What is all-purpose flour called in the UK?
Plain flour. They're the same product — white wheat flour with no raising agent — and swap 1:1, ideally by weight at 125 g per US cup.
US to UK Baking Conversions: The Full Translation
American recipes measure in cups, bake by Fahrenheit, and use a different name for half the pantry. British recipes weigh in grams and answer to gas marks. This page is the translation layer: what each ingredient is called on the other side, what the cups weigh, and what the oven dial means — with every weight drawn from the same density data as the rest of this site.
Ingredient names, translated
| US | UK | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | Plain flour | Same flour — see the full comparison below. |
| Baking soda | Bicarbonate of soda (bicarb) | Same product. |
| Powdered / confectioners' sugar | Icing sugar | Same product. |
| Cornstarch | Cornflour | Same product. |
| Superfine sugar | Caster sugar | The default UK baking sugar; 190 g per cup. |
| Heavy cream | Double cream | Nearest equivalents — double cream is richer (48% vs 36-38% fat). |
| Light corn syrup | Golden syrup | Nearest swap, not identical — golden syrup carries real flavour. |
| Molasses | Black treacle | Treacle is slightly more bitter; swap 1:1. |
| Self-rising flour | Self-raising flour | US version usually includes salt; UK usually doesn't. |
| Whole wheat flour | Wholemeal flour | Same product. |
| Bread flour | Strong flour | Same product. |
| Zucchini | Courgette | Same product. |
| Sweetened shredded coconut | Desiccated coconut | Desiccated is drier and unsweetened — weights match, moisture doesn't. |
| Plastic wrap | Cling film | Same product. |
The flour question deserves its own page — including why the "UK flour is weaker" rule is mostly folklore: all-purpose flour vs plain flour.
What the cups actually weigh
The fastest way to bake an American recipe in a metric kitchen is to convert the cups to grams once, then weigh. The staples:
| Ingredient | 1 US cup | Convert |
|---|---|---|
| All-Purpose Flour | 125 g | cups to grams |
| Caster Sugar | 190 g | cups to grams |
| Granulated Sugar | 200 g | cups to grams |
| Brown Sugar (packed) | 200 g | cups to grams |
| Butter | 227 g | cups to grams |
| Cocoa Powder | 82 g | cups to grams |
| Golden Syrup | 336 g | cups to grams |
| Double Cream | 237 g | cups to grams |
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Sticks of butter, decoded
No UK supermarket sells butter in sticks — but every American recipe assumes them. The mapping:
- 1 stick (US, 1/2 cup) = 113 gStandard US stick = 4 oz.
- 1 tablespoon = 14 g1/8 of a US stick.
- 1 pound (4 sticks) = 454 gStandard US block.
- 1 European-style block (250g) = 250 gCommon EU/UK retail size.
Gas marks to °C and °F
| Gas mark | °C | °F |
|---|---|---|
| 1/4 | 110°C | 225°F |
| 1/2 | 120°C | 250°F |
| 1 | 140°C | 275°F |
| 2 | 150°C | 300°F |
| 3 | 160°C | 325°F |
| 4 | 180°C | 350°F |
| 5 | 190°C | 375°F |
| 6 | 200°C | 400°F |
| 7 | 220°C | 425°F |
| 8 | 230°C | 450°F |
| 9 | 240°C | 475°F |
For fan/convection ovens, drop about 20°C from the listed temperature. Odd temperatures are handled by the temperature converter.
FAQ
What is a stick of butter in grams?
One US stick of butter is 113 g (half a cup, 8 tablespoons). A US pound block is four sticks at 454 g; the common UK/EU block is 250 g, or about 2¼ sticks.
What is gas mark 4 in Celsius and Fahrenheit?
Gas mark 4 is 180°C / 350°F — the single most common baking temperature in both countries. For fan/convection ovens, reduce the Celsius figure by about 20°C.
Is heavy cream the same as double cream?
They're each country's rich cream and swap 1:1 in almost everything, but they aren't identical: double cream is at least 48% fat against heavy cream's 36-38%, so it whips stiffer and over-whips faster.