Sweetener recommendations for holiday baking?

#1

I love baking and I’m planning on making a cheesecake and a chocolate Swiss roll for Christmas. Yay! But I’ve never met a sweetener that I’m really happy with.

I’ve been using erythritol for keto baking so far, but I’m really turned off by the cooling aftertaste.

I tried Sola sweetener but stopped using it after GI distress and reading about the dangers of maltitol.

I hate stevia, full stop.

I’ve read that xylitol has the same cooling aftertaste as erythritol.

I’ve heard good things about lakanto monk fruit, but I’ve also heard that it’s mostly erythritol and has the same cooling aftertaste.

Help please?

(Amanda) #2

I can’t offer too much advice, but I am in a similar situation. I did some baking for a Christmas party last weekend I had some positive and not so great results. I found that the more flavourful the item the less the sweeteners offended my tastebuds.

Today as I was wondering around the grocery store I wondered about adding a bit of cream of tartar to some of the baking that the sweeteners seemed to crystallize in if maybe that would help. I am no chemist, but if it will keep sugar from crystalizing when making candies, it may help. I looked at pure monkfruit and decided that $35+ for a 30g bag is not in the budget this year.

I had success with the almond ricotta cookies from ket connect (fresh, not so great after they were frozen) and the Keto cream cheese truffles and pecan softies from ruled.me. Hope that helps. :smile:

#3

I haven’t had any issues using Erythritol myself, but that may just be a personal thing? But I do use both versions, the regular one is more of a crystal form and keeps a crunchiness about it, but the powered version does not. … I was going to add that I too do not like Stevia, but also tried Truvia, which is a lot like Stevia, but doesn’t have the terrible after-taste. (Or I should say the after-taste is not as bad) … But for me, I’ve been using Erythritol myself, but can see why you’re looking for something different, if you don’t like it. … Good luck

(Janelle) #4

I know you said you don’t like sweetener like Swerve but I discovered the powdered version of it doesn’t seem to have the cooling effect than the grainier version does for me. It’s also not as weirdly crunchy. I put it in a keto pumpkin cheesecake and got rave reviews from non-keto guests.

#5

Yep, this is what I was saying as well. Before purchasing the Powdered Erythritol, I used a Mortar to crush it down to powder. … This isn’t bad, but can be a workout. Especially if you have quite a bit to do. Found it easier to just purchase some, so I have both presently. (Like for Cheese Cake, I use the crystal form in the crust for a little added crunch, but powdered in the cake itself.)

(Edith) #6

I’ve heard allulose does not have an after taste, but I haven’t tried it, yet. I was going to look into it this week, actually.

#7

Buy the crystallized and grind it in a blender or a coffee grinder, same thing. Edith, I was also looking into allulose, as it supposedly reacts the same way as sugar in recipes (just not as sweet). I wasnt quite ready to take the leap with my holiday baking (way too expensive if it didnt work out). Please let us know if you do get some and how you like it.

#8

Oh, I have. I’ve used my mincer, which I use to grind up my Cheese Cake Crust. But also wanted to try some store bought. Not a big deal either way. I actually don’t use it much really, but nice to have. But a mortar also does a good enough job when it’s not much needed.

#9

The powdered version still has the cooling effect for me :disappointed_relieved:

(Katie the Quiche Scoffing Stick Ninja ) #10

Allulose! PURE ALLULOSE!

#11

Does it stay grainy after baking?

#12

Being in Australia, I’m guessing you order yours from overseas?

(Katie the Quiche Scoffing Stick Ninja ) #13

I haven’t actually ordered it yet, but I am going to, when I am not so broke lol.

But I have heard nothing but wonderful things.
There is a keto aussie baker in here, gosh I wish I could remember her name so I could tag her, but she makes wonderful keto treats with allulose.

#14

So I looked at allulose and my only hold back is it being less sweet than sugar and $20 a pound :open_mouth:

I found a blend on Amazon that’s primarily allulose with monkfruit and stevia, so I’m going to try that. Most of the reviews say it’s 1-for-1 with sugar and no bitterness. I’ll have to experiment with it prior to Christmas, but I don’t mind doing some taste testing! If it doesn’t work I’ll go for the straight allulose.

(Heather Meyer) #15

PURE Allulose!!! No cooling effect, caramelizes and browns. Can make Brittles and baked goods and ice cream with it…pretty much anything. Just remember when following a low carb or keto recipe to up the amount of allulose im the recipe by 30% to equal the sweetness in a recipe using Erithrytol or Swerve.

#16

jxr450vv

(Running from stupidity) #17

It’s like that getting a lot of stuff down here, yeah :slight_smile:

(Diana ) #18

I bought a bag of allulose (after taking out a loan) and find it to be only about 30% as sweet as sugar. Considering the price, one would end up paying about 100 times the cost of equal amount of sugar sweetening power.
I’m just hoping it goes down in price. :roll_eyes:

#19

I’ve never tried it myself, but do have Erythritol, (Both crystal & Powdered) Stevia and Truvia. But don’t like the aftertaste of Stevia, and Truvia is only a little better. … I’m sure I will find something it can be used in that does not leave the aftertaste as bad, say, something with a sauce maybe? But I still use any sweeteners very slight. Actually, I’ve only really used it in Cheese Cakes presently. … But might try Alulose one day? Also never tried Monk fruit, but didn’t see too many good reviews on it while researching.

(Ted) #20

I’m a fan of Splenda for baking. I tend to use a bit less than most recipes call for as I think most are too sweet to begin with. I make a keto cheesecake with Splenda and all my non-keto friends love it.