Faking Pricey Ingredients

With a small kitchen comes a small budget. I recently came across a pretty handy list from the February 20 issue of All You (I read it because it was around, don't judge), listing replacements for expensive ingredients.
Below for your thrifty pleasure, the complete list:

• Red wine: pure cranberry juice
• White wine: white grape juice or apple juice
• Mascarpone: cream cheese mixed with some heavy cream
• Buttermilk (1 cup): 1 cup milk and 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar-let stand for 10 minutes (This sounds weird to me, and I would be curious to see if it actually works)
• Creme fraiche (1 cup): 1/2 cup sour cream mixed with 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Edamame: green peas or black-eyed peas
• Maple syrup: brown sugar with a little water
• Molasses: honey
• Cake flour (1 cup): 1 cup all purpose flour, minus 2 tablespoons
• Macadamia nuts: Walnuts, almonds or cashews (I would use more of the substitute nuts, as they are not as rich tasting as macadamia nuts)
• Fresh herbs (1 tablespoon): 1 teaspoon dried herbs
• Allspice (1 tablespoon): 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp ground cloves
• Unsweetened chocolate: 3 tablespoons cocoa powder, 1 Tbsp unsalted butter per oz.

I wonder if these actually work?