Q: I LOVE TO BAKE, ESPECIALLY DURING THE HOLIDAYS, BUT SOMETIMES I GET TO THE MIDDLE OF A RECIPE AND REALIZE I DON’T HAVE AN INGREDIENT I NEED. HELP!

A: We’ve all been there. Maybe you forgot an item on your list while shopping at the grocery store, or you thought you had plenty of buttermilk but realize it’s not quite enough for that cake you’ve got your heart set on. But fear not; here are some common baking substitutions to tide you over in a pinch.

Self-Rising Flour

For 1 cup self-rising flour, sift together 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1½ teaspoons baking powder, and ¼ teaspoon salt. To accurately measure flour, loosely spoon it into a dry measuring cup, overfilling slightly, and then scrape a straight edge across the top of the cup. Never dip your measuring cup into flour; this compacts the flour, and you’ll end up with too much.

Confectioners’ Sugar

For 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, process together ½ cup granulated sugar and 1½ teaspoons cornstarch in the work bowl of a food processor until sugar is fine and powdery, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Sift the mixture before you use it.

Brown Sugar

Brown sugar is simply granulated sugar with molasses added. For light brown sugar, pulse together 1 cup granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon molasses in the work bowl of a food processor until combined. For dark brown sugar, increase the molasses to 2 tablespoons. If your recipe simply calls for “brown sugar” and does not specify to use light or dark brown, we recommend using light brown sugar.

Buttermilk

In a liquid measuring cup, add 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar or fresh lemon juice and enough milk to measure 1 cup. Let it stand for 5 minutes to thicken before using it.