I got a request for a sugar free cake. There are lots of recipes for cake, but I'm stumped on a solution for the buttercream. I usually use an American buttercream under fondant, but obviously, powdered sugar is out.
Pillsbury has a sugar-free vanilla creamy frosting in the 15 ounce cans.
This is based on the cooked-starch recipe where water and starch are cooked and then whipped into a mixture of shortening and synthetic sweeteners. Check the Pillsbury website for the exact list.
You could try the cooked-flour icing recipes posted on Cake Central using water in place of milk (avoiding lactose). You can then see whether splenda or other similar sugar substitute will give you a reasonable flavour. Just sprinkle the splenda in while you are whipping the icing after you have added the cooked flour to the shortening. Add to taste along with vanilla.
Thank you for pointing me in a direction. I really appreciate it. I'll try to follow up with my experiments this weekend.
I like to use a recipe similar to the frosting here, substituting sugar-free pudding mix and whipped topping (although even the regular topping is pretty low in sugar): http://www.thelittlekitchen.net/2012/01/31/the-best-chocolate-cake-ever-with-pudding-frosting/
Sugar is not the only concern for a diabetic cake, white flour supplies tons of carbs so you need to look for lower-carb alternatives. We tried for months to create a diabetic-friendly cake but we never were able to put together a recipe we were comfortable selling. The best sugar alternatives we used were Splenda and Stevia but either the glycemic index for the recipes were too high for us to recommend to diabetics or there were issues with the taste/texture.
Personally I would rather have a tiny piece of cake that tastes great instead of a regular-sized piece of mediocre cake.
Sugar is not the only concern for a diabetic cake, white flour supplies tons of carbs so you need to look for lower-carb alternatives. We tried for months to create a diabetic-friendly cake but we never were able to put together a recipe we were comfortable selling. The best sugar alternatives we used were Splenda and Stevia but either the glycemic index for the recipes were too high for us to recommend to diabetics or there were issues with the taste/texture.
Personally I would rather have a tiny piece of cake that tastes great instead of a regular-sized piece of mediocre cake.
THIS!
the white flour has just as much impact on blood sugar as a little bit of sugar. Though i guess in the 'every little bit helps' a slice of a reduced sugar cake is better than a full sugar cake.
I think a traditionally decorated cake could be hard to pull off, but if you really wanted to do something with as little carb impact as possible, you could do a dessert-style flourless chocolate cake made with splenda (in place of the sugar) and bittersweet chocolate. Use a ganache for topping with a stabilized whipped heavy cream (again, splenda to sweeten) and some fondant/gum paste flowers or decorations that would be not eaten. Still a wonderfully festive dessert that felt special, even if it wasn't the traditional layer cake full of sugar roses.
I did once use the low-sugar pilsbury mix with the stabilized cream (even tinted to make flowers) for a family birthday cake. It was yuck (so chemical tasting!) I would much rather make a naturally lower sugar dessert instead of a faux cake.
You might also want to look at Paleo or Primal cake recipes on line. Those aren't going to use the mainstream flours--more like coconut or garbanzo flour--but they will have a lower GI along with the benefit of not using artificial sweeteners.
I agree with the two posts above. The processed flour in any cake is more harmfull to a diabetic than the sugar.
Im a diabetic myself and I make a carrot cake using whole wheat flour and normal sugar. A slice of regular cake without any icing/filling actually raises my sugar more than a piece of my carrot cake with some cream cheese filling.
And I have to agree 100% with Jason,
Personally I would rather have a tiny piece of cake that tastes great instead of a regular-sized piece of mediocre cake.
Check out www.elanaspantry.com her cake recipes are really good. I have both her books and the recipes are easy to follow and taste great.
They are free of white flour and white sugar and diabetic friendly. As long as the person receiving the cake can eat almonds, it will be a hit.
Good Luck and Happy Caking
Best flour-free cake recipes are made with finely ground nuts: almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans. Look for "kosher for Passover" nut spongecake recipes.
Of course these have a significant amount of fat from the nuts, which must also be calculated for in a diabetic diet.
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