Sugar Free Raisin Nut Cake Recipe

You love raisin nut cake, but need to monitor your sugar intake for diet or health reasons, and/or you've experienced side effects from the popular commercial artificial sweeteners currently on the market. Maybe you just don't like the taste those sweeteners give to your favorite recipes. It is possible to make a sugar-free raisin nut cake with two natural sugar substitutes, Wholesome Organic Zero and stevia.

Sugar Substitutes vs. Artificial Sweeteners

Wholesome Organic Zero is USDA and QAI certified organic. It has no GMOs (genetically modified organisms), is kosher certified and is made from plants, so it's suitable for vegetarians. One cup of Organic Zero can be used interchangeably for 1 cup of sugar, except you may have to add a little more according to your individual taste. Stevia is the herb stevia rebaudiana, which has been used as a sweetener and medicine by the indigenous people of Brazil and Paraguay for more than a thousand years. Stevia has also been used exclusively in Japan as a sugar substitute since the 1970s because the Japanese banned all other commercial sugar substitutes as being unsafe for human consumption. The side effects from using commercial artificial sweeteners are many, including bloating, headaches, gastrointestinal problems and nervous system disorders. Some studies have even linked certain artifical sweeteners to cancer, panic attacks and depression.

What You'll Need

Electric mixer
Mixing bowl
Mixing spoon
Bundt cake pan

Ingredients

2 sticks softened butter
1 1/4 cups Wholesome Organic Zero or 1 tsp. liquid stevia mixed with 1/2 cup organic unsweetened applesauce (to make up for sugar bulk)
Five eggs
3 cups cake flour
1 tsp. cinnamon (optional)
1 tsp. cloves (optional)
1 tsp. allspice (optional)
2 cups of your favorite chopped nuts
1 cup or more seedless raisins
2 tbsp. half and half
2 tsp. vanilla

Preparation

Using electric mixer, cream together butter and Organic Zero or applesauce mixed with stevia. Add one egg at a time. Add flour 1/4 cup at a time. Mix the last 1/4 cup flour with raisins, nuts and spices and add to the mixture. Stir in vanilla and half and half. Pour into a greased and floured bundt pan. Bake at 350 to 375 degrees F about one hour or until toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Variations

Pumpkin raisin Nut Cake: add 1 cup canned pumpkin to recipe.
Carrot raisin nut cake: add 1 cup grated carrots to recipe.
Banana raisin nut cake: add two large ripe, mashed bananas to recipe.
Chocolate raisin nut cake: add two squares melted semi-sweet chocolate to recipe.
Substitute craisins or chopped dried apricots for the raisins in the recipe, or use half raisins and half craisins, or use 1/3 cup raisins, 1/3 cup craisins, and 1/3 cup chopped dried apricots.