How to Reduce Sugar in Baking Without Ruining Texture

Question

I prefer my sweets a little less sweet than others often do. I will frequently cut the amount of sugar by 1/2 or more in cakes and other baked goods.  What other adjustments should I make? Note that I'm not asking about substitutes for table sugar but rather using less sweetener altogether.

Lynn Clark · Accepted Answer

Hi Peter - Baked goods are successful due to the delicate balance of the ingredients a recipe developer has determined based on food science and testing. Sugar affects the texture and rise in baked goods and there's no hard-and-fast formula for baking with reduced sugar that will cover every single thing you bake. King Arthur has a good article on reducing sugar in recipes. As suggested in the article, you'll want to use a scale that measures in grams and adjust your recipes using baker's percentages, a formula professional bakers use to scale recipes in order to account for the sugar's impact on structure, moisture, and rise. Good luck! Best, Lynn C.

How to Reduce Sugar in Baking Without Ruining Texture

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