# What is the best sweetener to use in baking?



## BritMumInCanada (Jan 14, 2010)

I am doing a diet which restricts sugar intake (don't most??? lol), however I would like your opinions on the best sweetener to use in baking. I would prefer a natural sweetner if possible. I find some sweeteners have that horrible bitter taste, especially in cakes etc, so suggestions would be appreciated.

I am in Canada so would need suggestions that are available to me.


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## Selkie (Jan 15, 2010)

Pure Stevia Extract Powder (NOT Green Leaf! It has additives.) Stevia will not break down below 500 degrees and if properly used, is not bitter. Just don't use too much. The amount the size of a pea is equivalent to a cup of sugar (90% pure is 250 times sweeter than sucrose - 1.3 oz. is 990 servings), so, if in doubt, use less and you'll be correct more often than not.

It has 0 carbohydrates, 0 calories, and doesn't not affect your blood sugar level.


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## babetoo (Jan 18, 2010)

don't know if splenda is natural. in baking i use it measure for measure for sugar. there is also a splenda brown sugar sub. sometimes the volume needs the measure to work. not sure if stevia can do that. doesn't sound like it.

i am diabetic and this works for me.


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## Selkie (Jan 18, 2010)

Splenda is not natural, and may interfere with the absorption of any prescription medications, making them ineffective.

And I'm also a diabetic, that's why I do my research and find out what these products do.


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## babetoo (Jan 19, 2010)

i am diabetic as well. i take many meds. at my age, all seem to be effective for me. to each his own. do you bake with stevia?


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## Selkie (Jan 20, 2010)

Yes


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## bethzaring (Jan 20, 2010)

unless you have blood sugar issues, the best sweetener to use in baking is white granulated sugar...if your diet restricts sugar intake, then the best plan is to restrict sugar intake....but as for baking with sweeteners, sugar is the easiest and most recipes are developed to use white, or brown, sugar...baking with any other sweetener is a challange


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## kadesma (Jan 20, 2010)

I agree Beth,
as a diabetic I fine It works fine for me if I make the size of what I eat smaller and exchange carbs...I guess I'm lucky I prefer savory to sweet. French or Italian bred is my downfall
kades


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## Alix (Jan 20, 2010)

Here's a third vote for using sugar in baking and just calculating the amount you can have and controlling your portion accordingly. 

Selkie, in all I have read, Splenda is derived from sugar. (Chemically treated yes, but still originates with sugar) It is one of the few "sugar subs" my body will tolerate. I can't use any aspartame or anything like that. 

Stevia is natural, but in a recipe it is difficult to sub because of the volumes. Where you would use 1 cup of sugar you only need a wee bit of stevia for sweetness so it throws your batter out of whack. Its good for sweetening things like coffee or tea, but not so great for baking IMO.

BritMom, there are lots of things you can do to reduce your sugar intake. If you do all those small things (no sugar in coffee or tea, or on your cereal, sugarless gums etc) then you will have room for the occasional dessert made with real sugar. You can easily calculate how many grams of sugar you are getting. For example 1 cup of sugar in a batch of brownies that makes 15 brownies 225g/15 =15g per brownie. 

Welcome to DC, where are you in Canada? I'm in Edmonton.


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## CookLikeJulia (Jan 20, 2010)

*I thought this site might help finding more info about Slpenda
*

and this one is about Natural Sweeteners


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## babetoo (Jan 20, 2010)

thanks for info


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## Alix (Jan 21, 2010)

CookLikeJulia said:


> *I thought this site might help finding more info about Splenda
> *
> 
> and this one is about Natural Sweeteners


Very helpful! Thanks. I didn't know the bit about the bulking stuff in Splenda adding more calories, that was a good bit to know.


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## nikki (Feb 17, 2010)

BritMumInCanada said:


> I am doing a diet which restricts sugar intake (don't most??? lol), however I would like your opinions on the best sweetener to use in baking. I would prefer a natural sweetner if possible. I find some sweeteners have that horrible bitter taste, especially in cakes etc, so suggestions would be appreciated.
> 
> I am in Canada so would need suggestions that are available to me.


 
 Hi fellow Canadian!  
One thing that I sometimes substitute sugar for in baking is simply vanilla sugar. It gives a really nice vanilla taste, and you use significantly less of it than regular sugar. You can buy it in little packets at the grocery store... (1 tsp has 4 calories, and one packet is enough "sugar taste" for I believe 4 cups of flour. 1 packet is 9g. The ingredients are just vanilla and sugar.)
If you need something that uses sugar for more than just the sweetness, have you tried that splenda sugar mix? They have a brown sugar one, where you use half of what you would of the normal sugar, and it has significantly less sugar. Doesn't leave a bad after taste at all either from what I've found. 
I also try to use brown sugar over white whenever possible, and use less sugar than most recipes call for. There are other natural sugars that you could use (easily found in the grocery store's baking isle). I add more flavour by adding in things like honey, dates, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla extract, maple extract, etc.. It all depends on the recipe you're using. Most recipes are quite versatile. 
Hope this helps some!


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