Full question
I’m allergic to dairy products so was wondering what is the best substitute for butter in Lily’s scones? I’m in Australia and don’t know what vegetable shortening is - is it margarine? If so, should I make the scones with a non-dairy margarine? Or is a solid coconut oil any good?
Our answer
Nigella's recipe for Lily's Scones (from HOW TO BE A DOMESTIC GODDESS) has been passed on by a wonderful old-fashioned cook and the scones may look solid on the outside but are light and soft on the inside. The recipe uses a combination of vegetable shortening, for a light texture, and butter, for flavour.
Vegetable shortening is a solid form of vegetable fat, and in Australia the best-known brand is Copha. You could also use lard as an alternative and we suspect that a solid coconut oil would also work. These are both dairy free. For the butter you can substitute your favourite plant-based margarine and if you can't find vegetable shortening or the alternatives then you could use all margarine, though the scones may not be quite as tender. You can substitute the cow's milk with your favourite plant-based alternative.
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