What can I use instead of baking powder for cake?
Start with Baking Soda + Cream of Tartar (1/4 tsp baking soda + 1/2 tsp cream of tartar per 1 tsp baking powder). This is essentially homemade baking powder. Single-acting only.
Best Baking Powder Substitutes for Cakes
Pick substitutes that preserve tenderness, aeration, and even rise in cake batters. Cake structure depends on balanced fat, sugar, and hydration. Wrong swaps can create a dense or dry crumb.
Can I make a cake without baking powder?
Yes. Start with Baking Soda + Cream of Tartar at 1/4 tsp baking soda + 1/2 tsp cream of tartar per 1 tsp baking powder, then adjust liquid or bake time in small steps after a test batch.
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Baking Soda + Cream of Tartar
Use 1/4 tsp baking soda + 1/2 tsp cream of tartar per 1 tsp baking powder
This is essentially homemade baking powder. Single-acting only.
View full adjustment notes →What makes this swap demanding for cakes
The second rise — the one keyed to oven heat around 140 to 170 F, not to wet batter — is what holds a butter cake aloft long enough for the creamed-fat scaffold to set. A homemade single-acting powder (baking soda plus cream of tartar) spends its entire gas budget in the mixing bowl, so by the time the tin hits the oven there is nothing left to push the crumb upward against gravity. Pound cakes and vanilla layers respond by sinking through the middle and reading dense and undercooked at the core.
- With a single-acting blend the clock starts the moment wet meets dry — get the batter scraped, leveled, and into a preheated oven inside about 60 seconds or the lift is already gone.
- Foam-structured cakes (chiffon, genoise, hot-milk sponge) are the worst place to try this; their crumb stability comes from heat-timed gas expanding the egg foam, and a bowl-only release leaves a leaden, eggy slab.
- In a buttermilk or sour cream cake, drop the cream of tartar and use baking soda alone — the dairy's lactic acid is already the activator, and stacking acids turns the crumb soapy, coarse, and oddly slick on the tongue.
How much does 1 cup of baking powder weigh?
On CupOrGram, 1 cup of baking powder is treated as 184 grams. Use the conversion page if you want the original ingredient weight before choosing a substitute.
Baking Powder cups to grams →