How to reduce sugar in desserts

For an incurable sweet tooth, one way to reduce the sugar load is to become your own dessert chef. You can cut the sugar by exercising more control over the ingredients in foods you fix yourself.

Cutting back on sugar has multiple benefits. You’ll eat fewer calories and make more room for foods that, unlike sweets, contribute important nutrients.

You can also reduce your risk of tooth decay, lower your blood triglyceride level, and better manage blood sugar if you’ve got diabetes.
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Getting started is easy, but some recipes require more thought than others. It doesn’t always work to simply slash the sugar.

In baking, for example, the exact proportions of ingredients – including sugar – are important.

In baked goods, reactions between ingredients such as baking powder, baking soda, salt and liquids can make the difference between a cake with volume and a flat flop.

When you bake muffins, quick breads, cupcakes or cookies, sugar contributes to not only the flavor but also the texture, moistness and color of the finished product.

In general, you can usually reduce sugar by 25 percent in recipes for baked goods and still get a good result.

Don’t count on sugar substitutes such as Equal and Splenda. They may not hold up to the heat in baking, and they don’t contribute like sugar does to qualities such as color, texture and moisture.

You have to experiment with sugar substitutes and blends to see what works in your recipes.

You’ll have the best luck using them in desserts such as puddings or sauces that require exposure to lower temperatures or shorter cooking or baking times.

My own preference is to avoid artificial sweeteners and compensate for less sugar in other ways. For example, you might try some of these ideas:

• Add flavor by increasing the amount of vanilla, almond flavoring or spices you use such as cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom or allspice.

• Use bits of fruit for added sweetness. Try raisins, chopped apples or pears, dried apricots or cherries, dates and mashed, ripe bananas.

• Replace frosting on cakes and cookies with a dusting of powdered sugar or cocoa.

• Serve unsweetened applesauce instead of chocolate or caramel sauces over ice cream or cake.

Cut the sugar and enjoy the satisfaction of knowing your desserts are healthier ones.

Source: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/05/02/2037839/how-to-reduce-sugar-in-desserts.html#storylink=cpy