Bakewell cream substitutes
Bakewell cream substitutes — 5 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Also called Original Bakewell Cream, sodium acid pyrophosphate, SAPP
Use Cream of tartar
1 tsp for every 1 tsp bakewell cream
Use cream of tartar, 1 tsp for each 1 tsp of Bakewell Cream, and keep the baking soda the recipe calls for. Cream of tartar starts reacting the moment the dough is wet, where Bakewell Cream waits for oven heat, so mix quickly and bake right away; the biscuits rise a little less. With no cream of tartar, leave out both the Bakewell Cream and the baking soda and use baking powder instead.
- Verdict —
- Tweak it
- The tweak —
- Keep the recipe's baking soda. Whisk both into the flour, add the liquid last, and get the dough into the oven within a few minutes.
- Best for —
- Bakewell Cream biscuits
- Pantry —
- Likely in your cupboard
Updated 8 Oct 2026 · no sponsored swaps
But first: what’s the bakewell cream doing?
Pick your caseDo you have another dry acid, or only baking powder?
Swap it in teaspoon for teaspoon and keep the baking soda as written. For the classic biscuit that is 4 tsp cream of tartar and 2 tsp baking soda to 4 cups of flour. Bake as soon as the dough is cut.
Notes on cream of tartar
1 tsp per 1 tsp
Leave out both the Bakewell Cream and the baking soda. Use baking powder equal to the two combined, 1 tbsp for every 2 tsp Bakewell Cream plus 1 tsp soda.
Notes on baking powder or self-rising flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder per 1 tsp
The soda needs an acid from somewhere. Buttermilk in place of the milk is the better-tasting route; lemon juice or vinegar stirred into the milk is the last resort.
Notes on buttermilk + baking soda or lemon juice or white vinegar
1 cup buttermilk + ½ tsp baking soda per 2 tsp baking powder
Bakewell Cream is the acid in a two-part leavening. Baking soda is a base and releases carbon dioxide only when it meets an acid; Bakewell Cream supplies that acid, at two parts to one part baking soda. Its acid, sodium acid pyrophosphate, reacts slowly in a cold dough and fully in the heat of the oven, so most of the gas arrives while the biscuit is setting. That delayed reaction is why Bakewell Cream biscuits are known for their height, and it is what a fast-acting acid like cream of tartar cannot quite copy.
Every option, one card
Ranked · per 1 tsp bakewell cream| # | Substitute | Instead of 1 tsp bakewell cream | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cream of tartarBakewell Cream biscuits | 1 tspTweak it | Tweak it |
| 2 | Baking powderbiscuits when there is no cream of tartar | 1 ½ tspTweak it | Tweak it |
| 3 | Self-rising flourbiscuits | 1 cup self-rising flour per 1 cup flourTweak it | Tweak it |
| 4 | Lemon juice or white vinegarpancakes and quick breads | 2 tspYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 5 | Buttermilk + baking sodabiscuits | 1 cup buttermilk + ½ tsp baking soda per 2 tsp baking powderYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| Not a swap | Baking soda alone | not a swapNot for this | Not for this |
Cream of tartar
faint tang
The acid Bakewell Cream was invented to replace. It reacts with the same baking soda in the same proportion, two parts acid to one part soda.
- Best for
- Bakewell Cream biscuits, scones and shortcakes, any recipe pairing Bakewell Cream with baking soda
- Texture
- slightly less rise
- Prep
- Keep the recipe's baking soda. Whisk both into the flour, add the liquid last, and get the dough into the oven within a few minutes.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegan, gluten-free
Cream of tartar is fast-acting: most of its gas is released as soon as it gets wet, so dough that sits loses lift. Expect biscuits slightly shorter than the Bakewell version, with a faint tang.
Baking powder
same
Baking powder is acid and baking soda already mixed, so it replaces the Bakewell Cream and the soda together.
- Best for
- biscuits when there is no cream of tartar, pancakes and quick breads
- Texture
- similar rise
- Prep
- Leave out the baking soda as well as the Bakewell Cream, and use baking powder equal to the two combined: 1 tbsp for every 2 tsp Bakewell Cream plus 1 tsp baking soda.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegan
A starting amount. If you add baking powder and keep the soda too, the biscuits taste soapy and brown too fast. Some double-acting baking powders use the same acid as Bakewell Cream, and all of them save part of their lift for the oven. Bakewell Cream Baking Powder, from the same maker, is used the same way.
Self-rising flour
same
Flour with baking powder and salt already in it. It replaces the flour, the Bakewell Cream, the baking soda and the salt in one move.
- Best for
- biscuits, shortcakes, dumplings
- Texture
- more tender, a little less tall
- Prep
- Swap it for the flour cup for cup and leave out the Bakewell Cream, the baking soda and the salt.
- Suits
- vegan
- Contains
- gluten
Self-rising flour carries about 1 ½ tsp baking powder and ¼ tsp salt per cup. It is usually milled from softer wheat, so the biscuits are more tender and a little less tall.
Lemon juice or white vinegar
slight sour note
A liquid acid that sets off the baking soda when there is no dry acid in the house.
- Best for
- pancakes and quick breads, biscuits in a pinch
- Texture
- less rise
- Prep
- Keep the baking soda. Stir the lemon juice or vinegar into the milk, take the same amount of milk back out, and bake immediately.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegan, gluten-free
A starting amount. All of the gas is released on mixing, none is saved for the oven, so the rise is the weakest of the workable options. Lemon juice can be tasted in a plain biscuit.
Buttermilk + baking soda
tangy
Buttermilk can be the acid. One cup with ½ tsp baking soda gives about the lift of 2 tsp baking powder.
- Best for
- biscuits, pancakes, soda bread
- Texture
- more tender, less tall
- Prep
- Replace the recipe's milk with buttermilk, drop the Bakewell Cream, cut the baking soda to ½ tsp per cup of buttermilk, and make up the rest of the leavening with baking powder.
- Contains
- dairy
This turns the recipe into a buttermilk biscuit: tangier, more tender, and not as tall. Work out the leavening before you start. A standard target is about 1 to 1 ¼ tsp baking powder, or its equivalent, per cup of flour for most quick breads; biscuits often use more.
Baking soda alone
soapy, metallic
Doubling the baking soda to cover for the missing powder is the common mistake.
- Best for
- nothing here
- Texture
- flat, dense
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
Bakewell Cream is the acid half of the leavening. Baking soda with no acid makes very little gas and leaves a soapy, metallic taste and a yellowish crumb. Add an acid from this page or switch to baking powder.
Don’t swap it here
2 cases- Adding baking powder for the Bakewell Cream while keeping the recipe's full baking soda.Drop the baking soda too, and use baking powder equal to the Bakewell Cream and soda combined.
- Dough made with cream of tartar or lemon juice that is mixed ahead and left to stand or chilled overnight.Mix and bake right away, or use double-acting baking powder for a dough that has to wait.
Questions
5 questionsWhat can I use instead of Bakewell Cream?
Cream of tartar, in the same amount, with the baking soda left as the recipe has it. If you have neither, leave out the Bakewell Cream and the baking soda and use baking powder: 1 tablespoon for every 2 teaspoons of Bakewell Cream plus 1 teaspoon of baking soda.
Is Bakewell Cream the same as cream of tartar?
No, though they do the same job. Cream of tartar is potassium bitartrate, a by-product of winemaking. Bakewell Cream is sodium acid pyrophosphate with starch. Both are acids that react with baking soda, and they swap one for one, but Bakewell Cream reacts later, in the oven, which gives a taller biscuit.
Is Bakewell Cream the same as baking powder?
No. Bakewell Cream is only the acid and needs baking soda added, 1 teaspoon of soda for every 2 teaspoons of Cream. Baking powder has the acid and the soda together. The same company also sells Bakewell Cream Baking Powder, which is a complete baking powder.
How much baking powder replaces Bakewell Cream and baking soda?
Add the two amounts together and use that much baking powder as a starting point. A recipe with 4 teaspoons of Bakewell Cream and 2 teaspoons of baking soda takes 2 tablespoons of baking powder. Leave out the baking soda.
Can I just leave Bakewell Cream out?
No. Without an acid the baking soda barely reacts, and the biscuits come out flat, dense and soapy-tasting. Replace it with cream of tartar, or replace both leaveners with baking powder.
Tips for substituting bakewell cream
5 tips- The ratio to remember is 2 parts Bakewell Cream to 1 part baking soda. Any swap for the Cream keeps that soda; any swap to baking powder removes it.
- Whisk the dry leavening into the flour for a full 30 seconds. Lumps of baking soda leave bitter brown spots in a biscuit.
- With cream of tartar, have the oven hot and the pan ready before the milk goes in. The classic Bakewell biscuit bakes at 475°F.
- Cut biscuits straight down without twisting the cutter. Twisting seals the edges and costs height whatever the leavening.
- Check the date on baking powder before relying on it: stir ½ tsp into hot water and look for vigorous bubbling.