One of the best parts of the holiday season is all the yummy baked goods. From cookies to cakes, this is a time of year when there seem to be delicious desserts everywhere. There’s no reason you need to stick to traditional recipes, however. Baking with beer is a trick many professional bakers use to create light and fluffy desserts with unique flavors. Here’s what you need to know to begin your adventure into baking with beer.

Why bake with beer?

There are many reasons bakers take up using beer as an ingredient in their creations. Of course, the wide variety of beers on the market means there are many opportunities to add unique flavors to the baked goods. However, there is a scientific reason why baking with beer makes sense. The carbonation in beer aids the leavening process. Baking with beer helps the breads, cakes, and cookies rise and will leave them feeling more fluffy and tender.

What kind of beer should you use?

Baking recipes are very scientific, meaning it’s not as easy to trade out ingredients as you can with cooking unless you understand the chemistry behind the recipe well. If you’re interested in baking with beer, it’s best to search for a recipe that calls for beer. Those recipes will usually tell you what type of beer to use.

Porters and stouts are commonly used in baking recipes. They are brewed with dark roasted malts, so the residual flavor is usually chocolate or coffee, both of which are desirable flavors for many baked goods. Porters are more chocolatey with less bitterness, while stouts will be stronger on the coffee side.

Another opportunity is using amber or brown ales. These ales are similar to porters and stouts, but give the final product a slightly different flavor. Amber and brown ales tend to be less bitter than the alternatives and feature a nutty flavor. Because of this, these beers are often recommended for caramels, cookies, and pies.

Light-colored beers have their place in baking, too. Lagers and Witbiers are used in lighter cakes and cookies. For example, an orange tea cake will be highlighted by the citrus and coriander notes of lagers and witbiers.

What happens to the alcohol in the beer?

Many people are afraid to cook or bake with beer because they don’t want to create an alcoholic dessert. However, there’s no reason to worry about your youngster eating cake that was made with porter. The alcohol from the beer cooks out of the baked good, so your cakes and cookies will not have an ABV rating.