Why bakers are making the switch to Baking Sugar Alternative

Here at King Arthur, we’re use to getting a lot of positive feedback from consumers about our products. But since debuting our Baking Sugar Alternative last year, we've been especially blown away by the love for this new sugar substitute. As a result, we wanted to highlight some of the stories customers have shared with us about using Baking Sugar Alternative in their kitchen.

Like many people, Rebecca Sheppard found herself baking more this past year. While she enjoyed spending time in the kitchen whipping up delicious recipes, the increase in baking meant she was consuming a lot more sweets than normal. Instead of cutting back on something she loved, she decided to find a way to bake with less calories and sugar.

Enter: Baking Sugar Alternative.

A zero-calorie, zero-carb substitute for granulated sugar, this product was formulated specifically for baking. With a goal to make healthier choices, Rebecca started swapping it into some of her favorite recipes. The result? "Everything that I’ve tried has worked out really well." In particular, King Arthur's Original Cake Pan Cake. "I do that all the time with Baking Sugar Alternative, and it turns out perfectly," says Rebecca. "Tastes exactly the same, the consistency's exactly the same."

(She’s not alone — King Arthur bakers like PJ Hamel claim Cake Pan Cake made with Baking Sugar Alternative is better than the original!)

A way to make baking fit your diet

Rebecca’s story has been echoed by other bakers, like Marissa Schwent, who started baking more and exercising less this year, prompting her to seek a way to bake for a healthier diet. Swapping Baking Sugar Alternative one-to-one for sugar has allowed her to make her favorite recipes "a little more healthy."

Some bakers who use Baking Sugar Alternative are specifically looking to reduce their sugar intake, like Amy Kinard. "I’ve been kind of on the edge of being pre-diabetic and I love to bake, so I started trying a bunch of different sugar alternatives," she shares. After failing with other sugar replacements on the market ("I could not find one that I actually liked or that worked"), she finally found success with Baking Sugar Alternative.

For bakers who follow a keto diet, either strictly or loosely, Baking Sugar Alternative is a welcome way to keep their baking low-carb and still delicious. Professional pastry chef Jeremy Blythe, who follows a keto-inspired diet with his wife, says that "anytime we bake now, we bake with it."

A better swap for sugar

King Arthur’s Baking Sugar Alternative isn’t the only sugar replacement option available, but customers have found it's the one best suited for baking.

According to Jeremy, "A lot of sugar replacements … wind up having that real sugar-free kind of aftertaste or effect in your mouth. And what I like about this is that it doesn’t do that. It doesn’t have that 'I'm sugar-free' scream to it."

Rebecca previously tried baking with monk fruit, and "it was awful. It had an aftertaste, a strange consistency. It just didn't work at all in baking." Compared to other products, Baking Sugar Alternative is "a thousand percent better," she says. "They all have an aftertaste to them. The King Arthur one is the only one I ever found that didn’t have an aftertaste or a strange consistency."

Patricia R., another baker who’s experimented with various sugar alternatives, notes, "The Baking Sugar Alternative from King Arthur checks all the boxes. The texture is great … you can’t tell from looking at it that it’s a baking sugar alternative, and it does not have the aftertaste that is difficult with baking sugar alternatives."

Sugar swap favorites

Bakers have been putting Baking Sugar Alternative to use in everything from cake to cookies. Sometimes they turn to recipes the King Arthur test kitchen has specifically developed for this product, and other times they swap it for the sugar in everyday recipes. Here are some of customers' favorites:

Lemon Pudding Cakes: Perhaps best described by one word — luscious — these cakes don’t lose any of their indulgence when made with Baking Sugar Alternative. "They turned out amazing," raves Amy. "I’m going to make those again and again."

Keto-Friendly Cinnamon Star Bread: Baker Leah Heaney-Forbes, who frequently bakes low-carb sweets, describes this stunning bread as "a hit." And with a gorgeous design and tender texture, how could it not be?  

Vanilla Birthday Cake: Marissa recently whipped up this classic cake for a family celebration, swapping in Baking Sugar Alternative in both the cake and whipped cream frosting she used to top it. With the addition of some lemon curd, it was a tart, dreamy dessert.  

Keto-Friendly Chocolate Chip Cookies: Jeremy and Hannah share, “We just recently made Keto Chocolate Chip Cookies, and that worked out really, really well.” (Another keto favorite they’ve been making recently: Keto-Friendly Cheesecake Bars.)

Sweet soda: Baking Sugar Alternative isn’t just for baking. Amy even uses it to make simple syrup, which she flavors and adds to soda water for a fizzy beverage without the sugar.

A new baking staple

Both versatile and effective, Baking Sugar Alternative is as much a staple in the kitchen as, well … sugar.

"It’s just kind of become a new thing for us, and it’s been really good," says Marissa. Patricia, who’s baked with it a couple of times in her kitchen, is already looking forward to baking more. As she says, "I can literally have my cake and eat it too!"

Baking Sugar Alternative is currently available on our website, as well as in select supermarkets nationwide. Consult our product locator for exact locations. 

Cover photo by Rick Holbrook