Britain and America Have Very Different Baking Ingredients
British flour isn't only all-purpose or self-rising, and even if you choose all-purpose, it won't taste the same! British supermarkets sell several flours, and using them interchangeably will yield poor pastries.
British bakers may be relieved to find butter looks identical. British butter differs from US butter, although appearances can be deceiving. Butter in the US has roughly 80% fat, but in the EU and Britain it has 82% to 90%.
Britain makes a more complicated choice between white and brown sugar than most of us. Britain uses caster, light and dark muscovado, icing, and granulated sugar in various dishes.
British and American eggs differ in several important ways, and eggs are typically underrated in baking. Most baking uses hen's eggs, but duck and goose eggs are available from farms.
Chocolate is one of the most decadent and wonderful baking ingredients, yet American and British chocolate are disputed as champions.
While American home bakers may not know the word 'treacle,' they'll recognize the flavor. Gingerbread, fruit cakes, and treacle tarts employ treacle, a less bitter cousin of dark molasses.
Welcome to the problematic realm of food colorings, where US and British items may surprise you. Britain bans or requires health warnings for numerous US colorings in ordinary products due to EU regulations.