So admittedly I make most of my cakes with a bit of sugar, be it caster or something less refined like light to dark brown sugar for some added caramel flavours. But I am asked to make sugar free cakes more and more, especially for children's birthdays
Making a sugar free cake does pose some challenges - as well as adding flavour and colour, sugar is also used to tenderise and help the cake rise through beating with eggs or butter, depending on what method your using. So how to achieve all of this without the sugar? Well the recipe below uses dates and bananas to provide sweetness and moistness, and contain enough naturally occurring sugar to produce a rich golden colour to the bake. A good rise is achieved through the leavening agents, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. The addition of milk adds moistness and the acidic properties of it react with the bicarbonate of soda to produce carbon dioxide which helps the cake to rise.
INGREDIENTS (to make 2 6" cakes)
120g softened butter
3 eggs
2 large ripe bananas mashed
130g pitted dates chopped up
100g whole milk
1.5tsp vanilla essence
190g self raising flour
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
1tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
Line and grease two 6" cake tins. Preheat oven to 160c (fan assisted). Beat the softened butter until it becomes pale and add the eggs, bananas, dates, milk and vanilla - combine. Mix in the dry ingredients until combined (be careful not to overmix). Pour in to the prepared tins and bake for 28 mins. Check if a tooth pick comes out clean and cook a little longer if necessary.