UPDATE on June 24, 2008: We no longer use Splenda. Click here for the details.
This is not an ad for Crisco or Splenda. It hurts that I have to buy them. It hurts even more that I am writing about them. They are screaming Artificial!!! right at my face but it’s substituting Crisco for butter and Splenda for sugar or no baking cakes and cookies at all. Hard to argue with one’s blood sugar, you know. The heartening thing is that it’s not as bad as I thought it would be. It’s a matter of getting used to, both in taste and in baking techniques, but I’m learning. And the learning process sometimes yield pleasant surprises.
I’ve done two baking projects recently, both based on recipes from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook, and the second attempt was better than the first. If you’re considering ditching the butter for vegetable shortening and the sugar for a sugar substitute, these baking tips might be helpful.
Splenda comes in powder form and in granules. The granules are meant for baking. I don’t know if that is true for other brands so I have to limit my comments about the brand that I use.
Splenda granules are used in pretty much the same way as sugar. A cup of Splenda granules is equal to a cup of sugar. Easy enough. The difference is in the texture. Sugar is denser and heavier. When creaming butter and sugar, there is little danger that the sugar will fly off the sides of the mixing bowl. Creaming Splenda granules with shortening has that tendency. So, use a large mixing bowl and start with the lowest speed of the mixer.
Vegetable shortening, Crisco in my case, does not soften at room temperature the way butter does. It is easy to cream softened butter with a wire whisk but use a wire whisk with Crisco and your arms will ache and the shortening will simply get stuck in the whisk. When I made a dozen blueberry muffins on Monday morning for the kids’ baon (packed school food), I didn’t think that an electric mixer was necessary. The result — the shortening was insufficiently creamed, it never reached the light and creamy texture required, and the muffins were denser than usual.
When I baked the chocolate marble cake yesterday morning, I reached for the electric mixer instead of the wire whisk. I creamed the butter-flavored Crisco and Splenda together, first over low speed then over medium speed, for about five minutes. The end result — a wonderfully-textured cake.
I have to admit — there’s life beyond butter and sugar.
Hi,
You might want to read up on vegetable shortening or hydrogenated fats in general. The word is that trans fats are even worse than butter. I’m not surprised since I dislike working with shortening and cleaning it up. I guess that’s how it acts in your body as well–just clings to everything and impossible to get rid of.
wow!!! i’ve never really tried baking with splenda before.. only coz i only get the powdered kind from around here.. thanks, now i know there is a granule version of it… my friend did mention crisco to me before… hmm time for baking goods hunting then…. by the way.. the marble cake looks soooo scrummilicious!! i can see the smooth texture from the photo! great.. will try this soon.. that is if i can find the ingredients.. teehee.. advance happy weekend!!!
my husband is diabetic and hypertensive.
and yes, it does hurt.
some because we are all foodies.
more so, because he is sick.
i always appreciate your suggestions- especially when it comes to making food “healthier”.
as a fulltime working mother of three-
i haven’t had the chance to try all your recipes but i do love the ones that i have- especially the chinese food recipes!
thanks for having such a great site!
Many of us have had to make those same adjustments — in our case, both of our children are diabetic, so baking has always been about sugar substitutions. You get used to it — or you start making other kinds of desserts — and life goes on. Good for you for experimenting and making a blood-sugar-lowering diet work for your family!
Lisa, it depends on the kind of oil used. It is true that some vegetable oil-based margarines are worse than butter.
Have fun, Gigi!
Karen, your hubby’s on a permanent special diet then? Guess I’m lucky I don’t have hypertension. And I really don’t want to get to that point.
Hi Lydia, the learning process is not easy but I try to look at it as a challenge. I think the best technique is not to resist and not wallow in self-pity.
Thanks for sharing this.
Been using Splenda for a while now since, as you know, diabetes runs in our family. 
Glad to know we can actually bake sugar-free goodies. Looking forward to more recipes.
Nikita, baking with Splenda is more expensive (layo ng price ng Splenda sa sugar) but since the same diabetic blood runs in Speedy’s and the girls’ veins, the new diet will hopefully have long term benefits.
i’ve used Splenda before and i use
1/2 as what the sugar ask for, but there are two kinds , one for regular use and the other one for baking.the taste
actually is no different for me, and yes it is more pricey.husband object to the use of this,he says just eat a small piece
(yeah right)
Mareza, re “he says just eat a small piece (yeah right)”
LOL I so agree with your reaction in parenthesis. Easier said than done, right? No one wants to feel derived and depraved.
Connie, have you tried using prunes to replace the fat in your baked goods? I’ve been using it for years because like you, I’ve had my gallbladder taken out and needed to reduce the fat in my diet. I have a 1994 edition of Secrets of Fat-Free Baking by Sandra Woodruff (I don’t know it this is still available in bookstores) and I’ve tested most of the recipes there. They’re low-fat or fat-free but delicious!
Not yet, Kittymama. Actually, I just found out about it yesterday when someone mentioned apple sauce and prunes as substitutes for shortening. I just bought a jar of apple sauce and will be experimenting with it. After that, prunes.
I’ll keep my eyes open for that book. Thanks!
Hi.
Hubby on permanent special diet & medicated. We’re all trying to help him get his sugar under control by having a one time serving of rice in individual bowls instead of a big tempting refillable platter [ hehe ] , we agreed to do pasta only once a week, eat more fruits and less dessert, not to buy juice and iced tea when we go to the grocery ,among other things. Kids have been understanding and supportive
they walk with their dad or bike at night after school. Play badminton on weekends. Me? i’m the couch fixture.
Have been reading up a lot on the internet about aspertame as a sugar substitute .
Guess what? i have come across quite a number saying aspertame aggravates diabetic rashes. To test, we eliminated all aspertame from hubby’s diet for 3 weeks. Skin cleared up some and there is less itching. Now, he has limited himself to about 3 diet sodas a week.
No choice as coke zero doesn’t use zero. haha!
Been using zero instead of splenda since the experiment. Any idea if this is good for baking?
Tried stevia but you can’t quite catch the “sweetness”? its bitin.
Thanks for info and support, Lydia!
Yes, necessity is the mother of invention – isn’t that what somebody once said? so we keep experimenting…
Thanks all for suggestions on how to reduce the fat in the desserts. Had my GB taken out last year.
There’s a lot going on this weekend-
Hubby and i are going on a date to the mafbex food show at the wtc [ until june 22 ] 10am to 8pm then moving on to the Legazpi night market in Salcedo street from 4pm to 11pm only tomorrow, Saturday. This is the only Saturday night it will be open as part of San Lo’s business week celebration.
Have never gone but it promises to be fun and full of food and drinks – both organic and junk!
You can pick up clothes, bags and second hand books, and -it might interest you to know that there are jewelry sellers and one that has anting-antings!
Enjoy!
My husband is on a low carb diet and Splenda is what he uses most as a sugar substitute. I don’t like the taste at all. I still prefer the regular kind.
I’ll try this recipe for him. Thanks for posting.
hi, was so happy to have “met” you at the maven talk.
it’s great that you share your family recipes and experiments. i understand the challenge in dealing with the fatty and the sugary stuff when it’s sooo enjoyable just to eat!
i’m only starting my kitchen experiments myself, but with aspartame’s possible links to cancer i’m learning to use muscavado and less of it instead, that is if and when i can.
… (just passing by…)hehehe
I think I should say, “Thanks for stopping by”? LOL
Private joke, people — private joke.