5 Baking Powder Substitutes for Fluffy Cakes and Flaky Biscuits

泡打粉在建立中起着重要的作用hing the structure and texture of many baked goods—often working in tandem with baking soda, it conducts a feat of alchemy to yield light, fluffy cakes and tender pastries. Simply, without these leaveners, manycookieswould fall flat andcake layerswould be dense and stodgy. But baking powder and soda are not interchangeable, and if you’re out of one, the other won’t act as a direct substitute (though it can be part of the solution—more on that below).

If you find yourself at the bottom of the jar of baking powder (or the can on your shelf iswell past its expiration date), we’ve got a few baking powder substitutes to reach for in times of cookie crisis. But first, let’s get the science out of the way:

What’s the difference between baking powder and baking soda?

Baking powder and baking soda are both chemical leavening agents. Much likeyeasthelps bread rise by fermentation, these leaveners give cakes, cookies, and other baked goods lift and airiness. Unlike yeast, they don’t contribute any flavor to the final product.

When added to dough or batter, chemical leaveners trigger the release of carbon dioxide gas, creating hundreds of little air bubbles that yield light and fluffy baked goods. “Both baking soda and baking powder produce carbon dioxide through an acid-base reaction,” writes Epi contributor Mari Uyehara in herdeep dive on baking soda. But that’s where the similarities end.

Baking soda is a base, with an alkaline pH of 8.5. To produce carbon dioxide, it needs to react with an acid. That acid can come from any number of places. “In early days, that often meant sour milk,” Uyehara notes; today, bakers often rely on acidic ingredients like buttermilk, yogurt, white vinegar, brown sugar, and chocolate to link up with baking soda and create a chemical reaction. Once combined with an acid, baking soda works quickly to produce carbon dioxide and give your batter a boost.

Baking powder, on the other hand, is a complete leavening system, composed of a base (baking soda), an acidic agent (like cream of tartar), and a stabilizer (like cornstarch), which prevents the two from reacting until the desired moment. Most brands of baking powder you’ll spot on grocery store shelves have another feature,for better or for worse: they’re double-acting, meaning that the chemical reaction happens twice. The first reaction happens when the dry ingredients meet the wet ingredients. The seconds happens thanks to the heat of the oven. This prolonged process makes baking powder a consistent, reliable leavener for any number of baking projects, like cakes, cookies, and quick breads.

An equal volume of baking powder has about a quarter of the strength of baking soda, making its reactions much slower and easier to control. So you can’t interchange baking powder for baking soda or vice versa. But if you’re out of baking powder, a few smart trades will help you achievenicely-domed cupcakesorethereally fluffy scones—and baking sodaispart of the formula to substitution success.

The Best Baking Powder Substitutes

Since we already know the chemical makeup of baking powder (acid + base + stabilizer), you can use ingredients in the pantry to make your own blend.Cream of tartaris the secret agent that helps baking powder work; you’ve probably seen it in recipes forangel food cake,snickerdoodles, andmeringue. Cream of tartar, a.k.a. potassium bitartrate, is a powdered acid. You can pair it with baking soda (a base) and cornstarch (a stabilizer) to yield a similar reaction as baking powder.

Combine½ tsp. cream of tartar, ¼ tsp. baking soda,and¼ tsp. cornstarch.Whisk it all together and there you have it, folks: your very own baking powder. A teaspoon of this mixture is equivalent to 1 tsp. baking powder. Feel free to scale this recipe to make a big batch and store in an airtight container for future use as the reaction won’t occur until you introduce a liquid to the mix. This ad hoc baking powder won’t have the same double-acting property of most commercial baking powders, but it’s a great substitute to help your baked goods rise without impacting their flavor profile.

If you don’t have cornstarch, don’t worry. You can use acornstarch substitute, or omit it entirely and use just the combination of baking soda and cream of tartar as a substitute for baking powder. Without a stabilizer as a buffer, the baking soda and cream of tartar will slowly begin to react with one another. That reaction will speed up exponentially once any liquid is added, so you’ll want to get your batter into the oven ASAP.

To substitute cream of tartar and baking soda for baking powder, use a 2:1 ratio of cream of tartar to baking soda, using a quarter the amount of baking soda to powder. If your recipe calls for 1 tsp. baking powder, substitute½ tsp. cream of tartarplus¼ tsp. baking soda. (Bonus: cream of tartar won’t expire—though it may lose potency over several years of storage—so you can stash it for emergencies just like this.)

Since baking powder is baking soda with an acid and a stabilizer added, one of the best substitutions for baking powder is to use baking soda plus an acidic ingredient, such as plain yogurt, buttermilk, lemon juice, or vinegar. While it won’t have the double-acting effect of baking powder, you’ll still achieve the leavening you’re looking for.

Here’s how to do it: Mix the baking soda into the dry ingredients and the acid of your choice into the wet ingredients. Once your batter is combined, get it into the oven ASAP, as the reaction will start immediately. Remember that baking soda is stronger than baking powder, so you’ll want to use a quarter of the amount of baking soda as powder. So if the recipe calls for 1 tsp. baking powder, use¼ tsp. baking soda. Used in concert with the acid of your choice (see below), the combination should create the desired chemical reaction. Note, however, that this can be a bit of a gamble since the pH level of the fresh ingredients listed here can fluctuate based on brand and other factors. You’ll also want to decrease the amount of liquids elsewhere in your recipe by a comparable amount. Still willing to give it a go? Here are a few acidic options to try out:

• ½ cup buttermilk per ¼ tsp. baking soda
• ½ cup plain yogurt per ¼ tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. lemon juice per ¼ tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. vinegar per ¼ tsp. baking soda

A word to the wise: You’ll want to be cautious of the amount of baking soda you use, as too much baking soda can give baked goods a metallic taste. Note that more potent acids like vinegar might contribute a strong flavor to your baked goods.

If you’re bakingbiscuitsand find you’re out of baking powder, check your shelves for a bag of self-rising flour. This flour, which already contains baking powder and a touch of salt, is a common ingredient in many biscuit and cobbler recipes.Substitute the full amount of all-purpose flour for self-rising flour, and omit any additional leavening agents. You may also need to adjust the amount of salt, but you can otherwise follow the recipe as directed.

The key ingredient to ethereally lightmatzo balls,fry batter, andscallion pancakes, club soda contains sodium bicarbonate, also known as baking soda. If you’re cooking something on a skillet, in a waffle griddle, or in the fryer, you can use club soda to lighten your batter (though it won’t result in the same lift that leaveners provide). This approach is tailored for items like pancakes or waffles—less so cakes or cookies, where baking powder is key to the finished structure. To substitute club soda for baking powder,replace all the liquid called for in the recipe with club soda. Club soda will fizz out quickly, so you’ll want to act fast.

If you don’t have either baking powder or baking soda, consider switching gears and relying on another type of leavener altogether:whipped egg whites. Instead of sparking a chemical reaction to produce carbon dioxide, whipped egg whites introduce air to the batter, bringing natural height to your baked goods. It’s a key technique in baking angel food cake,chiffon cake, andsoufflé. If your recipe has eggs, separate the yolks from the whites. Incorporate the yolks as instructed, but use a mixer or whisk to beat the egg whites to medium peaks. After combining your batter, fold the whipped whites into the mixture—whipped egg whites are very delicate and will deflate if handled too much; folding them gently into the batter will preserve as many air bubbles as possible.