All of Gordon’s recipes are written in British grams, millilitres and Celsius. If you are cooking from the US, here is everything you need to turn them into cups, ounces, Fahrenheit and gas mark, plus the American names for British ingredients.
Type your amount into the converter, or scroll down for the full reference charts and the ingredient glossary.
200g of flour and 200g of sugar are not the same cups, so it asks the ingredient first.
A UK pint is 568ml, a US pint 473ml, so use cups or ml for big amounts.
His recipes use conventional Celsius. Fan oven, drop 20°C.
| British | American |
|---|
Grams to cups for common ingredients
Weight to cups depends on the ingredient, because a cup of flour weighs far less than a cup of sugar. These are the conversions used most in his baking and dessert recipes.
| Ingredient | 1 cup | ½ cup | ¼ cup |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plain / all-purpose flour | 125g | 63g | 31g |
| Caster / granulated sugar | 200g | 100g | 50g |
| Icing sugar | 125g | 63g | 31g |
| Brown sugar, packed | 220g | 110g | 55g |
| Butter | 227g | 113g | 57g |
| Cocoa powder | 100g | 50g | 25g |
| Honey / golden syrup | 340g | 170g | 85g |
US butter comes in sticks: 1 stick is 113g, or half a cup, so 1 cup of butter is 2 sticks.
US liquid volumes in millilitres
His recipes use millilitres and litres. When a US recipe gives fluid ounces, cups, pints or quarts, here is the same amount in millilitres so nothing gets lost.
| US measure | Millilitres | Easy guide |
|---|---|---|
| 1 fl oz | 30ml | a splash |
| 1 cup | 240ml | just under a quarter litre |
| 1 pint (2 cups) | 473ml | about half a litre |
| 1 quart (2 pints) | 946ml | just under 1 litre |
| 1 gallon (4 quarts) | 3.8 litres | nearly 4 litres |
Oven temperatures: Celsius, gas mark and Fahrenheit
| Fan °C | Conventional °C | Gas mark | °F |
|---|---|---|---|
| 120 | 140 | 1 | 275 |
| 130 | 150 | 2 | 300 |
| 140 | 160 | 3 | 325 |
| 160 | 180 | 4 | 350 |
| 170 | 190 | 5 | 375 |
| 180 | 200 | 6 | 400 |
| 200 | 220 | 7 | 425 |
| 210 | 230 | 8 | 450 |
| 220 | 240 | 9 | 475 |
Cake tin sizes: cm to inches
His bakes give tins in centimetres. Here are the US inch equivalents so you use the right size.
| Centimetres | Inches | Common use |
|---|---|---|
| 18 cm | 7 in | small round cake |
| 20 cm | 8 in | round cake, brownies |
| 23 cm | 9 in | round or square cake |
| 25 cm | 10 in | large cake, tart |
| 900g loaf | 9 x 5 in | loaf tin |
| 28 cm | 11 in | traybake |
| 30 cm | 12 in | roasting tray |
British to American ingredient names
Same ingredient, different name. This is what trips people up most when following a British recipe.
| British (his recipes) | American |
|---|---|
| Caster sugar | Superfine sugar |
| Icing sugar | Powdered / confectioners’ sugar |
| Plain flour | All-purpose flour |
| Self-raising flour | Self-rising flour |
| Bicarbonate of soda | Baking soda |
| Double cream | Heavy cream |
| Cornflour | Cornstarch |
| Golden syrup | Light corn syrup (closest) |
| Courgette | Zucchini |
| Aubergine | Eggplant |
| Fresh coriander | Cilantro |
| Spring onion | Scallion / green onion |
| Beef mince | Ground beef |
| Prawns | Shrimp |
| Plain chocolate | Semisweet / dark chocolate |
| Streaky bacon | American-style bacon |
| Grill (verb) | Broil |
FAQs
Is a UK cup the same as a US cup?
Not quite. A US cup is 240ml and the older UK cup is 284ml, but his recipes use grams and millilitres anyway, so convert from those with the charts above rather than guessing in cups.
How many grams are in a cup of flour?
About 125g of plain or all-purpose flour per US cup. Caster sugar is heavier at 200g a cup, and butter is 227g, which is why the ingredient matters.
How many millilitres are in a quart?
A US quart is 946ml, so just under a litre. It is 2 US pints or 4 cups, and 2 quarts come to 1.9 litres. The old UK quart is larger at 1.14 litres, but British recipes work in millilitres and litres now, so use the US figure when you convert an American recipe.
What is gas mark 6 in Fahrenheit?
Gas mark 6 is 200°C, which is 400°F. On a fan oven set it to 180°C.
What is caster sugar in the US?
Superfine sugar, sometimes sold as baker’s sugar. In a pinch you can blitz granulated sugar for a few seconds to make your own.
What is double cream in America?
Heavy cream is the closest match. It has a slightly lower fat content than British double cream but whips and cooks the same way.