How to bake a cake without sugar!
Sugar-free but sweet…
Nowadays, more and more people are aiming towards consuming less sugar in their diet. And although when it comes to cakes, it might seem like a hard task to reduce the sugar ingredients. There are now hundreds of different artificial sweeteners available in the market.
However, the issue with these sweeteners is that not only are many of these products expensive but they affect the taste of the cake. You see, sugar is actually more than a sweetener. It also plays a big part in the texture, colour, and structure of a cake.
So how do we find a happy medium? This would be a cake which not only removes processed sugar, but also keeps that traditional sweet (and delicious ?) taste that a cake should have?
Well fear not, as we’ve rounded up a list of alternative sweeteners for you to try the next time you are baking…
Barley and Rice Malt Syrup
Barley and rice syrup are a great substitute for liquid sweeteners like honey, maple syrup etc. Both are unrefined liquid sweeteners sourced from soaked, sprouted barley and rice. They may slightly differ in flavour but both have a consistency similar to golden syrup and molasses.
Dates
Dates are naturally sticky, moist, and fibrous, making them a popular sweetener for both raw and baked desserts. Dates are “whole food”, meaning they don’t undergo any processing.
Coconut Sugar
Coconut sugar or palm sugar is a natural sugar made from coconut palm sap. It’s like the maple syrup of the coconut palm. Coconut sugar has lower glycemic and undergoes less processing, so retains some of the nutrients. It has a malty brown sugar-like flavour naturally.
Lakanto
Lakanto sweetener is derived from monk fruit, which looks like a small green gourd most commonly found in China and Thailand. The monk fruit is picked, dried out, and extracted. The end product is 100% natural, vegan, with no-GMO sweetener and 150 to 200 times sweeter than sugar. Lakanto is also zero glycemic, meaning it is a zero calorie sugar substitute, perfect for those who are diabetic.
Stevia
Stevia is derived from the leaves of a plant called Stevia rebaudiana. Stevia is great for those who are worried about calories. It is a non-nutritive sweetener, which means it has almost no calories. It contributes nothing nutritionally – it supplies sweet flavour and that’s all. Stevia doesn’t impact blood sugar levels or cause tooth decay.
Xylitol
Xylitol may sound like a synthetic ingredient, but the truth is Xylitol is extracted from hardwood trees and in some fruit and vegetables. This alternative sweetener has fewer calories than refined sugar and lower glycemic, meaning it has less of an impact on blood sugar levels. Like Stevia, Xylitol doesn’t cause tooth decay. However, you should keep in mind to keep this sweetener away from your dogs as it is considered highly toxic to canines.
Lucky for us, there are ways to cut out the sugar completely from our recipes. These are some of the ingredients we can use as alternative sweeteners for baking our sugar-free cakes at home. Now you can go sugar-free and still make your cakes tasty!
Author – Edward Cruz is a staff writer for VIPpromocodes.com, a website that provides the latest promotional codes, exclusive sales, and offers for all of the top stores in the U.S.
