substitutions in baking

3 Responses for "substitutions in baking"

1. Chef Robyn December 17th, 2007 at 9:57 am

   Applesauce is a great substitute for fat in baking - but just doesn’t hold up as a sugar substitute (even when using the sweetened kind). When baking, use 1 cup of applesauce for a recipe calling for 1 cup of fat. Appleasauce works best as a substitute for oil in muffins and cakes but is not great for cookies or pie crust where butter is preferred. When trying out applesauce for your recipe - use unsweetened applesauce and test the first time using 1/2 oil and 1/2 applesauce. If you are happy with the results and want to try and reduce oil some more, increase to 1:1 but always add a little oil to keep some texture.

2. Becky August 22nd, 2008 at 9:57 am

   Hi I recently found out my husband is diabetic and he loves brownies and chocolate cake. His birthday is tomorrow and I want to make his cake using applesause insted of sugar. What would the conversion be from sugar to applesause and also If I use Natra Taste for replacing sugar how do I insure it will not turn out hard. Can I use applesause in brownies also and how much as the sugar in my recipe for homemade brownies is 2 cups I believe but I do not want hard as a rock cake or brownie so can you help me out? Thank You

3. Chef Robyn August 22nd, 2008 at 9:30 pm

   Dear Becky,

   In response to your questions, we’ve created a quick list of good substitutes for sugar. For your husband’s cake, let us recommend that you alter just the sugar OR the fat in your recipe - rather than changing to much. Or, if you do decide to “lighten” up on both accounts, than substitute just 1/2 of your fat (butter or oil) with applesauce. For the sugar, use an artificial sweetener or a natural sugar substitute. Unfortunately, Natra Taste is not a option for baking.

   Here’s a link to the how-to substitute for sugar in baking page:
   http://www.chefsline.com/blog/sugar-substitutes-for-baking