Baking with Sugar Substitutes: Tips & Recipes

Some people want to do their baking with sugar substitutes because most of the substitutes have less calories. Others MUST do their baking with sugar substitutes because of blood sugar problems like diabetes or low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). Sometimes, the symptoms for both conditions can be similar when eating too much sugar. Here are my Tips for Baking with Sugar Substitutes.

Years ago Sweet n Low® took a battering for its saccharin being a harmful carcinogenic if used consistently in large amounts. Today, it is being said that saccharin is actually comparatively as safe or safer than sweeteners with aspartame (NutraSweet®, Equal®, etc), since most alternative health practitioners believe aspartame can affect the nervous and immune system (see CalorieControl.org pro-aspartame article here, Mercola Wellness anti-aspartame here, and saccharin here). Saccharin has no calories and a packet has less than one gram of carbohydrates.

I find some things with NutraSweet to be too sweet, and that you need a lot of Equal to achieve the sweetness of some of the other suggested substitutes in this article. So I do my baking with Sweet n Low.

Sweet n Low is easily used in recipes and cream pies (See my Sugar-Free cheesecake recipes with Sweet n Low here!) and will act exactly like sugar in the mixing process. Use in these portions:

1/4 cup sugar = 6 packets or two tsp bulk Sweet n Low
1/3 cup = 8 packets or 2-1/2 tsp
1/2 cup = 12 packets or 4 tsp
1 full cup = 24 packets or 8 tsp

Splenda®: Splenda has no calories, so it's great for dieters! However, it's not so good for people with blood sugar problems. Splenda is "sucralose" - a compound chemically made from sugar in a laboratory. It turns into a "fructo-galactose" molecule, which doesn't occur in nature, so it is foreign to the body and may not properly metabolize (see this article, also at Mercola Wellness). When I eat products with Splenda, I still sometimes get the same blood sugar headaches as if I were eating straight sugar.

Splenda can easily be used in baking recipes as follows:
1/4 cup sugar = 6 packets Splenda
1/2 cup sugar = 12 packets Splenda, and so on (doubled)

Splenda also makes a mix with real sugar and a brown sugar mix. The brown sugar mix sounds great for spice cakes or carrot cakes (see their conversion chart page here)

Agave Nectar (also called agave syrup), a honey-like substance, comes from a variety of Mexican plants called agave. - About 25 calories per serving, but sweeter than sugar - 1/4 Cup of Agave is equivalent to 1 Cup of table sugar. However, it does contain fructose and glucose, and has an even higher fructose level than high-fructose corn syrup. Many brands of Agave Nectar are available at health food outlets or can be ordered on line.

Agave nectar, since it is liquid, would work well for custards, flan, pudding and cream pie recipes.

Stevia is taken from a plant native to Paraguay and used for centuries as a natural sweetener. It generally will not affect the glycemic index like sugar or some artificial sweeteners.

But Stevia will give an inferior texture when baking, and won't quite help soften batter, do caramelizing, or feed yeast fermentation. It's better to just use this in a cup of coffee, tea or bowl of oatmeal instead of sugar. It comes in packets and bulk like the other powdered substitutes. I've also found it can leave a bitter after-taste.

Remember- any of the substitutes ending in "ose" (fructose, sucralose, glucose) as used in recipes may still alter your blood sugar.

Bonus Tip: Here are a couple of great Recipes for Baking with Sugar Substitutes! (Frostings are not included.)

Simple Chocolate Cupcakes:

1/2 cup shortening
Use the 1 cup equivalent of your chosen sugar substitute
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup cocoa, unsweetened
1-1/2 cups sifted cake flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup buttermilk or sour milk (yes, sour!)
1/2 cup hot water

Grease a muffin tin.
Preheat oven to 375°.
Mix shortening and sugar substitute.
Beat egg and vanilla and sift in the other dry ingredients.
Add to the creamed mixture, alternating with milk and hot water. Beat on medium for 3 minutes.
Fill greased and floured or paper-lined muffin tins about 1/2 full.
Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until a wooden pick or knife comes out clean.
Makes 16-18 cupcakes.

Single Layer Carrot Cake:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup of your chosen sugar substitute
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1-1/2 tsps baking powder
1-1/2 tsps ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
2 tsps vanilla extract
1 cup finely grated carrots
Optional: Almonds or raisins.

Preheat oven to 300°.
Grease and flour a 9-inch square baking pan.
Electric mix at medium speed. Beat flour, sugar, oil, eggs, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla until smooth.
Stir in grated carrots and pecans.
Pour batter into pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until cake pulls easily from sides of pan. Cool and cut into squares.
Top with sugar-free Cool Whip®.
Makes 8 large to 14 smaller slices.

(The medical information in this article is not from a health care professional. If you have blood sugar problems, please consult your physician.)