Sugar Free Baking

mousemcfly, Apr 27, 8:56am
Does anyone know of a cook book that specialises in sugar free baking!Trying desperately to cut it out of the diet but still need goodies for the lunch tins!Cheers.
elliehen, Apr 27, 9:07am
If you look for recipes with a large fruit component, you can cut the sugar right back.
joybells2, Apr 27, 7:22pm
Be careful of ones with lots of fruit in them, dried fruit is loaded with sugar.
joybells2, Apr 27, 7:23pm
I mean natural sugar of course.
rose7, Apr 27, 8:37pm
would love to learn sugar free baking please
vmax2, Apr 27, 10:12pm
If you want to cut down on sugar then baking is not an option.You need to change the way you think and offer goodies in the form of mixed nuts and raisins, a nice piece of fruit, chicken drumstick, piece of yummy cheese etc.
elliehen, Apr 27, 10:16pm
It really doesn't work very well even when you don't object to using artificial sweeteners (the added sugar is what gives a cake its volume),

Why not take a favourite recipe and experiment with reducing the quantity of sugar! I have a banana cake where I've reduced the added sugar from one cup to a quarter of a cup and it still turns out a good cake.

You can also take filo pastry and make fruit parcels, with grated apple, a handful of sultanas and a little cinnamon, or fruit squares with canned, unsweetened apricots.
camper18, Apr 28, 7:06am
Very interested in this thread as my 16yr old grandson has just been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and he usually loves his muffins and chocolate cake but is being very strict and brave with his diet but eventually would like to be able to have some goodies so as not to be left out when others are tucking in. And before all the food gurus get into me this child was breastfed for 14 months never had a bottle drank water and milk all his life (no coke or fizzy or he bounced off the walls) ate his meat and veg, hardly ever had takeaways, ate a good breky and had a cut lunch every day. He is 6ft 1in tall and weighs 61 k and very sporty. so not a roly poly couch potato.
angel404, Apr 28, 7:12am
I make a carob coconut balls.
1c raisins
4tbsp coconut oil
about 3/4c coconut
3/4c carob powder
however many almonds finely chopped
1/2tsp vanilla essence

Put all in a blender then roll into small balls and then roll in extra coconut. Put in the fridge.
cgvl, Apr 28, 10:29am
camper have a look at the diabetic baking thread I put the link up further in this thread.
It has info re carb amounts.
the bee healthy cookbook and and another are also mentioned.
I use about half the sugar in a lot of recipes but I am type 2 so a lot different to a type 1.
elliehen, Apr 28, 12:01pm
That's a tough age at which to have to make big changes, camper, but he's starting with the advantages of a healthy weight, good eating habits and a love of exercise.
earthangel4, Apr 28, 8:01pm
Thank you Angel,going to make this one.
dibble35, Apr 28, 8:06pm
OP, I just got a book out of the library called - the sweet poison quit plan by David Gillespie. All about how addictive sugar is and how to give it up, anyway in the back is a good selection of recipes, muffins, biscuits, breads,puddings etc. Most are made with Dextrose, if this is an option for you, would be worth getting the book maybe.
cgvl, Apr 28, 9:20pm
dibble dextrose is another name/type of sugar.
For sugar free you need to either use an artificial sweetener or a natural sweetener like banana's, apples, pure apple juice or orange juice.
dibble35, Apr 29, 5:20am
I know its a diff type of sugar, depends why you are going sugarfree i guess this book was to break the sugar addiction and this type of sugar was 'good'/better for you, was interesting reading this book.
vmax2, Apr 29, 5:36am
And then you have carb addictions - "I want bread".Same as the sugar addiction.Best not to do baking at all.
gennie, Apr 29, 10:49am
I have been doing the dukan diet but love baking so have found that hard.In the diet you have 2T of oatbran a day so I have been trying to come up with things I can bake using the oatbran as my flour and using fake sugar (which never tastes quite the same) and trying to also make them lowfat. The texture is never quite the same but it is better than nothing. This evening I made chocolate cupcakes.
100g of flora (the one with lowest amount of fat)
1 cup artificial sweetener (the powder stuff that is 'measure for measure' when baking
100 g vanilla/plain yoghurt
3 eggs
5T sifted cocoa
2t baking powder
14 T oatbran
Mix everything together with a whisk/beater.
Put in cupcake papers and cook for about 20mins at 180 degrees.
I would recommend that you try recipes you already have and replace the cup measurement of sugar with fake sugar.I don't think you can do 'real' baking without sugar.Even if you substitue sugar with, say, pureed apple - there is sugar in the pureed apple, you just don't see it.So it is either sweet baking with fake sugar or savoury baking such as scones which don't have sugar in them anyway (but are loaded with fat!).