Just now the Emergency Food Hotline received a call from a friend who is home alone watching three dogs in the cold Midwestern winter. She wanted to make cornbread, but was hoping not to leave the dogs by their lonesome while going out in the night for eggs. The first few substitutions came to mind:
-applesauce (between 1/4 and 1/3 cup)
-bananas (I hate them but for those who don't, a smallish banana, mashed, will do the trick)
-silken tofu (1/4 c whipped is a favorite sub. of mine)*
-in a pinch, vinegar (1-2 T depending on the recipe) mixed with a little bit of water and/or baking soda can work**
The other key to knowing what kind of substitution will work best for the recipe you are adapting is to know whether you need a binding or a leavening agent. For example, applesauce and bananas will work well as a binding agent for cookies, quick breads and muffins, but not for leavening purposes--they will not alone cause your mixture to rise. So you would not want to use them for a fluffy cake.
This substitution was for cornbread, and would be combined with a mix, not from scratch, so it's a little harder to know exactly how the ingredients would all interact. The mix already included baking soda, so I didn't want to mess too much with the unkown proportions already in place.
After discussing all of the items that might be in the caller's pantry that could also be used as a binding or leavening agent (cornstarch, vinegar, arrowroot flour) we discussed whether mayonnaise would be acceptable. Mayonnaise can work really well, its main ingredients are egg and oil, both good binding agents. My main concern in using mayonnaise with a mix was not knowing if we needed to add more baking soda as well, or if cold mayo would have a strange reaction to the warmth of the melted butter that the recipe also called for.
After checking a few sources for guidance (my Fannie Farmer Baking Book--where I found my first Mayonnaise Cake recipe, and my Food Lover's Companion), we decided to go ahead with 3 tablespoons mayonnaise, and no other added ingredients. I recommended allowing the melted butter to cool slightly and letting the mayonnaise sit out a bit before combining them, as most ingredients mix best when closer to room temperature (or at least a similar temp).
We shall see how the cornbread turns out.
* The silken tofu substitution doesn't alter the flavor of your recipe AT ALL and is a great vegan option for light cakes--won't crumble when making layer cakes!
** Vinegar has been used as a substitution for ages. My first experience with it was through a cookbook of my grandmother's, The Settlement Cookbook, which was compiled by Mrs. Simon Kander in 1934 from recipes tested in the Settlement Cooking Classes of the Milwaukee Public School Kitchens. When the contact paper over the spine began to peel, the additional title (subtitle?) of the book was revealed to be "The Way to a Man's Heart," hmm...
I'm usually rushing around when making these guys, but given the time, I think I would get pretty elaborate with them. Maybe sauteing a bit of garlic and green onion and throwing that on before flipping. Some diced bacon or shredded cheese. The possibilities are obviously endless.
I have plenty more photos of this, my favorite breakfast treat, but will have to get on that later when time permits!
