour cream contribute acid that tenderizes the gluten in wheat flour, resulting in a finer texture, known as "crumb," to cakes. Cream cheese, sour cream and buttermilk give more flavor and moisture, so that cakes baked with any of these ingredients last longer. Sour cream and cream cheese also add richness that gives cakes a delicious "mouth feel" along with moist springiness.

Don't Gamble the Results

• Nondairy creamer has no ability to produce any of milk's chemical reactions, which are essential to the baking process. The one instance where nondairy creamer might be used is in making frosting, but even then you'd be gambling with the frosting's taste and consistency. However much it may look like milk, using nondairy creamer instead of milk in a cake or other baked good probably would result in a flat, tasteless mess that no one would want to eat.