Tips for Baking with a Sugar Substitute

There are many reasons why individuals may choose to bake with a sugar substitute. There are several benefits to this. Diabetics would be able to enjoy a home-made "sugary" treat, that tastes the same, if not better than baked goods with granular sugar. The most common reason most people use artificial sweeteners nowadays is to cut calories. Many artificial sweeteners often consist of zero calories, which make artificial sweeteners ideal for baking for dietary purposes.

There are four main types of artificial sweetener, which are on the market under the commercial names that we are familiar with such as Splenda, Sweet n Low, Generally Artificial sweeteners are much sweeter than their granulated counterparts so you may not need the same amount for baking as you would with sugar. As much as seven hundred times sweeter. These four main types of artificial sugar are Saccharine, Aspartame, Acesulfame Potassium and Sucralose.

When baking with Saccharine it is recommended that you substitute only half of the sugar with the actual sugar substitute. (Saccharine is also known as Sweet and Low).Saccharine is anywhere between 200-700 times more sweet than granulated sugar. Aspartame also known as Equal and NutraSweet is not recommended for baking. The heat kills the sweetening agent and makes the sugar substitute to lose its sweet flavor. If you are going to attempt to bake with Aspartame, the results will not be pretty.

Acesulfame Potassium can hold its own in the oven, so you may use this while baking. However when baking with this specific sugar substitute for best results you must mix it in with granulated sugar, which really is not an option when baking for someone who suffers from diabetes. Sucralose is the last of the four artificial sweeteners that you may use for baking. Personally this is the one I use. Baking with Sucralose Also known as Splenda, is convenient in the sense that it is the same measurement as with regular sugar. There is no conversion of measurements when baking with Splenda. Something to watch out for when baking with this specific type of artificial sweetener, is that your baked goods will be done anywhere from ten to fifteen minutes earlier due to the fact that Sucralose tends to speed up the baking process. Baking with artificial sweetener is not as complicated as some may think it is, It is a healthy alternative to sugar.