How does cannabis work in baking?

The decisive principle is called decarboxylation. Raw cannabis flowers mainly contain THCA – a non-psychoactive precursor. THCA is only converted to THC through heat (approx. 105-115 °C, 30-45 minutes in the oven). This step is mandatory before melting cannabis into butter or oil.

When baking, fats bind THC particularly well. Butter, coconut oil and olive oil are ideal carriers because THC is fat-soluble – not water-soluble. This is why cannabis butter works so well as a base for brownies, cookies and cakes.

Important to know: At temperatures above 175 °C, THC increasingly loses potency. Therefore, bake at moderate temperatures (150-165 °C) and keep the baking time a little shorter.

Making your own cannabutter – the basis for everything

Nothing works without good cannabutter. Production is easier than you might think:

1. Decarboxylate cannabis (105 °C, 40 minutes)
2. Melt 250 g butter + 250 ml water in a pan over a low heat
3. Add decarboxylated cannabis (e.g. 5-10 g, depending on the desired strength)
4. Simmer for 2-3 hours at approx. 70 °C – never boil!
5. Filter through a fine sieve or cheesecloth
6. Leave to set in the fridge, drain off the water

You can find the full recipe with exact quantities and step-by-step photos on ZenCannaKitchen – Classic cannabutter.

Space brownies – the classic among cannabis baked goods

Space Brownies are the perfect introduction to cannabis baking. The recipe is forgiving, the taste intense, the result reliable.

Ingredients (16 pieces):

• 100 g cannabutter
• 200 g dark chocolate (70 %)
• 150 g sugar
• 2 eggs
• 80 g flour
• 30 g cocoa powder
• 1 pinch of salt

Preparation: Melt the chocolate and cannabutter in a bain-marie. Stir in the sugar, eggs and salt. Fold in the flour and cocoa. Pour into a greased 20×20 cm tin and bake at 160 °C for approx. 25 minutes. Test with a skewer: slightly moist is perfect.

The complete recipe: Space Brownies – ZenCannaKitchen.

Cannabis Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cookies can be prepared excellently with cannabutter. The result: crispy on the outside, moist on the inside – and with an even effect per piece, provided the butter is dosed well.

Ingredients (approx. 24 cookies):

• 125 g cannabutter (room temperature)
• 125 g normal butter
• 150 g brown sugar
• 100 g white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 350 g flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 200 g chocolate chips

Mix the dough, chill for 30 minutes, shape into balls, bake at 170 °C for approx. 12 minutes. Full recipe: Cannabis Cookies – ZenCannaKitchen.

Cannabis pear crumble cake

For those looking for something a little more sophisticated: A pear crumble cake with cannabutter is an elegant dessert for connoisseurs. Pears, cinnamon and the earthy cannabis flavor harmonize surprisingly well.

ZenCannaKitchen has published a detailed video about this:

Recipe: Cannabis pear crumble cake – ZenCannaKitchen

Dosing: how to bake safely

The biggest mistake when baking cannabis: too high a dosage, because the effect takes 30-90 minutes after eating. Only then do you realize whether it was “too much”.

Rules of thumb:

• Beginners: max. 5 mg THC per serving
• Experienced users: 10-15 mg THC per serving
• Calculation: 1 g cannabis with 15 % THC contains approx. 150 mg THC. With 16 brownies per batch, that’s ~9 mg THC per piece – for a batch with 1 g cannabis.

If you would like to find out more about the medical effects of cannabis, you can find detailed articles on FIV: Cannabis for back pain and Cannabis for social anxiety.

Another tip: never combine cannabis baked goods and alcohol. The effect can increase unpredictably.