Fat's Role

• Fats and oil in baked goods adds flavor and improves the texture in baked goods. Many vegetable oils have no or little flavor, with the exception of olive oil. Butter has a distinct taste when used in baked goods that many people enjoy. The butter adds a richness to the cupcakes and fat in baked goods generally inhibits the development of the gluten in flour, increasing the tenderness of the finished product.

Type to Use

• When you need to substitute butter for oil in cupcakes, the best kind to use is unsalted butter. Cooking oil has no salt in it, and using salted butter adds extra salt to the recipe. Butter makers do not disclose how much salt they put in butter, making it difficult to know how much to reduce the amount of added salt. Tasting cake batter is risky since raw eggs can transmit e-coli or salmonella bacteria. The amount of water in butter varies; the better brands have less water in the butter and, since you have to remove the water, you use less butter by buying the best brand you can find.

Preparation

• Plan to use about 25 percent more butter than oil, since most butter has at least that much water in it. Drawing out the water from butter involves heating it slowly in a frying pan, or in the top of a double boiler, to ensure gentle heat. Three layers form. When the butter melts and heats, the water in it floats to the top and bubbles. The middle layer is actually the butter and the bottom layer contains the solids. Once the top layer evaporates, pour the butter into a measuring cup, straining it through a sieve or coffee filter to capture the milk solids. When adding the butter to the cupcake recipe, make sure it is melted, not solid, and that all the other ingredients are at room temperature.

Storage

• If you have leftover clarified or drawn butter, you can store it in a clean container in a cool dry place or in the refrigerator. Because the water has been removed, the butter keeps better than unprocessed butter. Water in food breeds bacterial growth, which is why dehydrated food lasts longer, compared to fresh food. As long as the container and any utensils used to remove the butter from the container are clean, the butter should last for months.