Experiment With Maple Syrup And Honey
For basic baked goods like sugar cookies or pound cake, using maple syrup or honey instead of sugar lends the finished product a little extra flavor. Youll need a little less of these sweeteners for your recipejust ¾ cup of maple syrup or honey replaces a full cup of granulated sugar. And because these sweeteners are liquid, youll also need to use a liquid measuring cup and reduce the amount of other liquids in the recipe by three tablespoons for every cup of syrup or honey to compensate. Also, keep an eye on your cake or cookies, or reduce the oven temperature by 25°F, as they may bake faster than the same recipe made with standard sugar.
Swap it: 1 cup granulated sugar = ¾ cup syrup or honey
Can A Cake Be Made Without Baking Powder
When baking cakes, many recipes call for baking powder. This powder is used to give bread a nice texture and to keep cake from becoming dry or too heavy.
However, there are other recipes that do not require baking powder and they can still be delicious. For example, a chocolate cake will not rise if made without the powder, but will still be delicious.
What Is The Difference Between White Sugar And Brown Sugar
The difference between white sugar and brown sugar is that brown sugar is made from white sugar, but molasses has been added to give it a richer robust caramel flavor.
Brown sugar also provides moisture to any recipe where its used, making the outcome softer in things like making breads, cookies, and cakes.
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Does It Matter If I Forgot To Put Baking Powder In My Cake
Making your own baking powder is a fun and easy way to add flavor and structure to your baking recipes. There are many brands and types of baking powder available, so it is important to select the right one for your needs.
Here are some tips on how to make sure you choose the right type of baking powder:
Best Sugar Substitutes For Baking
Some of the best things in life are baked, especially when homemade.
We all have fond memories of fresh cookies out of the oven, bread fresh from the bakery, and pies made from scratch.
Being diabetic doesnt mean you cant relive those memories or make them for your children. Here are some easy replacements for sugar so that you, too, can indulge once in a while in homemade goodness.
Baking without sugar is not as easy as just throwing in some substitutes. Sure, some of those powders work great in coffee, but when you subject them to the prolonged heat of the oven, they often fall flat or, worse, go sour. To save you some trial and error, here are some good substitute options for the best baking results.
Whey Low
Probably the easiest option to use in place of granulated sugar, whey low is three naturally-occurring sugars blended together . While individually they can raise blood sugar levels, when blended they counteract one another and have about one-quarter of the calories and one-third of the glycemic index of cane or beat sugar. Your bodys absorption of this sugar is also slower, so when used in moderation it can be a great way to substitute for regular sugar in your recipes.
Note: Laboratory testing of Whey Lows claims of lower glycemic uptake has not been completed and reported however, preliminary results from the University of Maryland in College Park have been issued and are promising.
Splenda®
Try these sugar cutters and enjoy baking again!
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How To Bake With Stevia
If used in the right recipe, liquid Stevia can be the best substitute for the job the trick is to know what kinds of recipes.
The Stevia plant is part of the Asteraceae family, related to the daisy and ragweed. Stevia has no calories and is 200 times sweeter than sugar. In other words, Stevia really should be used sparingly. In my early days of alternative baking, I would bake an entire pan of brownies with just 5 drops of Stevia!
While this did add sweetness, I could always tell the recipe was missing the oomph it had when baked with sugar, though. I really do like to use liquid Stevia when making raw or liquid desserts. This is great for sweetening up drinks, smoothies, puddings, mousse, raw food, nut butter The list goes on, but what all these things have in common is that they are all cold not baked desserts.
What To Look For In An Artificial Sweetener
There are tons of types and divisions of artificial sweeteners out there. There are different kinds of sugars, different added ingredients, different brands, and so on.
On this sea of choices, do you know which one is the one for you? Among the many options all around, which one fits your needs and your health situation the best?
There are some ways to find out what sugars are best and how to choose among them. Some of them are:
- Compare the many brands available
- Look for zero-calorie varieties
- Do prior research about the side effects of the type you are looking for
- Consider your uses of sugar and look for baking sugar, cooking sugar, or table sugar, separately
- Consider your other health issues like â blood pressure
Other factors also include differences in sweetness concentration, texture â powdered, granule, or liquids, and so on.
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How Much Sugar Can You Eat If You Have Diabetes
There is no set limit for people with diabetes, though general dietary recommendations say to limit added sugars to less than 10% of your daily calories. The most important thing is to track your carbohydrate intake and account for them in your diabetes management plan. Work with your healthcare provider on the amount that’s right for you.
White Sugar And Liquid Sweetener
No molasses around? You can still create a suitable substitute for brown sugar if you have any of these common pantry ingredients: maple syrup, agave nectar, honey, brown rice syrup, or date syrup. Combine the liquid sweetener with white sugar using the same ratio as you would with molasses 12 Tbsp. for every 1 cup of white sugar. Of these, date syrup is your best bet thanks to its similarly caramel-like, almost nutty flavor thats reminiscent of molasses. None of these sweeteners will offer quite the same depth in flavor or color, but all of them are solid options.
If you dont have any of those sweeteners around, but you do happen to have pomegranate molasses, you can try mixing it with white sugar in the same quantity. It will lend a tartness to the dish, and possibly a pinkish hue depending on the amount used, but depending on what other flavors youre using, this could be a strength rather than a weakness.
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What Is Granulated Sugar
The sugar you usually use every day in addition to food and beverages is cane sugar. This sugar is obtained from sugar cane plants that are processed and heated.
The result of this process is crystals, or more commonly known as granulated sugar. The limit of consumption of granulated sugar in a day according to the Ministry of Health is 4 tablespoons or the equivalent of 148 calories.
Tips And Tricks For Sugar Substitutes
Store them at room temperature. Seeing as the constitution of these granulated sugar substitutes is very different than refined white or brown sugar, they can become drier and harder over time. I suggest storing all powder sugar substitutes in an extra airtight container at room temperature in a cool, dry place.
Break up the lumps. If not used within around 6 months, these confectioners sugar substitutes can age and harden or become stale in texture. If this happens, they can be broken up and used as normal in your recipe. In other words, dont be alarmed if you see any lumps in your sugar subs.
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Maple Crystals Or Maple Syrup
Health information: Maple syrup is a terrific sugar substitute for baking, but you might not be familiar with the dehydrated maple crystals from maple tree sap. The crystals contain about 4 carbohydrates and 15 calories per teaspoon. Maple crystals and syrup are loaded with minerals, including calcium, potassium magnesium, manganese, and phosphorus. They also include iron and trace amounts of B2, B5, niacin, zinc, and folic acid all are important for a healthy immune system, heart, and reproductive system. Maple syrup has a low glycemic index of 54, and 50% each of glucose and fructose.
Measurements: Use 3/4 cup of syrup or crystals for every cup of sugar called for in a recipe. Recipes will be moister if you use maple syrup, so reduce liquids in the recipe by 2 to 4 tablespoons. Maple syrup tends to make baked goods brown more quickly than sugar, so lower the oven temperature by 25 degrees Fahrenheit.
Tips: Maple crystals or syrup can be used in marinades, on cinnamon toast, in oatmeal or other hot cereals, in glazes, and in baked or raw desserts like cookies and candy. Always use 100% maple syrup, not table or pancake syrup, which is highly processed. Most brands of table or pancake syrup contain a high amount of corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup, according to Consumer Reports.
White Sugar And Molasses
A combination of refined sugar and molasses is by far the best brown sugar substitute since theyre the two components that make up the ingredient. Molasses is responsible for brown sugars deeper flavor and color, as well as its higher moisture content . Its also what distinguishes light brown sugar, which contains 3% to 4% molasses, from dark brown sugar, which contains 6% to 10% molasses. Light and dark brown sugar can be used interchangeably in a pinch, but if youre making homemade brown sugar, its easy to adjust based on what the recipe calls for. Combine 1 cup of granulated white sugar with 1 Tbsp. of molasses for a light brown sugar substitute, or 2 Tbsp. for a dark brown sugar substitute.
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Why Should You Use Sugar Substitutes
Wondering why it might be wise to avoid added sugar and use substitutes instead? Excess sugar consumption is not just bad for your teeth, its also associated with high rates of diseases like diabetes. Pure sugar is high in carbohydrates, which can cause unwanted spikes in blood glucose levels.
Sugar is also high in calories without having much nutritional value, so substitutes are useful for those seeking to lose weight.
Best Sugar Substitutes For Baking That Actually Taste Good
The best sugar substitute for baking has to strike a delicate balance. The replacement has to perform like sugar, brown in the oven like sugar, and most importantly, taste like sugar. Several products have emerged on the market in recent years that give sugar a real challenge in these areas. Lets take a closer look at the best sugar substitutes for baking that taste good.
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Sugars Sugar Substitutes And Sweeteners: Natural And Artificial
If youre living with diabetes, or even if youre not, you might think sweet foods are a barrier to your healthy, balanced diet. As a general rule, everyone should be eating less sugar but sometimes, only something sweet will do.
If want to lose weight, or youre trying to keep your blood glucose levels stable, you may want to know whether artificial sweeteners could help. If you browse around your local supermarket, youll see a huge range of sweeteners on offer, so it can be baffling to know which, if any, to go for.
Use 1 Teaspoon For A Cup Of Sugar
This sweetener is extracted from stevia leaves called Stevioside and Rebaudioside A. This natural sweetener taste little different from sugar, zero calories and is almost 200 times sweeter than processed sugar. Stevia is helping in lowering the blood pressure. It is also considered to be beneficial for diabetic patients.
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How To Bake With Lakanto Sugar Substitutes
Lakanto Sugar/Sweetener is derived from monkfruit, which looks like a small green gourd. The monkfruit is picked and dried, then the sweetness is extracted from the dried fruit. This means Lakanto is 100% naturally derived, vegan, and no-GMO.
While Lakanto brand monkfruit sweetener provides a lovely sweetness, its zero glycemic in other words, its a zero-calorie alternative sugar making it great to use if you are diabetic or looking to regulate your sugar intake. Lakanto makes brown sugar, white sugar, and even powdered sugar that can be used 1:1 for sugar. I love the ease of baking and cooking with this as it works like a charm and has no bitter aftertaste like Stevia.
In addition to 3 different kinds of powder sweetener, Lakanto also makes a Maple Syrup alternative that I also love to cook with, bake with, and add to raw desserts. The only downfall of this sugar replacement is that after being heated, then cooled, the sugar can crystallize and have a slightly gritty texture. To avoid this, I suggest desserts that are baked with Lakanto that are then cooled should be reheated before enjoying to ensure they have the correct texture!
Maple Sticky Bun Cake
How to use it: Maple sugar is wonderful when used for homemade granola, in fruit compote or added to coffee. It can be used as a one-to-one replacement for sugar when baking, though you may want to cut it to 3/4 of a cup, because the flavor is really strong. You can use it for everything from brownies and cookies to cakes and pies, as long as you enjoy the taste of maple. Cut any other liquids in your recipe by 2 to 3 tablespoons to compensate.
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Whats The Difference Between Natural And Artificial Sweeteners
Sugar alternatives can be natural or artificial. Basically, artificial sweeteners are synthetic sugar substitutes, which may be derived from naturally occurring substances, such as herbs or sugar itself. Natural sweeteners, on the other hand, are generally substitutes already found in nature, but in some cases, they could have gone through processing, which makes themwell, not that great for you.
For natural substitutes, the most important things to consider are glycemic index and fructose content, explains Lauren Slayton, MS, RD, and founder of NYC-based nutrition service Foodtrainers. Glycemic index is a measure of how your body reacts to a type of foodand how much it raises your blood sugar. Spikes in blood sugar are related to diabetes and insulin resistance and therefore can cause long-term problems.
In addition, foods with high fructose levels can increase hunger hormones, and then are readily stored as fat. And just as natural sweeteners arent the holy grail of nutrition, artificial sweeteners are also not as bad as you think they might be. If youre looking to balance blood sugar levels, an artificial sweetener might be the better option of the two, adds Agyeman. But they all tend to have different flavor profiles.
Below, check out a list of sweeteners , to help determine the best sugar substitute for your favorite sweet treats.
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Use In Cooking And Baking
Because many sugar substitutes are much sweeter than sugar, it takes a smaller amount to achieve the desired sweetness. Therefore, when cooking or baking, your recipe may need to be adjusted if youre swapping white table sugar for a sweeter alternative.
While the sweetener package may have specific instructions for cooking and baking, this may come down to trial and error , or you can search for specific recipes that use sugar substitutes or natural sweeteners in place of white sugar.
A few other things to be aware of when cooking and baking with alternative sweeteners:
- Your baked goods may be lighter in color as natural sugar browns more deeply when baked and artificial sweeteners dont brown as nicely.
- Cooking time may need to be adjusted.
- There may be a texture or aftertaste youre not used to.
- The volume of cakes or cookies may be slightly decreased as youre using much less sweetener.
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Baking With Sugar And Sugar Substitutes
When you find articles by ‘Allrecipes Editorial Team,’ know that this byline indicates a collaborative effort from our core team of writers and editors. Through these collaborations, the Allrecipes staff is able to provide readers with the most current, accurate, and comprehensive information possible. The editorial team at Allrecipes consists of passionate food writers, chefs, editors, and other media specialists who are committed to responsible journalism and creating reliable food and cooking content for an audience of equally passionate home cooks. Collectively, our team brings decades of industry experience to the table and insists on placing quality at the forefront.
Discover the many roles that sugar plays in baking and learn about different kinds of sweeteners.
Sugar performs many important roles in baking. It provides moisture and tenderness, liquefies as it bakes, increases the shelf-life of finished products, caramelizes at high temperatures, and, of course, adds sweetness. Refined sugar helps cookies spread during baking, allowing their crisp texture. Because of these critical functions, bakers can’t simply replace sugar with a different sweetener. However, in many recipes, you can decrease the amount of sugar by one third without affecting the quality of the product.