Measurement makes perfect - easy baking measurements

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Nothing is quite as satisfying as tucking into a delicious cake you baked yourself. Baking is great fun for all ages, but there is a real science behind it too. It may be tempting to cut corners by ‘guesstimating’ your measurements, but the measuring process is actually detrimental to the end product. Taking the time to weigh your ingredients properly can help you achieve a perfect bake the first time around.

Although using American cups has become more popular in the UK, many recipes still favour traditional baking measurements of grams and millilitres. Whether you want to use an American recipe but want to convert cups to grams, or vice versa, our easy baking measurement guide will help you bake a cake Mary Berry would be proud of. No soggy bottoms here.

What baking measurements are there?

With so many different terms and numbers, it can be tricky to get your head around baking measurements. But, it’s simple to get to grips with them, when you break it down and stick to a couple of methods.

Measuring spoons tend to come in sets of six consisting of different sized tablespoons and teaspoons. Don’t be fooled into using the regular spoons you eat with, as graded spoons are the best for accuracy. When using liquids, simply fill the spoon to the very brim. Do the same for dry ingredients, but you’ll need to level off the overflow with a knife. If it asks for a heaped tablespoon, for example, you won’t have to level it off nearly as much.

Measuring cups are similar to spoons but are for larger amounts. There are two different types: graded and glass. Graded cups are best for dry ingredients and range in size, typically from ¼ cup to a whole cup. Glass cups, on the other hand, are better for liquids and tend to come in whole sizes rather than halves or quarters.

The problem with using spoons and cups is that they aren’t as accurate as when weighing ingredients out using scales, plus it can take longer to measure out each spoonful or cupful rather than weighing a batch. However, using cups and spoons is great if you want to measure the volume or if the recipe specifically calls for it. Sometimes the amount you need is too small to weigh out accurately such as spices, which is where spoons come in handy. Plus, it’s a great alternative if you don’t want to invest in some kitchen scales.

If you’d prefer to weigh out your ingredients as mentioned above, you’ll most likely be using grams for dry products and millilitres or litres for liquids.

Spoons for Measuring

UK to US baking measurements - dry:

14.3 grams = 1 tablespoon, 3 teaspoons, ½ ounces
28.3 grams = 2 tablespoons, ⅛ cup, 1 ounce
56.7 grams = 4 tablespoons, ¼ cup, 2 ounces
75.6 grams = 5 ⅓ tablespoons, ⅓ cup, 2.6 ounces
113.4 grams = 8 tablespoons, ½ cup, 4 ounces
.375 pound = 12 tablespoons, ¾ cup, 6 ounces
1 pound = 32 tablespoons, 2 cups, 16 ounces

UK to US baking measurements - liquid:

30ml = 2 tablespoons, 1 fl. Oz.
60ml = ¼ cup, 2 fl. Oz.
125ml = ½ cup, 4 fl. Oz.
250ml = 1 cup, 8 fl. Oz.
375ml = 1 ½ cups, 12 fl. Oz.
500ml = 2 cups, 1 pint or 16 fl. Oz.
1 litre = 4 cups, 1 quart or 32 fl. Oz.
4 litres = 128 fl. Oz., 1 gallon

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Grams to cups by ingredient:

Sometimes it may be more accurate to work out the baking measurements by weighing each ingredient as they often vary in this department. For example, a cup of unmelted butter would weigh significantly more than a cup of flour so you wouldn’t necessarily want to include the same amount of both.

Knowing the grams to cups conversion of popular ingredients can speed up the process, if you’d rather weigh out your ingredients using grams. However, you can also use this guide for reference, if you don’t have scales or are using a recipe that features grams but you’d rather use cups.

Take a look at these easy conversions of essential ingredients from grams to cups before getting stuck into your latest baking project: