Can you replace cream of tartar with baking powder?

You cannot directly replace cream of tartar with baking powder. They serve different purposes in baking.

Cream of Tartar is an acidic ingredient that:

* Stabilizes egg whites: It helps to create a stable foam in egg whites, which is essential for meringue and other whipped egg white recipes.

* Enhances the browning of baked goods: It reacts with baking soda to produce carbon dioxide gas, which creates air pockets in the batter, resulting in a lighter and fluffier texture.

* Prevents sugar crystallization: It helps to prevent sugar crystals from forming in jams and syrups.

Baking Powder is a leavening agent that:

* Produces carbon dioxide gas: This gas creates air pockets in the batter, resulting in a lighter and fluffier texture.

* Contains both an acid and a base: It is a combination of baking soda, an acid (like cream of tartar), and a drying agent (like cornstarch).

Here's why you can't directly replace them:

* Baking powder already contains an acid: Adding more acid (like cream of tartar) would make the batter too acidic, resulting in a sour taste and potentially affecting the leavening process.

* Cream of tartar does not contain a base: Baking powder relies on both the acid and the base to create the leavening reaction. Cream of tartar alone wouldn't work.

How to use them together:

In some recipes, you can use both cream of tartar and baking powder. For example, in angel food cake, cream of tartar is used to stabilize the egg whites, while baking powder is used for leavening.

In summary: While both cream of tartar and baking powder are important baking ingredients, they have different roles and cannot be directly substituted.