Christmas cake recipes ? Art of baking without sugar

Sugar is the most common sweetening agent in food items. Sadly, it can have many adverse effects on the health which can be both long and short term. Sugar, in extreme quantities can be harmful as it can cause cavities, turn quickly into fat, is dangerous to diabetics and it also adds to the growing problem of obesity. This is the major reason as to why many people today are turning to sugar-free and low-sugar diets for maintaining a healthier lifestyle.

A general notion with people is if baking is done without sugar, it is bound to be tasteless. For instance, a cake is supposed to be sweet, and when one replaces the sugar with a substitute, it will become bland. To be true, sugar free cakes can be as good as the ones with sugar. One just has to keep in mind that while baking a sugar free cake, the ingredients have to be carefully picked up. People might just choose a lot of ingredients which might be loaded with sugar. Even the natural sugars can be as damaging as the artificial ones. Thus, using a sugar substitute is the best choice. Also, using sugar in moderation always does the trick. The basic funda should be to use it wisely.

While baking, one can also use half sugar substitute and half granulated sugar. To bring out the fruitiness in a dish and intensify the flavours of the ingredients used, one can use flavor enhancers such as orange or lemon. Spices such as cinnamon, cloves, allspice, ginger, and nutmeg also help in intensifying flavours even in Christmas cake recipes. Using vanilla, butter flavouring and nut flavourings also produce the aroma of sweetness without the use of butter or excessive use of nuts. Cutting into very small pieces dried fruits such as plums, raisins, apples, pears, peaches, apricots, cherries, and cranberries, which provide tremendous sweetness, helps distribute the flavours and sweetness more evenly. Also, avoid using overripe fruits which are generally very sweet.

Incase one does not want to use a sugar substitute, following tips can be used for making a sugar free or less sugar meal:

? To replace the sugar and fat in soft, chewy cookies, one can add dried fruit puree.

? Bar cookies can be sliced into bite-sized portions.

? Adding natural sweetness of dried chopped fruit to the baked goods is always advantageous instead of the candied variety.

? For decorating, drizzling a bit of chocolate icing made from melted bittersweet chocolate and nonfat is always a good option.

? Before baking, one can always press the tops of reduced-sugar cookies into fine-grain coloured sugar crystals or crushed sugar-free hard candies.

Baking without sugar is not only healthy, but can be fun and as palatable as baking with it. And for Christmas, when one is sure of having that sweet tooth to celebrate the happiness and joy around, dishes with sugar substitutes, like Prune tart, Chocolate butter cake, Apple pie, Bread and butter pudding, Strawberry cheesecake and the likes just do the trick by fulfilling the desires as well as keeping everyone healthy!