Turning a sweet cake into a savoury one: What should I swap in place of sugar?
I am looking to turn the following recipe for pumpkin bread into a savoury one. i.e. I want to get rid of sugar (which in this case is maple syrup). I think that sugar will add to the loafiness of the bread. I have thought of using eggs as this might add the extra moist and structure that sugar seems to facilitate - but I might be wrong, and I am still very confused by the research I have done. It also seems that sugar and eggs complement each other, so I am not sure if eggs alone are the solution.
As per above, I don't care about the cake being vegan (just gluten free). So all suggestions are welcome.
Best Answer
On King Arthur's site, they talk about liquid sweeteners.
One of their comparisons between the different forms is water content/acidity.
Maple syrup's water content/acidity: 34%, mildly acidic (less acidic than honey).
This led me to look up water content and acidity impacts on baking.
The Cake blog did a comparison of cakes based on level of acid used. The no acid cake (what I would assume would happen if you removed the maple syrup because it contains malic acid) still worked, it just wasn't as tall or fluffy as the ones with acid.
My suggestion is that if you want a loaf that is more cake-like, you should add a bit of acid (e.g., lemon juice or vinegar) if you remove the maple syrup. If you want a loaf that's denser, you can leave out the maple syrup and don't add in anything else.
Pictures about "Turning a sweet cake into a savoury one: What should I swap in place of sugar?"
Can maple syrup replace sugar in baking?
Maple syrup for sugar Maple syrup is about as sweet as sugar, so you can replace it using an equal amount of syrup (e.g., for 1 cup of sugar, use 1 cup of maple syrup). Decrease the liquid by 3 to 4 tablespoons per 1 cup substitution.Can I use golden syrup instead of sugar?
The fructose content gives a heightened perception of sweetness so that, when used as a sweetening agent, about 25% less golden syrup can be used than granulated white sugar.Can I use honey instead of sugar in bread?
If your recipe calls for a quarter cup of sugar (four tablespoons) or more, a straight swap might affect the bread. You'll want to keep these things in mind: Honey is sweeter than sugar. So reduce the sweetener amount by 1/4.Can you use molasses instead of sugar?
Molasses imparts a dark color and strong flavor to baked foods, but is not as sweet as sugar. When substituting molasses for sugar, use 1 1/3 cups molasses for 1 cup sugar, and reduce the amount of liquid in the recipe by 5 tablespoons.Easy Vanilla Sponge Cake Without Oven Recipe | How To Make Basic Sponge Cake | Plain Sponge Cake
More answers regarding turning a sweet cake into a savoury one: What should I swap in place of sugar?
Answer 2
That is an interesting "bread" recipe because it doesn't have any flour. It is more of a... torte?
I don't think the maple syrup and honey in the recipe would add "loafiness" because they are liquid and viscous. Omitting them would reduce the overall water in the recipe so it might just be more dense and dry. The maple syrup especially adds a lot of flavor, to offset that you could add some spices.
You could look up recipes for pumpkin gratin such as this one from Jacques Pepin to get some ideas, he adds eggs, cheese, and cream and bakes it. I have made this and it is delicious, but definitely not bread. If you added eggs to your recipe I bet you would get something that is springy and sliceable.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Karolina Grabowska, Karolina Grabowska, Karolina Grabowska, Karolina Grabowska