I'll probably get the "dumb question of the day award" but here goes, Has anyone ever tried using Splenda or other substitute for the powdered sugar in their BC? Just wanted to know if anyone else tried before I go and do something stupid. LOL

Yes, and it sucked.. Never again I would try.. It was all a waste.

Thank you! You just saved me a fortune. I know some diabetics and thought I would try to bake cakes for them as well. Guess I'll keep trying. Thanks again.

I used it to bake a cake, too, and never again. And it was the Splenda that says it's made for baking. Wrong!!! The taste is fine, but the cake was about 1/2" thick! Flat, and hard. No thanks!

you should check out some of the diabetic recipes. I use one that calls for sugar free pudding, cream and cream cheese that is very good to decorate with. also, I have substituted splenda in apple cake and everyone loved it and said they couldn't tell.

Thank you all for your response. I'm heading to the library to find some books for diabetic receipes. Thanks again.

Okred, would it be possible that you could share your receipe for the icing? I'll certainly understand if don't wish to do so. Thx

Sorry, didn't mean to leave you hanging on this. I use the recipe redpanda posted, from this site. It is really good to decorate with but it has to be refrigerated and needs to be covered while in the frig or it gets rubbery. Put in frig until set and then cover. Takes color well also, at least the recipe I use which is cheese cake pudding.

Splenda has the same volume as sugar, but very little density- it's mostly air. If you attempt to use it for buttercream, you end up with sweetened butter- no sugary texture.

There are some sugar free ingredients that work well for icing- sugar alcohols such as maltitol, isomalt and sorbitol. In large quantities, they can be laxating, though, so you have to be careful of how much you use, and know your audience well.

Speaking of knowing your audience, diabetic is not synomous with sugar free. It used to be, those days are long past. There are quite a few approaches to diabetic nutrition. These approaches include

Low carb
Low fat
Sugar free
Moderation
No limitations/medication
A combination of the above

Labeling a sugar free recipe as 'diabetic' is extremely misleading. Very few diabetics these days watch only their sugar intake.

Talk to your diabetic friends and find out what they do and do not eat. Also, find out where they stand on sugar alcohols (SAs). If they're open to SAs, that would be ideal as they make the best icing- virtually identical to sugar. If SAs aren't an option, then you're stuck with workarounds like sf pudding that aren't half as good, and, if your friends are watching all carbs, aren't suitable.

Thank you all for your responses to this question. I have found some receipes on this web site that I will be trying. A note to itsacake, thank you for the receipe. Everyone here is so kind and generous with their time and experience. Thanks again.