ISO Substitute for Crisco in Chocolate Chip Loaf Cake

[loml]

I have a recipe that calls for 1/2 crisco in a chocolate chip loaf cake. When you bake the cake you add choc chips to the top and during baking the chips fall to the bottom. I am looking for a substitute for it the crisco but when I use vegetable oil the chips remain on top of the cake. Any suggestions?

[chowser]

Use butter.

[tweetie]

I agree and you have two options as you experiment, creaming method or try melting it and adding as you would the oil. Good luck!

Do you want the chips to fall to the bottom??

[loml]

Thanks and Yes, I want the chips to fall to the bottom because the cake seems to stay together better that way and is easier to cut.

[diablo]

Yes, butter. Unsalted butter.

[coll]

I have two recipes that call for Crisco, and there is no substitute that I have found. It doesn't rise right and the texture is just not the same. I don't think it will kill me to eat it two or three times a year.

[chowser]

I should have added that, if you like the texture with the vegetable oil, you can stir the chips into the batter. Also, Spectrum makes a shortening with expeller pressed palm oil that I just saw at Whole Foods. It's high in sat fats but no trans fats.

[brittle peanut]

Oil tends to make a softer texture while butter cakes are more firm, so I think butter is a better substitute than oil.

HOWEVER, when you replace crisco with butter (or vice versa) you have to keep in mind that butter has water in it (it's about 80% fat), while crisco is solid fat (100% fat). You'll see on the crisco site that they have recipes for cookies that include a few spoons of water. I don't know if your recipe calls for any additional liquid, but you may want to try leaving out a teaspoonful or two of that liquid when you use butter and see if that improves the texture.

[brittle peanut]

By the way, I looked up the "conversion" with regard to water and it is

1 c butter --> 1 c crisco + 6 t (or 2 T) water
in other words
1/2 cup butter or margarine -> 1/2 cup Crisco shortening + 3 teaspoons water

http://www.crisco.com/about/faqs.asp#9

[loml]

Thanks! We used butter and it came out perfect!

[Stuffed Monkey]

In place of Crisco you can also use Spectrum Vegetable Shortening. It is pure non-hydrogenated palm shortening (no transfats) which is naturally stable at room temperature. Cooks Illustrated has recommended it. Whole Foods has it.

[TomDel]

Crisco now makes a non trans fat version of its shortening. I haven’t tried it for baking, but used it for frying chicken and couldn’t’ taste any difference between it and the original.

[Donna52479]

If I substitute 1/2 cup of butter for 1/2 cup of Crisco in a bread recipe, how much water should I remove from the recipe?