My husband is trying to cut down on sugar and fat. I enjoy baking. Could I cut down on the sugar in a recipe, say a quarter-cup or so, and use margarine instead of butter, and not jeopardize the integrity of the recipe?
The kind of fiddling around that cooks regularly do with savory recipes can have dire consequences when applied to sweet ones. Cakes, cookies and pastries arise out of batters and doughs as a result of complex chemical reactions that occur, hidden from view, in the oven. Unless you are an accomplished baker, it's not advisable to change the amounts or proportions in a recipe.
Sugar, for example, is not just a giver of sweetness; it lends structure, texture and retains moisture. A sugar substitute of equivalent sweetness will not perform the same tricks. This from the folks at Splenda: "Splenda Granular works best in recipes where sugar mainly plays a sweetening role, such as fruit fillings, cheesecakes, custards, sauces and marinades."
As for substituting margarine for butter, I don't see the point unless you are cooking for someone vegan, kosher or with dairy intolerances.
Soft tub-style margarine is not appropriate for baking; you have to use a solid stick, which has about the same number of calories and grams of fat as butter. Stick margarine is made from, among other ingredients, vegetable oil. The way to make vegetable oil solid at room temperature is to hydrogenate it - make it into a trans fat.
Erica Marcus writes for Newsday. E-mail your queries to burningquestions@newsday.com, or send them to Erica Marcus, Food/Part 2, Newsday, 235 Pinelawn Road, Melville, NY 11747-4250.