How to Use Sugar Substitutes in Baking
Whether you've made a resolution to cook with less refined, more raw sweeteners such as honey or molasses or you need to switch to artificial sugar substitutes for health reasons, baking with non-refined cane sugar alternatives takes care and consideration. Sugar not only provides sweetness to a recipe, it also adds volume, helps the baked item brown and makes drop cookies spread out to their usual round, flat shape. You can get similar results when you bake with sugar substitutes. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Honey
- Maple syrup
- Molasses
- Saccharine
- Acesulfame potassium
- Sucralose
Instructions
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Natural Sugar Substitutes
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1
Substitute 3/4 cup plus 1 tbsp. of honey per cup of sugar asked for in the recipe, and reduce other liquids in the recipe by 2 tbsp. to compensate for the honey's liquid state. If the recipe does not call for sour cream or buttermilk, add a pinch of baking soda to neutralize the honey's potential acidity.
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2
Add 3/4 cup of maple syrup in place of each cup of sugar your recipe calls for and decrease other liquids by 3 tbsp. -- the maple syrup adds liquid.
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3
Break out the molasses. The substitution ratio for molasses and sugar is 1-1/3 cup of molasses per cup of sugar, and reduce other liquids in the recipe by 5 tbsp. Add 1/2 tsp. baking soda per cup of molasses used to reduce the molasses' natural acidity.
Artificial Sugar Substitutes
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4
Use six 1 g packets per 1/4 cup sugar you want to replace.
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5
Use acesulfame potassium at the ratio of six 1 g packets per 1/4 cup sugar. Do not replace more than half the sugar in the recipe.
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6
Bake splendidly with sucralose. One cup of baking sucralose is equal to 1 cup sugar. Sucralose makes baked goods cook faster, so adjust oven times accordingly, and check the progress of your cake and cookies more often.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Honey is sweeter than sugar, and will add its distinctive flavor to your recipe. Using honey as a sugar substitute also adds extra liquid to the batter, and will make the cake or cookies brown much more quickly.
Maple syrup also brings a more liquid component and its own flavor to your baking recipe. Grade B syrup, the darker, cheaper option, is better for baking.
Molasses will add its own dark color and taste to your baked goods. If you must substitute sugar with molasses, substitute half the sugar, not all, for best results.
Saccharine should only replace half the sugar in a baking recipe for optimum results.
Aspartame cannot be used for baking; the sweetness breaks down when heated.
References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
