Could I Use Vanilla Soy Milk In Place Of Buttermilk In A Coffee Cake Recipe?
June 30th, 2009 by Rexx
We have Trader Joe’s Multigrain mix and want to use it to make blueberry coffee cake, and the recipe calls for one cup of buttermilk, which we don’t have at the house. We just have vanilla soy milk. Do you think this would work as a substitute?
Posted in Coffee | 
7 Comments »
June 30th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
If the recipe has been tested to work with the ingredients and methods specified, you should not mess with it. In baking, you can rarely change one thing without changing everything.
Coffee cakes are generally chemically leavened (i.e. with baking soda or baking powder). If it is leavened with baking soda, the cake would require some acid to produce gas to leaven your cake. (Buttermilk provides the acid.) Buttermilk also has another function in that its fat and acid content tenderizes gluten, giving you a soft, moist cake.
June 30th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
I know people who have used water instead of milk and I have used milk instead of buttermilk . Go ahead and use it . The kitchen is made for experimentation . Food and love should both be pursued with reckless abandon . Let me know how it turned out because it sounds good to me . The soy milk is better for you than the buttermilk anyway .
I do like it’s love Idea with the yougurt though . I use yogurt as a substitue for many things in many recipes.
June 30th, 2009 at 7:26 pm
If you only have soy milk that’s flavored vanilla, then you can go ahead and use it, but add leavening agents, such as baking soda and baking powder. You can also mix your soy milk with sour cream or plain yogurt to give it the twang it’s supposed to have. I’d add some vinegar to the soy milk and see what happens.
June 30th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
No, the buttermilk and the baking soda in the mix react to create a rise in your batter. The soy milk will not react.
You guys, the question was SOY MILK, if you use milk and vinegar, you cannot use SOY MILK, because your batter will be the consistency of a crepe.
July 1st, 2009 at 4:53 am
The traditional substitution for buttermilk is a cup of regular milk and a tablespoon of their white vinegar or lemon juice. You could use the soy milk, but the flavor will not be the same.
July 1st, 2009 at 11:33 am
I know you can sub 1 cup milk w/ 1 Tbsp white vinegar or lemon juice for buttermink. I don’t know why soy milk wouldn’t work, necessarily.
July 1st, 2009 at 4:43 pm
i have even used yogert in place of buttermilk
everyone says it matters
but i dont see a dif in my cooking
-Q