Sugar Reduction Swaps: Alternatives for Cakes, Cookies, and Bars

As consumers become more health-conscious, many are looking to reduce their sugar intake. However, cutting back on sugar doesn’t have to mean sacrificing the sweet treats we love. Fruit concentrates offer a natural way to replace some or all of the granulated sugar called for in recipes, with the added bonus of more nutrients.

Keep reading to learn more about using fruit juice concentrates and sugar-reduction sweeteners in place of sugar in all kinds of delicious baked goods.

What are Fruit Concentrates?

Fruit concentrates, sometimes called fruit purees, are made by removing most of the water content from fruit juice.

What is left behind is an intensely flavored, thick syrup that can stand in for some or all of the sugar in cakes, cookies, muffins, bars, and more.

Common options are concentrates made from apples, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, cranberries, raspberries, strawberries, and more.

Benefits of Fruit Concentrates

There are several advantages to using fruit concentrates in baked goods:

• Fewer calories and less added sugar: Replacing even just half of the sugar called for in a recipe can reduce calories and sugar intake. This makes fruit concentrates a smart choice for the goal of improving nutrition.
• Natural sweetness: The sweet flavor comes from the fruit itself instead of being artificially created. Fruit provides complementary flavors that make treats taste homemade.
• Extra nutrition: Concentrated fruit packs in more fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants compared to plain sugar. For example, apple concentrate contributes pectin fiber.
• Moist texture: Fruit purees help baked goods stay moist and tender for longer by retaining moisture. This makes them especially ideal for healthier cakes that may otherwise turn out dry when cutting back on butter and oil.

Getting the Best Results

While using fruit concentrates in place of sugar does require some adjustments to recipes, when done right, the results can taste just as good as the original full-sugar version. Here are some tips:

• Mind the moisture: Replace only half the sugar at first, and add a couple of tablespoons of flour to account for the extra moisture from the fruit concentrate. Too much can lead to a gummy texture.
• Consider complementing flavors: Pair apple or cherry concentrates with spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Berries go well with vanilla, lemon, orange, almond, and cream cheese frostings.
• Account for sweetness: Some fruit concentrates may be sweeter than others, so taste test them and adjust any remaining sugar in the recipe accordingly.
• Store properly: Once opened, keep fruit concentrate refrigerated and use within a few weeks.

Other Sugar-Free Sweeteners

While fruit concentrates provide nutrition and moisture, there are several other options for reducing sugar in baked goods:

• Stevia leaf extract is natural, calorie-free, and hundreds of times sweeter than sugar.
• Allulose is a low-calorie sugar substitute that bakes and tastes similarly to sugar but with 70% fewer calories.
• Sugar-free syrups like maple, carob, coconut, and vanilla flavor recipes without spiking blood sugar.
• Flavors with modifying properties such as citrus, spices, extracts, nuts, and seeds can enhance sweetness perception, allowing actual sugar to be decreased.

Using a combination of fruit concentrates, non-nutritive natural sweeteners, and flavor modifiers enables maximum sugar and calorie reduction without too many tweaks to the original recipe. The result is sweet and moist baked goods that reduce sugar intake and produce delicious treats.