Substitutions

• Baking mix producers have taken much of the mystery out of making cakes and other pastries. Short of adding too much of the wet ingredients that most cake mixes require, there isn't much you can do to ruin them. This flexibility extends to the type of fats in the form of butter, shortening or lard, that you can safely substitute for the oil necessary to prepare the mix. Whatever substitute you choose, including melted shortening, it should equal the exact amount of the oil called for on the package directions.

How Shortening Works

• All fats work with flour to shorten or tenderize the dough or batter. When added to dry ingredients, such as a cake mix, the fat, including oil or melted shortening, coats the protein molecules found in the flour, keeping them separate and producing gluten in the process. Unlike in breads or other baked goods that don't contain shortening, the fat added to a cake mix causes the gluten to develop into short strands, hence the name given all fats used in baking.

Preparing the Mix

• Packaged cake preparation generally involves pouring the mix into a large bowl in which ingredients can be easily and completely combined. Making a small well, or indentation in the dry mix, creates a place where the liquids, including oil, eggs and water, can be added. You can then use a whisk, hand mixer or a large spoon to blend the ingredients until no lumps remain and the batter is smooth. Blending with a whisk or mixer usually takes about 2 to 3 minutes, while most package directions advise stirring 200 to 300 times with a spoon. Most batters lighten during blending, which is another way to determine when they are ready to bake.

Considerations

• Substituting melted shortening in an equal amount for oil called for in a cake mix produces no alteration in taste or texture, as shortening is simply the solidified form of vegetable fat. Produced from animal fats, lard is lower in saturated fats than butter, but because of its chemical make-up, it sometimes produces a cake with a coarser grain or texture. Melted butter also has no apparent effect on the texture of a cake, but it does contribute its characteristic rich buttery taste to the batter.