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Making a sponge cake, is sugar really necessary
yellowpark
28-12-2013
Is it essential to add sugar?

Can I just add a little sugar?

I backed pineapple turnover cake for Christmas for friends,they loved it but it's just too sweet for me.

To make pineapple cake you need to put butter and brown sugar in the tin then lay the pineapples, which will be the top when you turn it over.

So for the sponge can I just add two table spoons of sugar instead of 125g of sugar 125g flour which I normally do when I bake sponge cakes.

Is it absolutely essential to add so much sugar for a sponge cake?

I can't find anything on the internet about this please help.
Area88
28-12-2013
I don't think it is essential. You can flavour it in other ways. It sounds like your are on the right track.
yellowpark
28-12-2013
Originally Posted by Area88:
“I don't think it is essential. You can flavour it in other ways. It sounds like your are on the right track.”

Thanks, I was worried the cake won't be a sponge cake if I don't add any sugar, I guess it's the self raising flour and baking powder that makes a sponge cake?
Area88
28-12-2013
Originally Posted by yellowpark:
“Thanks, I was worried the cake won't be a sponge cake if I don't add any sugar, I guess it's the self raising flour and baking powder that makes a sponge cake?”

Absolutely, I've made flapjack without adding brown demerara sugar and people loved it. It's great to experiment to see what works. Let us know how it turns out.
Peter_CJ
28-12-2013
Originally Posted by yellowpark:
“Thanks, I was worried the cake won't be a sponge cake if I don't add any sugar, I guess it's the self raising flour and baking powder that makes a sponge cake?”

You might find that the sponge is heavy, and possibly hardly a sponge at all.

A sponge rises due to the air bubbles in the batter expanding when heated - the main raising agent is bicarbonate of soda mixed with cream of tartar (which btw will already have been added to self-raising flour) this creates carbon dioxide when beaten into a fluid, i.e. the cake batter, and the bubbles expand when heated. As hundreds of thousands of these mini-airbags inflate, so your cake rises.

The eggs and sugar within the flour set as the cake cooks, which provides a structure around the air bubbles (like the chocolate in an Aero bar).

If the structure is not strong enough, then the cake may rise up as the air bubbles expand, but then sink down again in the second half of cooking, or when taken out of the oven.

It's worth a try for the sake of a few eggs and some flour, but I think you might end up with something that resembles a Yorkshire pudding at best, or quite a heavy cake.
WombatDeath
28-12-2013
Is this of any help?
Peter_CJ
28-12-2013
Would be interested to hear how it goes if you give those recipes a try.

The orange and almond cake has 250 grams of sugar in, plus the natural sugar in the oranges, so hardly low sugar.

With the sugarless one, they say they use it as a sponge/bread pudding!
maggie thecat
29-12-2013
I have a coffee and walnut cake recipe that has no sugar in it. I side eyed it but tried it anyway and it worked surprisingly well. So I say go for it.
yellowpark
29-12-2013
Originally Posted by Peter_CJ:
“You might find that the sponge is heavy, and possibly hardly a sponge at all.

A sponge rises due to the air bubbles in the batter expanding when heated - the main raising agent is bicarbonate of soda mixed with cream of tartar (which btw will already have been added to self-raising flour) this creates carbon dioxide when beaten into a fluid, i.e. the cake batter, and the bubbles expand when heated. As hundreds of thousands of these mini-airbags inflate, so your cake rises.

The eggs and sugar within the flour set as the cake cooks, which provides a structure around the air bubbles (like the chocolate in an Aero bar).

If the structure is not strong enough, then the cake may rise up as the air bubbles expand, but then sink down again in the second half of cooking, or when taken out of the oven.

It's worth a try for the sake of a few eggs and some flour, but I think you might end up with something that resembles a Yorkshire pudding at best, or quite a heavy cake.”

Doen't sound good.

Originally Posted by Area88:
“Absolutely, I've made flapjack without adding brown demerara sugar and people loved it. It's great to experiment to see what works. Let us know how it turns out.”

Thanks I will do.

Originally Posted by WombatDeath:
“Is this of any help?”

Brilliant, thank you.

Originally Posted by Peter_CJ:
“Would be interested to hear how it goes if you give those recipes a try.

The orange and almond cake has 250 grams of sugar in, plus the natural sugar in the oranges, so hardly low sugar.

With the sugarless one, they say they use it as a sponge/bread pudding!”

Thank you, I will try and use less sugar at least once just to to see how it turns out, A fruit cake is sweet enough,adding orange juice, raisins etc, I don't see why I need to add a lot of more sugar.
Peter_CJ
29-12-2013
Well if you pull it off, put it on You Tube, and it will probably get millions of hits by dieting cake eaters!
Victoria Sponge
29-12-2013
Peter CJ has explained it well...it's the combo of everything working together to make the right chemical reaction that makes a sponge cake a sponge cake, and each component is as important as the others. I still would be interested to know the results if you do experiment with reduced sugar though.
molliepops
29-12-2013
I have been eating no sugar for a year now and can categorically say don't try a traditional sponge cake without sugar. It is not a sponge and we know it and not even very nice. There may be recipes out there that do work but just taking one of the main ingredients out won't leave you a happy cake eater.
norbitonite
29-12-2013
Originally Posted by maggie thecat:
“I have a coffee and walnut cake recipe that has no sugar in it. I side eyed it but tried it anyway and it worked surprisingly well. So I say go for it.”

Can you please share the rewcipe? My mother has recently been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, so I'm always on the lookout for good sugar free recipes.

Thanks
maggie thecat
29-12-2013
Originally Posted by norbitonite:
“Can you please share the rewcipe? My mother has recently been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, so I'm always on the lookout for good sugar free recipes.

Thanks ”

It's not mine, I got it from these folks. I hope you like it.

http://thelowcarbdiabetic.blogspot.c...cake-with.html

Ingredients:
100 grams of ground almonds
100 grams of walnuts
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon of melted butter
2 tablespoons of double cream
1 tablespoon of instant coffee
100 grams of clotted cream

Method
Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl.
Melt the butter I used a Pyrex jug, add the eggs, cream. Place 1 tablespoon of instant coffee in a cup and pour some boiling water over the coffee, keep water to a minimum, just enough to melt the coffee. Then add the dry ingredients and mix. Microwave in a 700watt for 5 minutes. Allow to cool and cut in half. Spread on clotted cream and add walnut halves. Serves four to six, around five carbs per portion.
Peter_CJ
29-12-2013
Originally Posted by maggie thecat:
“It's not mine, I got it from these folks. I hope you like it.

http://thelowcarbdiabetic.blogspot.c...cake-with.html

Ingredients:
100 grams of ground almonds
100 grams of walnuts
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon of melted butter
2 tablespoons of double cream
1 tablespoon of instant coffee
100 grams of clotted cream

Method
Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl.
Melt the butter I used a Pyrex jug, add the eggs, cream. Place 1 tablespoon of instant coffee in a cup and pour some boiling water over the coffee, keep water to a minimum, just enough to melt the coffee. Then add the dry ingredients and mix. Microwave in a 700watt for 5 minutes. Allow to cool and cut in half. Spread on clotted cream and add walnut halves. Serves four to six, around five carbs per portion.”

Looks nice, I might give it a go myself.

A cake like that is a more viable proposition than a sponge - it should have lots of flavour and texture due to the nuts and fat content.

The calories in the fat will probably equal those in the sugar that is left out, but if calories are not the issue, it looks good.
yellowpark
29-12-2013
Originally Posted by Victoria Sponge:
“Peter CJ has explained it well...it's the combo of everything working together to make the right chemical reaction that makes a sponge cake a sponge cake, and each component is as important as the others. I still would be interested to know the results if you do experiment with reduced sugar though.”

Originally Posted by molliepops:
“I have been eating no sugar for a year now and can categorically say don't try a traditional sponge cake without sugar. It is not a sponge and we know it and not even very nice. There may be recipes out there that do work but just taking one of the main ingredients out won't leave you a happy cake eater.”

Well, I've just baked a pineapple turnover cake and it's delicious and spongy, I only add two spoons of sugar.

In future I'll certainly be reducing the sugar level in my mix batter.


Originally Posted by maggie thecat:
“It's not mine, I got it from these folks. I hope you like it.

http://thelowcarbdiabetic.blogspot.c...cake-with.html

Ingredients:
100 grams of ground almonds
100 grams of walnuts
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon of melted butter
2 tablespoons of double cream
1 tablespoon of instant coffee
100 grams of clotted cream

Method
Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl.
Melt the butter I used a Pyrex jug, add the eggs, cream. Place 1 tablespoon of instant coffee in a cup and pour some boiling water over the coffee, keep water to a minimum, just enough to melt the coffee. Then add the dry ingredients and mix. Microwave in a 700watt for 5 minutes. Allow to cool and cut in half. Spread on clotted cream and add walnut halves. Serves four to six, around five carbs per portion.”

I will try this but I don't like the idea of baking a cake in a microwave, I'll put my in the oven.

Thank all for the replies.
maggie thecat
29-12-2013
So what was your final recipe for the pineapple turnover cake?
Orangemaid
29-12-2013
it looks and sounds tastelessly bland, sorry
yellowpark
29-12-2013
Originally Posted by maggie thecat:
“So what was your final recipe for the pineapple turnover cake?”

Originally Posted by Orangemaid:
“it looks and sounds tastelessly bland, sorry ”


1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar
10 tablespoon pineapple juice

1/2 sliced pineapples
1/2 cup butter
1+1/2 cups self raising flour

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 table spoons of sugar
1/2 cup cold milk

It looks great and taste delicious, the brown sugar and butter makes a wonderful sweet caramel sauce,(this is where the sweetness from the cake comes from) with the pineapple and cherries, you can't go wrong, You do not need to add much sugar in the batter mic for this particular cake.
maggie thecat
30-12-2013
Thanks! I haven't done pineapple upside down cake for ages, now I think I'll have to give it a go again soon.
david16
30-12-2013
I enjoy eating scrapings from the mixing bowl.
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