Recipes: Frequently Asked Questions - Unbelievable Desserts with Splenda by Marlene Koch

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Q: Who do you feel can benefit from your recipes?

A: Everyone. First of all they taste great and who doesn't like that? From a nutritional standpoint there isn't anyone who needs more fat or sugar in their diet. In fact health experts recommend we eat no more than 30% fat and 10 - 12 teaspoons of sugar a day. What do we eat now - too much fat and upward of 25 teaspoons of added sugar a day! It's not hard when a typical dessert can have more than a half of days worth of fat and an entire days worth of sugar in one piece! Not to mention that sugar lurks in many foods you would never have dreamed of. These recipes offer a delicious alternative for anyone following a:

Reduced sugar or carbohydrate conscious diet, including persons with diabetes;
A reduced fat diet, including persons with heart disease;
Controlled calorie diet, including Weight Watchers;
Healthy but delicious diet!

Q: What inspired you to write these recipes?

A: Looking for resources to help me teach classes featuring desserts that were low in sugar and finding none. I found most others recipes to be either dietetic tasting or still high in carbohydrate (like those that use fruit juices, honey, etc. . . . ) Splenda is the the first no-cal sweetener that when tested withstood my quality standards for taste, safety and baking ability. To be quite honest I was thrilled to create incredible sweet treats without sugar and felt many others would love to have and could benefit from such recipes. Since my first book I of course expanded far beyond desserts. (And my #1 fan is still my stepdaughter who has type 2 diabetes!)

Q: How did you choose the recipes?

A: I wanted to include everyone's traditional favorites (like anUnbelievable Chocolate Cake and Boston Baked Beans) along with fun new recipes (like Minced Chicken Lettuce Wraps and Tiramisu). I also opted for simple recipes that use only one bowl and whip up in minutes, along with elegant endings for entertaining. As for the recipes themselves, criteria's #1, #2 and #3 were taste. Only when taste testers agreed that the items looked and tasted just as good as their usual high fat and sugar favorites, were they included. Last, using Splenda Sugar Blend in my latest book allowed me to create recipes I could not previously get just right, like real pound cake and fudgy chocolate brownies.

Q: I noticed other sugars in some recipes - why not just use more Splenda?

A: Splenda is a fantastic sweetener and many recipes only require a sweetener. But sugars do more than sweeten in a recipe. They help cakes to rise and cookies to flatten. They also effect appearance, stabilize meringues and in they case of honey, molasses, or brown sugar -- add color and taste. Since taste and appearance is most important, small amounts (spoonfuls not cups) of other sugars are used in some recipes with Splenda Granular. Also of note, when such small amounts are used, then divided over all the portions, the carbohydrate content is minimally affected.

Q: Why do you use the SPLENDA Sugar Blend in some recipes but not others?

A: In order to reduce the sugar and carbohydrates as much as possible I used Splenda granular whenever possible, but some recipes simply require more sugar for texture, density or stabilization or the resulting product will suffer. You will find more information on this in my 375 Sensational Splenda Recipes book and recipes for such things as simple technique Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies, Lemon Meringue Pie, and Sugar Blend Snickerdoodles, all which required a touch more sugar to get them just right (the fact they have over a 50% reduction in sugar and taste and look so great is still amazing).

Q: When using SPLENDA ® in my own recipe, how much do I use?

A : Splenda granular measures just like sugar and you use it 1:1. – cup for cup. When using SPLENDA-sugar blend be sure to use only ½ the amount you normally would use as each ½ cup has the sweetening power of a full cup of sugar.

Q: What other tips can you share about using SPLENDA in my own recipes?

A: You will find lots of tips and tricks not only for lowering the sugar, but for lowering the fat in all three books. A few tips for cooking and baking are:

You need to add a touch more leavening to cakes, breads and muffins - about ½ teaspoon of baking soda or an extra teaspoon of baking powder usually does it.
Be sure to adjust your pan size as you will not have as much batter without the sugar – a 9” cake may now need an 8” pan to have the batter fill it the same way.
Check cakes up to 10 minutes sooner, muffins 5-8 minutes and cookies 3-5 minutes sooner.
Drop cookies fair better with a touch of sugar and being flattened before baking.
A touch of cornstarch will help to thicken sauces like sugar does.

Author, Marlene Koch, RD, LD, is a highly experienced cooking instructor and nutritionist. She includes in her book great tips and tricks so you can successfully create your own low sugar and low fat recipes, that not only taste good, but are good for you!

For a sample recipe from the book, visit our Book section.

Splenda ® • Diabetic Diets • Recipes • Healthy Eating

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Last Updated: February 9, 2006

Splenda® a registered trademark of McNeil Nutritionals,
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Marlene Koch, RD
marlene@marlenekoch.com

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Delicious Diabetic Diet Recipes: Sweet Treats Low in Sugar, Fat and Calories