Baking and creating in the kitchen can be part science, part experimentation. It can be hit or miss regarding the quantities of ingredients, whether you’re finding them in books, online, old or new. Measurements and amounts vary between different recipes and conversion charts. So sometimes the best person I can rely on for consistent measurements, is myself. I use the same measuring cup for everything I do, and swear by investing in decent digital scales too.
All of my recipes are measured on scales in grams, so this takes out the guessing and the varying sizes of cups around the country. So to make it simple, I’ve gone through and measured out a cup of various ingredients I’ve baked with so far and converted them into grams not only for others, but also myself. I’ll also continue to add more converted ingredients over time as I use them.
FLOURS/DRY
The various flours available in stores today, cater for many different dietary requirements, conscious health choices or even to give a recipe an entirely new texture or flavour. The quantities may only vary slightly, but it could be make or break.
| 1/2 Cup | 1 Cup | |
| Plain Flour | 85g | 170g |
| Self Raising Flour | 85g | 170g |
| Wholemeal Flour | 80g | 160g |
| Coconut Flour (Packed) | 75g | 150g |
| Rice Flour | 88g | 175g |
| Cocoa (Packed) | 50g | 100g |
SUGARS
Sugars were not all created equally. However, at the end of the day, they are all there to add a little sweetness to our lives. Whether you’re after refilled or unrefined sugars, there are lots to choose from. Educate yourself, taste the differences and get experimenting.
| 1/2 Cup | 1 Cup | |
| White Sugar | 125g | 250g |
| Caster Sugar | 120g | 240g |
| Icing Sugar | 85g | 170g |
| Soft Brown Sugar (Packed) | 123g | 245g |
| Raw Sugar | 110g | 220g |
| Coconut Sugar | 85g | 170g |
| Panela Sugar | 95g | 190g |
| Demerara Sugar | 125g | 250g |
GRAINS/NUT/MEALS
There are endless amounts of ingredients that don’t fall under flours or sugars. So here are a bunch of miscellaneous, yet relevant, ingredients you may find useful from day to day in the kitchen.
| 1/2 Cup | 1 Cup | |
| Coconut – Dessicated | 43g | 85g |
| Coconut – Shredded | 48g | 95g |
| Almond Meal | 58g | 115g |
| Rolled Oats | 50g | 100g |
| Buckwheat Groats | 110g | 220g |
| Amaranth | 115g | 230g |
| Millet | 80g | 160g |
| Quinoa Grain | 100g | 200g |
BUTTER
Occasionally when browsing food websites (particularly American) I would come across recipes that ask for a stick of butter. Here in New Zealand it comes in a block and that sounds like more than a stick. For those who have also come across this predicament, below the mystery has been solved.
| Cup | Grams | Tablespoons | |
| Stick | 1/2 | 113g | 8 |
| 1/2 Stick | 1/4 | 57g | 4 |
| Double Stick | 1 | 227g | 16 |
LIQUIDS
I use a measuring jug for all of my liquids, however it still feels like a guessing game using your eye to judge the amount. The same goes with measuring spoons, whether you have any on hand, I also feel these vary so much and all you can do is hope for the best. Below are some standard conversions for liquid that may be helpful.
| Metric | Cups & Spoons |
| 5ml | 1 tsp |
| 15-20ml | 1 tbps |
| 60ml | 1/4 Cup |
| 125ml | 1/2 Cup |
| 250ml | 1 Cup |
| 375ml | 1 1/2 Cup |
| 500ml | 2 Cups |
| 750ml | 3 Cups |
| 1 litre | 4 Cups |
OVEN TEMPS
I’ve yet to use a gas oven, but in New Zealand we primarily use ovens that measure temperature in degrees celsius. With that said, lots of recipes still talk about fahrenheit which then leads us to Google to double check we won’t burn anything.
| Celsius | Fahrenheit | Gas Mark |
| 110 | 225 | 1/4 |
| 130 | 250 | 1/2 |
| 140 | 275 | 1 |
| 150 | 300 | 2 |
| 170 | 325 | 3 |
| 180 | 350 | 4 |
| 190 | 375 | 5 |
| 200 | 400 | 6 |
| 220 | 425 | 7 |
| 230 | 450 | 8 |
| 240 | 475 | 9 |