6 min readPart of: Fats & Oils in Baking

Butter vs Oil in Cakes

Butter and oil both make a cake rich and tender, but they produce noticeably different results — and they can’t always be swapped one-for-one. Here’s how to choose, and how to substitute when you need to.

By The Baking Scale Pro Editorial Team · Reviewed against published baking standards · Updated 2026-06-15

Flavor and texture: the trade-off

Butter wins on flavor and structure; oil wins on moisture and shelf life.

Butter brings a flavor nothing else matches, and because it’s solid you can cream it with sugar to trap air — which gives cakes lift and a firmer, more structured crumb. The catch: butter is firm when cool, so butter cakes can feel a touch drier straight from the fridge.

Oil is 100% fat (butter is about 80% fat and 20% water), and it stays liquid at room temperature. It coats the flour more thoroughly, so oil cakes are exceptionally moist and tender, and they stay soft for days. The trade-off is no flavor of its own and no creaming, so you rely on other ingredients for lift.

Which cake suits which fat

Butter or oil, by cake type
Cake	Best fat	Why
Pound cake, butter cake	Butter	Flavor and creamed structure are the point
Chocolate cake	Oil (often)	Moisture keeps a rich cake from drying out
Carrot cake, banana cake	Oil	Stays moist for days
Muffins, snack cakes	Oil	Quick mixing, tender, forgiving
Layer / birthday cake	Butter or both	Butter for flavor; some recipes add oil for moisture

Plenty of modern recipes use both — butter for flavor and a little oil for lasting moistness. The best of both worlds.

How to substitute butter and oil

Because butter contains water and oil doesn’t, you don’t swap them one-for-one by volume:

Butter → oil: use about ¾ as much oil (1 cup butter → about ¾ cup oil).
Oil → melted butter: roughly 1:1, with more flavor and slightly less moisture.
Butter → coconut oil: about 1:1, measured solid.

Only swap oil for butter in recipes that don’t cream the butter for lift. In a creamed butter cake, replacing the butter with oil removes the air structure and the cake bakes flat and dense — use an oil-based recipe instead.

Measure & convert

Butter converterSticks, cups, grams, tbsp Box cake mix oil substituteA common question Butter vs oil for chocolate cakeSide by side

Tools for this

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Frequently asked questions

Is it better to use butter or oil in a cake?

Butter gives the best flavor and a firmer, structured crumb, and can be creamed for lift — ideal for pound and butter cakes. Oil gives a moister cake that stays soft for days, which is why chocolate, carrot, and many everyday cakes use it. Some recipes use both.

How much oil do I use instead of butter?

Use about ¾ the amount, because butter is roughly 20% water and oil is pure fat. So 1 cup of butter becomes about ¾ cup of oil. Only do this in recipes that don’t cream the butter — creamed cakes need solid butter for their rise.

Why is my oil cake so much moister than my butter cake?

Oil is liquid at room temperature and coats the flour more completely, so it keeps the crumb soft and moist even after a few days. Butter firms up as it cools, which can make butter cakes feel drier — especially straight from the fridge.