Splenda/sugar substitute in baking.. Any good??

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susanmary88
susanmary88 Posts: 37
in Recipes
I want to make some cupcakes for a friends birthday but with new years resolutions and all that I know my friends arent going to be too keen on high fat, sugar cupcakes.

Anybody use splenda or other sugar subs for baking and how does it compare??

Replies

  • karinaes
    karinaes Posts: 570 Member
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    do Stevia. natural with no calories
    Splenda is an artifical sweetener.. you want to stay away from those :wink:
  • Keiras_Mom
    Keiras_Mom Posts: 844 Member
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    Granular splenda doesn't bake well. You can use liquid splenda or stevia or erythritol.
  • veggievixen79
    veggievixen79 Posts: 109 Member
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    I did some research on this too--google something like "sugar substitutes baking". Baking is a chemical reaction so the texture will probably suffer, and sugar also helps keep baked goods from going bad. What about finding recipes that use banana or apple sauce--they probably call for less sugar because of the sweetness of the fruit.
  • ms99pepper
    ms99pepper Posts: 7
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    i'd stay away from splenda... unless you enjoy small amounts of arsenic in your food. artificial sweeteners are the worst and there are SO many natural ones that are actually beneficial to our health:
    my favorite is agave, someone already mentioned stevia, those 2 are the best
    others include:
    sucanat, brown rice syrup, barley malt syrup, rapadura sugar, turbinado sugar, raw sugar, beet sugar, date sugar, maple syrup, molasses, and blackstrap molasses

    also my gramma starting using applesauce instead of oil due to cholesterol. i've never done this ( i don't bake) but its worth googling to see some healthier alternative
  • cardbucfan
    cardbucfan Posts: 10,424 Member
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    I use splenda in my coffee every day and have for years. That said, I do not like using it in baking-especially the brown sugar. You need different quantities of artificial sweeteners than regular sugar so it changes the texture and balance of your product. I also can taste an aftertaste with artificial sweeteners. I'd just make it with regular sugar. It's her birthday for crying out loud! Or make something non-sweet.
  • susanmary88
    susanmary88 Posts: 37
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    Thanks guys, il have to look out for some stevia so!
  • Erin51
    Erin51 Posts: 35
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    I bought Stevia and thought it tasted terrible. My sister tried it for baking and threw the dish away. I think we need to learn to live in the sugar world...but use smaller portions! How about making cake balls? Each person gets a bite of a sinfully delicious piece of cake with frosting and stops right there. Bakerella.com has good recipes. You can customize the cakepops and make them sensational! Best wishes on your health journey. :smile:
  • thinnerisstronger
    thinnerisstronger Posts: 124 Member
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    I'd recommend using stevia. It does have a bit of a weird taste (in tea anyway. I've never baked with it) but anything is better than artificial sweeteners.
  • purpadillo
    purpadillo Posts: 45 Member
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    I hate stevia, but you may not have a problem with it (for instance, I have no problem with Splenda here and there). A lot of times when you bake, you can actually reduce the amount of sugar called for without the taste suffering (I made sugar cookies with 1/2 the sugar it called for).
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
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    I absolutely hate the taste of splenda, it tastes really bitter to me, but my husband can't taste the difference between that and sugar (and he was a taster for years, so has a very acute sense of taste), so it really must depend on your tastebuds.
  • DG_Allen
    DG_Allen Posts: 219 Member
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    I've used splenda and it's good. I usually compromise and use half sugar and half splenda.
  • colorfulcupcakes
    colorfulcupcakes Posts: 122 Member
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    There are some pretty great recipes in the Hungry Girl cookbooks/website that call for boxed cake mix and canned pumpkin. It's still "junk food" but it tastes good and there's less fat/calories (I dunno how the sugar content compares though). There are also recipes that call for stevia, etc., and they taste pretty good.
  • iKapuniai
    iKapuniai Posts: 594 Member
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    Oh god, splenda and other artificial sweeteners taste NASTY! Especially when you COOK with it. Baking might be a bit difference, but it still has a pretty pungent aftertaste in my opinion.

    Personally, I've found that TRUVIA tastes pretty good, I've even used it straight with some strawberries and it tastes just like sugar to me, just don't cook with it. Baking is okay, I would think.

    Another thing you could use is ERYTHRITOL (which is what Truvia is, I believe) or XYLITOL. They both have about the same granular texture, about the same sweetness to me, and I believe they're both carb friendly as well (if you're into that sorta thing). I'm not TOO experienced in cooking/baking with these, but the things that I HAVE made with them turned out pretty well! If you don't know much about these sweeteners, I'd consider researching on Google. :)

    Hope this helps.

    Love and Alohas,
    Ihilani Kapuniai
  • 1953Judith
    1953Judith Posts: 325 Member
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    I've used splenda and it's good. I usually compromise and use half sugar and half splenda.

    The stevia makes me cramp. I hate the baked splenda, but on occasion will do half sugar and half splenda. Brown rice syrup, agave syrup, and honey all bake well. I have used applesauce and mushed bananas. Personally, I would rather do without than have a cupcake baked with splenda or stevia.

    I have had some great alternate desserts -- majool date stuffed with lemon ricotta cheese or berries topped with homemade lemon yogurt, for example.
  • cthoma70
    cthoma70 Posts: 228 Member
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    I was a stuck a month or so ago on a weight and could not drop it. I was eating 1200 calories or less a day. I was eating oatmeal 1 or 2 times a day sweetened with Splenda. I read somewhere about Slenda and others making you gain weight, I cut down on the Splenda a lot and I ate the same way, excluding the sweetened oatmeal and I lost. Just something that happened to me, may not be the same with others
  • lynzy713
    lynzy713 Posts: 67 Member
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    if you're going to use splenda - get the "splenda for baking"...it doens't have the odd taste that the regular splenda does.
  • ckish
    ckish Posts: 358 Member
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    I bought a stevia plant for $3.00 and it tastes great. The dried version does have a funny taste but the fresh plant is yummy!

    Also just found this at http://under400.tumblr.com/tagged/just_so_you_know

    "If you buy dry stevia sweetener in the US, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand, chances are that your purchase is a product that is 99.8 per cent erythritol. Millions of people have used stevia-erythritol blends without ill effects, but stevia sweetener definitely is not a natural product."
  • rotnkat
    rotnkat Posts: 393 Member
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    I have been having some reactions to Splenda and Equal, so I cannot use them. So now I only use Whey Low for all of my baking needs and in my morning coffee.

    It''s all natural and it taste just like sugar. Also measures cup for cup of sugar, but only has 4 calories per teaspoon or 1 gram of useable carbs. They have brown sugar, powder, granular, and a few other products.

    You can find a coupon on their website or sign up for their specials and they'll email you the discount code.

    Good luck,
    Anita

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