Butter and oil behave differently in a cake, with butter cakes having a rich flavor but a relatively drier texture and oil-based cakes having a soft, moist crumb/texture, but a more neutral flavor. Cocoa also tends to have a drying effect on the crumb so the oil compensates for that. Chocolate cake doesn't usually need the richness of butter anyway, so i prefer recipes with oil. Oil-based cakes can also be chilled without the texture becoming stodgy.
It would help us if you could give a link to the recipe. Generally speaking, oil-based recipes don't require an emulsion of butter, sugar, and eggs, as in the case of many quick-bread-type formulas. Their texture is more tender; think of banana bread, for example, and some muffins. Butter-based recipes do require an emulsion of soft butter, sugar, and eggs. Textures here are more firm. Think cakes whole layers need to stand up to being divided and iced.
Well, there are different types of cakes. Some cakes are butter cakes but other cakes use oil. The oil cakes are simpler and often used for cupcakes. Oil cakes tend to have an open structure with small holes and are springy. Butter cakes are often soft with a more tight knit crumb.
4 Comments