There are many reasons to swap out white sugar for alternative sweeteners when baking. Sweeteners like molasses, maple syrup, honey, and coconut sugar are all great options. Unfortunately, sugar doesn’t just add sweetness to a recipe. It also leavens, or adds air to baked goods, helps with browning, and adds chewiness and crispness. Sugar also, draws moisture from the air into your baked goods, which helps keep them fresh longer. Baking is more of a science than an art.
Options available
Honey
Pros
Honey is a flavor powerhouse. Not only is it rich, intense, and syrupy-sweet, the different types of honey are endless. From mild clover to dark, deep buckwheat, you’ve got options.
Cons
You can’t use honey in any recipe that requires creaming (the process of beating together softened butter and sugar). Granulated sugar crystals contain sharp edges that slice through the butter, creating air pockets that expand when heated, contributing to a lofty, risen pastry. Honey doesn’t create those air pockets, and it results in a denser baked good. It makes a softer product, but dries out quicker than baked goods made with sugar. It’s also more expensive than refined white sugar.
Honey is best used in
Soft, moist cakes like coffee cakes, and quick breads like muffins. It's also great in puddings, ice creams.
Maple Syrup
Pros
Maple syrup has a beautifully thick consistency and an earthy sweetness.
Cons
Like honey, maple doesn’t “cream” into a recipe the way granulated sugar does. It’s also expensive.
Tips
Maple syrup is sweeter than sugar, which means you can use less. Use maple in recipes that don’t require a creaming step, and try combining it with other sweeteners, like barley malt syrup or molasses. You can also find evaporated maple syrup, which comes in golden-brown granules and has a texture similar to muscovado sugar. Maple sugar can be substituted 1:1 for refined sugar.
Barley Malt Syrup and Molasses
Pros
Barley malt syrup is made by sprouting, drying, then roasting barley grains, while molasses is produced by boiling juice extracted from sugarcane or, less commonly, beets. Both barley malt syrup and molasses are intensely flavored and super rich—they can add a deep, satisfying note to baked goods and pastries. Molasses is also very acidic, which makes for light and airy cakes when combined with baking soda.
Cons
Some may find the flavor of molasses and barley malt syrup too intense. It can bully other, more subtle flavors into submission.
Best For
Ginger breads, cookies, additions to other sweeteners
Tips
Combining barley malt and molasses with another ingredient (molasses pairs particularly well with maple) makes for a more palatable baked good.
Brown Rice Syrup
Pros
If you’re looking to ditch corn syrup, this is a 1:1 swap. It has a milder, less-intense sweetness than honey.
Cons
It comes with a pretty steep price tag, and also can’t be used for creaming.
Best For
Candies, and gooey, fudgy confections like brownies
Tips
This can be used in place of honey or maple syrup, when you want a less-sweet pastry without having to play with the ratios.
Turbinado Sugar
Pros
If you’ve ever put a packet of raw sugar in your coffee, you’ve had turbinado sugar. It has a crunchy texture that makes it ideal as a finishing or dusting sugar. It’s similar enough to refined sugar that it can be used in recipes that require creaming. It imparts a flavor similar to brown sugar but with a crispier, more brittle and “cookie-like” texture. It can also be melted down and used, as granulated sugar would, to make candies.
Cons
The texture of your baked goods won’t be as perfectly smooth as ones made with refined sugar.
Best For
Finishing and decoration on cookies, short breads and cakes.
Tips
Add a few minutes to the creaming process when beating together turbinado and butter to allow the ingredients to incorporate completely. Generally speaking, a 1:1 ratio for refined to turbinado sugar works—but be mindful that turbinado is coarser, and can takes up slightly more volume.
Muscovado Sugar
Pros
Anything that conventional brown sugar can do, this can do, (and arguably better). Muscovado is like, brown sugar. It’s less intense than molasses, but it has that same deep, almost-smoky flavor. It also aids in browning.
Cons
Muscovado sugar is more expensive than regular brown sugar, and because it’s less refined, bakers may find a few small, hard nubbins of not-fully-processed sugar.
Best For
Cookies, fudge, brownies, frostings
Tips
Use it anywhere you’d use brown sugar in a recipe. Be mindful that baked goods will brown quicker, and could falsely appear done before they’re finished baking.
Fruit
Pros
Fruit is naturally packed with sugars, and it adds both sweetness and flavor. There’s also that whole “good-for-you-fiber” thing. You can either add it as a whole, fresh fruit (like puréed apple or cooked apple sauce, mashed banana, or pineapple chunks) or as juice (like apple, cranberry, or grape).
Cons
Fruit juice will alter the texture of your baked goods, making for an extra wet batter. This is one instance where you definitely can’t swap 1 cup of granulated sugar for 1 cup of juice.
Best For
Quick breads and cakes
Tips
Because fruit adds such a distinctive flavor to pastries, use it only when it will complement the other ingredients. For example: A carrot cake can benefit from crushed pineapple and/or apple juice. Although you’ll miss out on the leavening that happens when you cream butter and refined sugar. a good tip is beating together butter and dates—it makes for a super creamy consistency.
Coconut Sugar
Pros
Made from the processed staff of coconut blossoms (not actual coconuts) coconut sugar has a low glycemic index (a glycemic index quantifies how quickly and dramatically a food raises blood’s glucose levels). Well, at 35, it’s at least lower than that of refined sugar at 58. It doesn’t taste like coconut, which makes it very versatile (and is great if you hate coconut). It’s excellent in candies.
Cons
Coconut sugar has a softer texture than refined sugar, which means that, despite its similar appearance, the granules don’t perforate butter as well. This results in denser pastries. It can also make for baked goods with a dry texture.
Best For
Cookies, shortbreads, candies, and frostings
Tips
Compensate for a dry texture with extra fat or moist ingredients, like mashed banana or apple sauce. If melting coconut sugar for candy, be aware that the burning point is about 10 degrees lower than that of white sugar. And when it burns, Sever warns, it smells really, really bad.
Sorghum Syrup
Made from sorghum (a grass), this sweetener is similar to molasses and barley malt syrup in both texture and flavor.
ChocolateBittersweet chocolate may be used to flavor desserts since it already contains sugar. Simple desserts like custards and puddings work best, because they’re not reliant on sweeteners for leavening and other chemical reactions.
Agave
Made from the same plant that produces tequila, agave nectar has a low glycemic index, but is high in fructose (like refined sugar).
Bon Appetite
March 12, 2015 / Written by Rochelle Bilow
Options available
Honey
Pros
Honey is a flavor powerhouse. Not only is it rich, intense, and syrupy-sweet, the different types of honey are endless. From mild clover to dark, deep buckwheat, you’ve got options.
Cons
You can’t use honey in any recipe that requires creaming (the process of beating together softened butter and sugar). Granulated sugar crystals contain sharp edges that slice through the butter, creating air pockets that expand when heated, contributing to a lofty, risen pastry. Honey doesn’t create those air pockets, and it results in a denser baked good. It makes a softer product, but dries out quicker than baked goods made with sugar. It’s also more expensive than refined white sugar.
Honey is best used in
Soft, moist cakes like coffee cakes, and quick breads like muffins. It's also great in puddings, ice creams.
Maple Syrup
Pros
Maple syrup has a beautifully thick consistency and an earthy sweetness.
Cons
Like honey, maple doesn’t “cream” into a recipe the way granulated sugar does. It’s also expensive.
Tips
Maple syrup is sweeter than sugar, which means you can use less. Use maple in recipes that don’t require a creaming step, and try combining it with other sweeteners, like barley malt syrup or molasses. You can also find evaporated maple syrup, which comes in golden-brown granules and has a texture similar to muscovado sugar. Maple sugar can be substituted 1:1 for refined sugar.
Barley Malt Syrup and Molasses
Pros
Barley malt syrup is made by sprouting, drying, then roasting barley grains, while molasses is produced by boiling juice extracted from sugarcane or, less commonly, beets. Both barley malt syrup and molasses are intensely flavored and super rich—they can add a deep, satisfying note to baked goods and pastries. Molasses is also very acidic, which makes for light and airy cakes when combined with baking soda.
Cons
Some may find the flavor of molasses and barley malt syrup too intense. It can bully other, more subtle flavors into submission.
Best For
Ginger breads, cookies, additions to other sweeteners
Tips
Combining barley malt and molasses with another ingredient (molasses pairs particularly well with maple) makes for a more palatable baked good.
Brown Rice Syrup
Pros
If you’re looking to ditch corn syrup, this is a 1:1 swap. It has a milder, less-intense sweetness than honey.
Cons
It comes with a pretty steep price tag, and also can’t be used for creaming.
Best For
Candies, and gooey, fudgy confections like brownies
Tips
This can be used in place of honey or maple syrup, when you want a less-sweet pastry without having to play with the ratios.
Turbinado Sugar
Pros
If you’ve ever put a packet of raw sugar in your coffee, you’ve had turbinado sugar. It has a crunchy texture that makes it ideal as a finishing or dusting sugar. It’s similar enough to refined sugar that it can be used in recipes that require creaming. It imparts a flavor similar to brown sugar but with a crispier, more brittle and “cookie-like” texture. It can also be melted down and used, as granulated sugar would, to make candies.
Cons
The texture of your baked goods won’t be as perfectly smooth as ones made with refined sugar.
Best For
Finishing and decoration on cookies, short breads and cakes.
Tips
Add a few minutes to the creaming process when beating together turbinado and butter to allow the ingredients to incorporate completely. Generally speaking, a 1:1 ratio for refined to turbinado sugar works—but be mindful that turbinado is coarser, and can takes up slightly more volume.
Muscovado Sugar
Pros
Anything that conventional brown sugar can do, this can do, (and arguably better). Muscovado is like, brown sugar. It’s less intense than molasses, but it has that same deep, almost-smoky flavor. It also aids in browning.
Cons
Muscovado sugar is more expensive than regular brown sugar, and because it’s less refined, bakers may find a few small, hard nubbins of not-fully-processed sugar.
Best For
Cookies, fudge, brownies, frostings
Tips
Use it anywhere you’d use brown sugar in a recipe. Be mindful that baked goods will brown quicker, and could falsely appear done before they’re finished baking.
Fruit
Pros
Fruit is naturally packed with sugars, and it adds both sweetness and flavor. There’s also that whole “good-for-you-fiber” thing. You can either add it as a whole, fresh fruit (like puréed apple or cooked apple sauce, mashed banana, or pineapple chunks) or as juice (like apple, cranberry, or grape).
Cons
Fruit juice will alter the texture of your baked goods, making for an extra wet batter. This is one instance where you definitely can’t swap 1 cup of granulated sugar for 1 cup of juice.
Best For
Quick breads and cakes
Tips
Because fruit adds such a distinctive flavor to pastries, use it only when it will complement the other ingredients. For example: A carrot cake can benefit from crushed pineapple and/or apple juice. Although you’ll miss out on the leavening that happens when you cream butter and refined sugar. a good tip is beating together butter and dates—it makes for a super creamy consistency.
Coconut Sugar
Pros
Made from the processed staff of coconut blossoms (not actual coconuts) coconut sugar has a low glycemic index (a glycemic index quantifies how quickly and dramatically a food raises blood’s glucose levels). Well, at 35, it’s at least lower than that of refined sugar at 58. It doesn’t taste like coconut, which makes it very versatile (and is great if you hate coconut). It’s excellent in candies.
Cons
Coconut sugar has a softer texture than refined sugar, which means that, despite its similar appearance, the granules don’t perforate butter as well. This results in denser pastries. It can also make for baked goods with a dry texture.
Best For
Cookies, shortbreads, candies, and frostings
Tips
Compensate for a dry texture with extra fat or moist ingredients, like mashed banana or apple sauce. If melting coconut sugar for candy, be aware that the burning point is about 10 degrees lower than that of white sugar. And when it burns, Sever warns, it smells really, really bad.
Sorghum Syrup
Made from sorghum (a grass), this sweetener is similar to molasses and barley malt syrup in both texture and flavor.
ChocolateBittersweet chocolate may be used to flavor desserts since it already contains sugar. Simple desserts like custards and puddings work best, because they’re not reliant on sweeteners for leavening and other chemical reactions.
Agave
Made from the same plant that produces tequila, agave nectar has a low glycemic index, but is high in fructose (like refined sugar).
Bon Appetite
March 12, 2015 / Written by Rochelle Bilow
RSS Feed
