How to go about reducing sugar in a butter cake recipe?
Recently I made some cupcakes that turned out mostly great. However, even other people than me – I have an aversion towards overly "sugary" desserts – said they were fairly sweet, and for me it seemed to obscure the other flavors.
(The other flavours being vanilla or rose in the batter. You could certainly smell them so I don't think it was just that they evaporated while baking, and I use a fairly heavy hand with those ingredients for baked goods.)
Is there any rule-of-thumb on what the "correct" ratio of sugar to other ingredients in a cake recipe is so I could tell if the recipe was using too much? (The recipe was: cream butter and sugar, add flour and baking powder, add eggs, add milk, stir until just combined, bake.) Or how far I could reduce sugar from the standard recipe without negatively affecting texture / moisture? And is it necessary to adjust any of the other ingredient amounts along with the sugar?
Best Answer
According to Shirley Corriher, as reported in Fine Cooking, the sugar should weigh slightly more than the flour:
The sugar should weigh the same as, or slightly more than, the flour. Remember that this is weight, not volume. A cup of sugar weighs about 7 ounces, and a cup of all-purpose flour weighs about 4-1/2 ounces. So, if we're building a recipe with 1 cup sugar, we'll need about 1-1/2 cups flour (about 6-3/4 ounces).
Sugar plays a very important role in creating the structure and bite of cakes, and also helps to retain moisture and inhibit spoiling, so you cannot simply reduce the quantity without limit to control the sweetness.
That being said, most recipes have a certain amount of tolerance. You can probably reduce the sugar by about 20 to 25% without completely altering the nature of the recipe, although the crumb may suffer a little.
Vanilla and rose are delicate flavors. If you are making a yellow cake with butter, and egg yolks, they may be competing and masking the flavor.
Using a white cake base may allow these flavors to show through more clearly.
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Can I reduce the sugar in a cake recipe?
Honestly, don't be afraid to cut back the sugar in your favorite cake recipes. Start with a simple 10% reduction: 5 teaspoons scooped out of each cup of sugar. If you like the results (and you're not baking an angel food-type cake), remove more sugar the next time.What happens if you add less sugar to cake?
It provides volume and lightens up the texture. Reducing sugar in creamed cakes might make the batter separate slightly, but it's safe to reduce up to 25% of the total sugar content. The cake will be somewhat drier, but the flavour of the butter will shine through!How much can you reduce sugar in a recipe?
Up to 1/3 of the sugar in most recipes can be taken out without a noticeable difference. You should not reduce all the sugar in a recipe, as it is still needed for taste and texture. Note: Do not reduce sugar in yeast breads as the sugar is needed to activate the yeast.Can you just reduce sugar in baking?
Baking with reduced sugar produces less-sweet treats, of course, but lack of sugar also tends to increase blandness as well. Like salt, sugar is a flavor enhancer. Reduce the sugar in your chocolate chip cookies, and the flavors of butter, chocolate, and vanilla will all be less apparent.Why baking cakes with less sugar is hard.
More answers regarding how to go about reducing sugar in a butter cake recipe?
Answer 2
I made a lemon drizzle cake (based on this recipe) and reduced the sugar from 225g to 70g (roughly 30%) and it turned out great. For the drizzle I removed the sugar completely and only used lemon juice. The cake was obviously not as sweet and was unusual at first in appearance and texture, but overall it was tasty and I will make it again.
Answer 3
It's a bit late but I hope it helps.
According to PJ Hamel, from King Authur's flour, and my own experience (I'm also Asian, if it helps), You CAN reduce the amount of sugar to about 50-65gr for every 100gr of flour (in cupcakes and muffins) WITHOUT making it less yummy!
For example, if the recipes call for 1 cup (120gr) of flour, you can chose to just add 75-80gr sugar, or more if you like sweeter stuff, but for me this is a safe start.
In conclusion, reduce the sugar, it won't hurt, plus it's healthier and the sugar won't overpower the more delicious and expensive ingredients in your recipe.
Answer 4
I have reduced the sugar in a lot of cake recipes by 50% without any adverse effect. I have spoken to a number of chefs who say the same thing.
Answer 5
You can replace sugar completely with fruit puree, syrups (ie: honey, maple, rice) spices, even veggies. If a recipe calls for 1 Cup of sugar, use half a cup. My brother in law can't stand sweets, so I've taken out sugar and replaced it so many differant ways and times... especially since my mom's a diabetic. i hope its helpful.
Answer 6
If reducing the sugar, add a 1/2-teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of flour. The flour will help balance the change in the dry-to-wet ingredient ratio, and the added salt will help to bring out the flavors of the butter cake.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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