Baking with sugar substitutes?

[FowlersFreeTime]

So, interesting thing happened yesterday. I made a banana bread with a sugar substitute which claims to be 1 for 1 replacement for brown sugar, but the results I didn't expect were:

• When creaming the butter and "sugar" together, the mixture was thicker and perhaps even "drier" than I'm used to
• Which resulted in the batter being more "concrete" than "cake batter"
• I added extra milk to the mixture, but the end result was a bit dry, even though it baked/rose/sliced as expected

Have you baked with sugar alternatives?
Is my experience typical?
Do you have any recommendations?

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

 

[flyinglentris]

I don't like sugar substitutes, but I don't like pure cane sugar either.

I therefore, prefer brown sugar and when necessary, powdered sugar.

I generally even avoid brown sugar and powdered sugar, except when applied to baking. For instance, for coffee, I use other sweeteners, - honey, agave syrup, molasses, maple syrup, etc.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

I guess "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"
It was worth an experiment, as my wife often asks me for lower calorie variations when I cook, but if this is typical of sugar substitutes I won't do it again...

 

[garlichead]

Why did you want to do it in the first place, curious? Never mind I read your second post. Lowering calories is popular but I would recommend to just eat less then mess with hundreds of years of yumminess.

 

[Morning Glory]

Why did you want to do it in the first place, curious? Never mind I read your second post. Lowering calories is popular but I would recommend to just eat less then mess with hundreds of years of yumminess.

I tend to agree. In cakes its often the fat content which is ramping up the calories. Sugar isn't as calorific as fats. In a classic sponge cake the sugar calories are half that of the fat.

I use sugar substitutes occasionally but mainly in simple custards or to sprinkle on things. They work fine that way - the one I like is Truvia which is Stevia leaf extract.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

Why did you want to do it in the first place, curious?

haha I'm still asking myself the same thing!
Regardless, my wife says this cut 500-ish calories from the recipe so she's happy with it... even if I'm not.

 

[TastyReuben]

haha I'm still asking myself the same thing!
Regardless, my wife says this cut 500-ish calories from the recipe so she's happy with it... even if I'm not.

Around here, that stuff would cut 100% of the calories because neither of us would eat it.

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

I have used Swerve as a sugar substitute before, and it’s true that it isn’t exactly a 1:1 replacement in terms of sweetness. But, of all the sugar substitutes I’ve tried, Swerve is by far the best. I’ve found that it works best in recipes where the sugar (substitute) doesn’t do all the heavy lifting.

I made blueberry muffins, which I posted on my blog, and they were amazing:

Blueberry Muffins – Absolute 0 Cooking

Swerve also works really well for sweetening ice cream.

Stevia, on the other hand, is absolute garbage. Oh, so it’s 100 times sweeter than sugar? Really? So, I can use 1/2 a teaspoon instead of a cup in my recipe? I bought a giant bag when I joined Weight Watchers, thinking I’d use it all the time, but I threw it out after a few uses. No detectable sweetness at all, despite the claims.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

Stevia, on the other hand, is absolute garbage. Oh, so it’s 100 times sweeter than sugar? Really? So, I can use 1/2 a teaspoon instead of a cup in my recipe? I bought a giant bag when I joined Weight Watchers, thinking I’d use it all the time, but I threw it out after a few uses. No detectable sweetness at all, despite the claims.

Agreed, Stevia isn't great. I even tried growing it, and that's LESS sweet than the powdered extract!