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In this guide
The Two Measurement Systems
American recipes use cups, tablespoons, ounces, and Fahrenheit. British, Australian, and Canadian recipes use grams, millilitres, and Celsius (with Gas Mark still appearing in older British recipes). Converting between them is entirely systematic once you know the rules for each category.
Converting Flour and Sugar
Plain flour (all-purpose flour) weighs 120g per cup spooned and levelled. Granulated sugar weighs 200g per cup. Icing sugar (powdered sugar) weighs approximately 120g per cup. American brown sugar is almost always measured packed, which is why its gram weight (213g per cup) is higher than its loose weight would be.
Converting Butter and Fats
American recipes often specify butter in “sticks.” One US stick is approximately 113.5 grams, or half a cup — two sticks make one US cup (227g). Use our butter converter to translate any combination of sticks, cups, tablespoons, or ounces into grams instantly.
Converting Oven Temperatures
Subtract 32 from a Fahrenheit reading and divide by 1.8 to get Celsius. In practice: 325°F = 160°C = Gas Mark 3; 350°F = 180°C = Gas Mark 4; 375°F = 190°C = Gas Mark 5; 400°F = 200°C = Gas Mark 6. If you have a fan/convection oven, reduce the conventional Celsius figure by a further 20°C.
US Ingredient Names and Their Equivalents
All-purpose flour = plain flour; bread flour = strong flour; powdered sugar = icing sugar; superfine sugar = caster sugar; baking soda = bicarbonate of soda; heavy cream = double cream; cornstarch = cornflour; light corn syrup ≈ golden syrup.
The Tablespoon Warning for Australian Bakers
The Australian tablespoon is 20ml; the US/UK tablespoon is 15ml. Measuring an American recipe’s “1 tablespoon of baking powder” with an Australian spoon adds one-third more leavening than intended — enough to make a cake collapse or taste bitter. Use three Australian teaspoons (15ml) in place of one international tablespoon for precision ingredients, or use our tablespoon-to-grams calculator with the Australian toggle selected.