Baking with Splenda
Anyone tried substituting Splenda for sugar in any baking recipes with success?
If so, any suggestions on the conversion?
My mom would like me to make her favorite banana bread with Splenda, as sugar is a problem at the moment. The container says it is a 1:1 conversion, but to me Splenda is much sweeter then sugar and of course I am wary of what will happen to texture/baking etc..
Typically, my recipe begins creaming 1 stick butter with 1 cup sugar.
Any thoughts appreciated.
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I just came across this thread on a Cooks Illustrated banana bread recipe (scroll down to see recipe). It is only 2 teaspoons of real sugar.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/721479~DD
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mcf
Oct 17, 2010 11:59 AM
My best advice to you is to skip the bananas and to buy a natural banana extract for the flavoring. Then consider buying liquid sucralose (Splenda generic) at sweetzfree.com; a little goes a VERY long way. It has no maltodextrin filler, which is high GI carb. It's zero calorie/zero carb.
Also, you can use half liquid sucralose and half xylitol to get better cumulative sweetening (using multiple sweeteners sweetens better than a single one) and taste. Xylitol bulks and moisturizes like sugar, sweetzfree does not; the combination works very well for me.
The extract has worked really well in muffins with my family, add walnuts and some yogurt (not fat free, has more lactose or added starches) or sour cream for moisture that would be there if you had real bananas. Any wheat flour is going to give her as bad a problem as table sugar if this is diabetes related, so you might want to experiment with white carbalose flour. The pancreas doesn't know the difference between sugars from starch or sugars from sugar; it's all glucose that has to be managed.
BTW, if she likes pancakes, too, adding natural maple extract to sugar free syrup makes it much more like the real thing and less anemic tasting. HTH.
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todao
Oct 17, 2010 08:10 AM
Every sugar substitute I've tried over the years has had its drawbacks but Splenda has proven to be the best of all I've used to date.
Splenda's sweetness being "one for one" by measure when compared with sugar is not, IMO, accurate. In some food combinations it tends to be far sweeter than sugar and with others it tends to be somewhat lackluster. Keep in mind that sugar is a liquid ingredient in your recipes and artificial sweeteners do not react the same way so you'll need to find something else (apple sauce/pureed apple or persimmon pulp works well) to provide the bulk that sugar would otherwise produce. I often use Splenda for half the sugar in a recipe and use half the real sugar prescribed.
I am currently working with Stevia but don't have enough experience with it to make any suggestions or recommendations as to its suitability for baking.
With respect to bananas: Bananas don't ripen in a linear fashion. As they ripen they produce chemicals (esters and alcohol) in increasingly greater quantities. By the time they've turned brown they have developed their highest level of aromatics and flavors and further "ripening" actually becomes the initial stages of spoilage.
For baking purposes bananas offer their best flavor about the time they begin to turn brown. but are not mushy, and can be easily mashed.›3 Replies-
re: todao
mcf
Oct 17, 2010 08:51 AM
Splenda is about 25% less sweet than sugar, gives many of us a waxy mouth feel and off flavor, but to some folks, it tastes just like regular sugar. The maltodextrin bulking agent in Splenda isn't any better for you than table sugar, either.
I use liquid sucralose half and half with xylitol; cuts the calories from Splenda to zero, and the calories from the total. Half and half prevents the icky Splenda mouth feel and taste for me.
The problem with ripe bananas is that they're not better for you than any other sugar. Same for apple sauce and other fruits; a diabetic hoping to avoid complications would need to take a lot of meds to tolerate such a meal, and that doesn't improve long term outcomes over not controlling at all, it increases mortality, in fact.
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One more thing that I want to add is that for my family bread I have noticed that it tastes it's best when I use very ripe bananas that have been frozen. I don't know if there is a science to this but I think it makes the bananas sweeter ... and it helps the crust of my bread to come out perfect ... we also like a bit of cinnamon. Yum!
Happy baking! :) -
Normally I wouldn't say anything ... but eating Splenda is not actually better than sugar. I am writing you as a former Splenda consumer. I used it in many foods and drinks for about 10 years until I got pregnant with my first child and noticed severe stomach aches and cramping every time I consumed it. A feeling I did not get with sugar ( which certainly is not healthy but I would take it instead of Splenda). Amazingly enough after I lost my baby weight I also became 10 lbs. lighter. I heard also of others who had the same thing happen after cutting out splenda because it causes you to retain water weight. I can't recall where I first heard this information ... but after a brief Google search I came up with a bit of info to get you started:
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all?content=10.1080/15287390802328630
http://www.holisticmed.com/splenda/
As for your sugar problem I can only suggest raw honey ... which might not be as tasty as sugar (neither is splenda), but at least you will be getting health benefits from it, or 100 % frozen white grape juice (I did this once for some blueberry muffins when I was pregnant and it was delicious. I have not actually tried honey in banana bread as I already love my family recipe but a favorite blog of mine uses honey in a sweet banana millet muffin, and she also speaks of the benefits of soaking your grain to aid in digestion: http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2008/02/monthly-baking-routine.html
Here if the information on the benefits of soaking: http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2...I hope this helps! Good luck! :
)-DD
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You're right- the baking conversion is not simply subbing Splenda for sugar with baking.
I'd take a look at the recipes on the Splenda website for banana bread recipes that might resemble mom's recipe....
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ipsedixit
Oct 16, 2010 12:16 PM
Excerpted from Baking911.com (full link: http://www.baking911.com/pantry/subs_... )
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It measures and pours, cup for cup - spoon for spoon, like sugar
1 packet = 2 teaspoons
In recipes where the amount of sugar is quite high, such as meringues, caramel, pecan pies, and angel food or pound cakes, complete substitution of SPLENDA® Granular for all the sweeteners may not yield the best results.
In recipes where sugar provides bulk structure to the product, such as yellow or chocolate cakes, cookies, muffins, quick breads, you may need to make a few slight changes in your recipe for best results.
Baked goods made with little or no sugar do not brown like recipes made with sugar. The addition of molasses, cocoa or other dark ingredients can help you achieve browning in recipes like those for cookies and cakes. For browning, add 1 tablespoon of molasses for every cup of SPLENDA® Granular used.
Cakes Successfully make a cake sweetened with SPLENDA® Granular by following these tips:
For every 1 cup of SPLENDA® Granular, add 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk powder (sifted) and 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda. Add sifted nonfat dry milk and baking soda to the remaining dry ingredients. Otherwise follow the recipe's directions. Baking: Check for doneness 7 to 10 minutes earlier than the recipe calls for.
Bar Cookies, Brownies, Muffins and Quick Breads Successfully make bar cookies, brownies, muffins, and quick breads sweetened with SPLENDA® Granular:
For every 1 cup of SPLENDA® Granular, add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda. Add SPLENDA® Granular to the butter, and cream the mixture well. Add baking soda to the recipe's directions. In muffins and quick breads, the addition of 1 to 2 tablespoons of honey or molasses will add some flavor and moistness. Baking: Check for doneness 3 to 5 minutes earlier than the recipe calls for.
