Baking with Erythritol and Stevia...Help!

[Tooter]

I know that some people bake with Erythritol and Stevia. I have never used Erythritol and would like to know how to start.

The Ratio of Erythritol and Stevia for starters. How do you figure that out?

Can you share your experiences with me?

Thank you.

[Charski]

Hi Tooter!

I think it takes some experimenting. What I've decided to do that works pretty well, is use the equivalent amount of erythritol in volume to sugar - IOW, if the recipe calls for a cup of sugar, I use a cup of erythritol. However, because it's only 70 to 80% as sweet as sugar, I add some Stevia to get the synergistic effect of combining sweeteners.

Unfortunately there's not a hard-and-fast rule IMHO because stevias differ greatly in taste and strength depending on brand.

I like the SweetLeaf Stevia Plus in packets - I will usually add 4 or so packets per cup of erythritol. Then I taste before baking (raw eggs don't skeer me none! ) and add more if needed.

Adding the stevia also seems to help negate the "cooling effect" that erythritol on its own can have, although often baking the product seems to help with that, due to dissolving the crystals. Some fudge I made one time though, didn't cook long enough for that to happen but it made the BEST "minty fresh fudge!" LOL!

I hope this helps you somewhat - it does take some figuring out!

That being said - I really like baking with erythritol - it mimics sugar's properties fairly well (hygroscopic, bulk) and I've had pretty decent results with it in the things I've used it for.

[Tooter]

Charski, Thank you, so much!!

I'll just have to JUMP IN and do some experimenting. Oh, I'm not scared of raw eggs either...and I am a Taster as I cook, anyways. lol

[Charski]

Well let me know how your experiments go! It's fun.

That flourless lemon or orange cake is a good place to start, IMHO - one of the things we also love about THAT cake made with erythritol (and maybe this holds true on others as well) is that when the cake is fully cooled, the erythritol makes this dandy little satisfying "crunch factor" in just the crust - not something you'd really say was CRUNCHY but just gives a little bite to it - not sure how else to explain it but we love it that way!

Kinda like if it had sugar crystals in the crust, KWIM?

[Tooter]

Originally Posted by Charski

Well let me know how your experiments go! It's fun.

That flourless lemon or orange cake is a good place to start, IMHO - one of the things we also love about THAT cake made with erythritol (and maybe this holds true on others as well) is that when the cake is fully cooled, the erythritol makes this dandy little satisfying "crunch factor" in just the crust - not something you'd really say was CRUNCHY but just gives a little bite to it - not sure how else to explain it but we love it that way!

Kinda like if it had sugar crystals in the crust, KWIM?

Yes, I understand what you mean. It sounds yummy.

I'll have to wait until next week, when I can go to the Health food Store to pick up Erythritol.

[Charski]

I ordered mine through Honeyville Grain - less than twenny bux for 4 pounds...flat rate shipping is $4.95. I get my blanched almond meal from them too! AND flax seeds....

[jacksmixedtape]

Hi Tooter!

I have been baking a lot with the combo of erythritol and stevia in the past months because I don't do artificial sweeteners any more. When I approach a new recipe, I do 1/4 to 1/3 of the amount of erythritol called for along with 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon blackstrap (4-12g carbs) molasses and enough stevia to make the batter TOO sweet. Making the batter too sweet is key for working with stevia! That way, the finished product comes out with the perfect amount of sweetness because stevia breaks down somewhat under heat (contrary to what some sources will say... you learned after enough unsweetened batches of baked goods!). When you first start out using the erythritol/stevia combo, you might want to make very small test batches so you don't waste these precious ingredients!

In certain "moist" applications, you can sub erythritol one for one. Cheesecakes, cupcakes/muffins, and water-based frostings do not have a pronounced cooling effect when you use a lot of erythritol, but anything "dry" like cookies and brownies or consisting of mostly fat like buttercream frosting will have a very noticeable off-putting menthol mouthfeel with more than small amounts of erythritol.

I believe you can make over 99% of your old high carb favorites with that combo. Made some brownies the other day that were indistinguishable from their carby counterparts! They were even tastier because they were completely natural. Hope that helps.

[Tooter]

Thank you, Lauren!

[Tooter]

Anyone else with advice or experience with it to share?

[Soobee]

Always grind your erytritol. I'm sure you already figured that one out. Sometimes you can get away without grinding it, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Also I gor my erythritol from a place with no shipping charges if you order $20 worth. Price is $5 a pound. Even less if you buy a lot. (I bought 50 pounds-came out to $3.50 a pound). Google Emerald and Forest together.

[Tooter]

Originally Posted by Soobee

Always grind your erytritol. I'm sure you already figured that one out. Sometimes you can get away without grinding it, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Also I gor my erythritol from a place with no shipping charges if you order $20 worth. Price is $5 a pound. Even less if you buy a lot. (I bought 50 pounds-came out to $3.50 a pound). Google Emerald and Forest together.

Thanks, Soobee. I haven't figured it out yet, because I haven't used erytritol yet. I need to grind it up first? Are the crystals too big? Could you explain this to me?

[Soobee]

Erythritol has a fierce desire to recrystalize after being dissolved. It will make your cookies crunchy with a minty kind of flavor. It will recrystallize in truffles so you get little crystals that are hard when you bite into them, as well as having that "cooling effect" erythritol is famous for. If you grind erythritol before you use it, the recipes come out just fine. I've never had a problem with any recipe if I grind the erythritol first. I do not use as high a percentage as Charski. I use mostly liquid sucralose and some stevia. I use just enough erythritol to give the recipe a sugar-like feel, usually 1/2 cup.

[Mallory]

Originally Posted by Soobee

Erythritol has a fierce desire to recrystalize after being dissolved. It will make your cookies crunchy with a minty kind of flavor. It will recrystallize in truffles so you get little crystals that are hard when you bite into them, as well as having that "cooling effect" erythritol is famous for. If you grind erythritol before you use it, the recipes come out just fine. I've never had a problem with any recipe if I grind the erythritol first. I do not use as high a percentage as Charski. I use mostly liquid sucralose and some stevia. I use just enough erythritol to give the recipe a sugar-like feel, usually 1/2 cup.

ITA! Having wasted a perfectly good recipe of peanut butter cups (crunchy bits in it, blech!) I have now ingrained in my head to pulverize this stuff! It turns out just like icing sugar

[Charski]

I've ground some for use in icing and stuff - I can see where it would be better to do that for cookies or candies which do not have a high enough liquid content/cook at heat long enough to inhibit the recrystallization - in cakes I've not had a problem though and we actually PREFER that little teeny tiny crunchy thing which is only noticeable in the crusty parts and then only barely, and not under the iced parts!

[Tooter]

I'm learning alot!! Thank you, all!!!

[Shimmer]

Originally Posted by Tooter

I have never used Erythritol and would like to know how to start.

I've never used it either. Netrition lists both powdered & granular...which is used most?

[jacksmixedtape]

Originally Posted by Charski

I've ground some for use in icing and stuff - I can see where it would be better to do that for cookies or candies which do not have a high enough liquid content/cook at heat long enough to inhibit the recrystallization - in cakes I've not had a problem though and we actually PREFER that little teeny tiny crunchy thing which is only noticeable in the crusty parts and then only barely, and not under the iced parts!

To elaborate on Char's great advice--don't always powder the erythritol, because you want to aerate the fat with it in recipes where a less fine texture is desired (like cakes). You cream butter with sugar in order to whip air pockets into with the granulated sugar crystals.

As for as cookies and brownies go, I haven't had much success with more than small amounts of E even with powdering it because the sugar, like Soobee said, recrystallizes as the finished product cools. The cookies are great out of the oven, but awful 30 minutes later! I fed some friends chocolate chip cookies made with too much E and they asked if they contained alcohol!

[Kevinpa]

Originally Posted by jacksmixedtape

, like Soobee said, recrystallizes as the finished product cools. The cookies are great out of the oven, but awful 30 minutes later!

Products like not/Sugar, not/Starch, and other gums as well as polyD (if you can tolerate it), aid greatly at retarding the recrystallization thus eliminating the cooling effect of the erythritol.

[Soobee]

I buy the regular erythritol and powder it as needed.

[retroworx]

Originally Posted by Kevinpa

Products like not/Sugar, not/Starch, and other gums as well as polyD (if you can tolerate it), aid greatly at retarding the recrystallization thus eliminating the cooling effect of the erythritol.

Hi Kevin:

Any suggested ratio of NotSugar to E? Or will that depend on application?

Thanks!

[Kevinpa]

Originally Posted by retroworx

Any suggested ratio of NotSugar to E? Or will that depend on application?

As with many things lc amounts will change with application due to combination of ingredients which may aid the not/sugar in retarding the cooling effect of the erythritol.

As a rule of thumb though, my starting ratio's are:

1:8 (2 T. per cup) powdered erythritol

1:4 (4 T. per cup) granular erythritol

[retroworx]

Originally Posted by Kevinpa

As with many things lc amounts will change with application due to combination of ingredients which may aid the not/sugar in retarding the cooling effect of the erythritol.

As a rule of thumb though, my starting ratio's are:

1:8 (2 T. per cup) powdered erythritol

1:4 (4 T. per cup) granular erythritol

Thanks for taking the time from your mending to respond, my friend.

P.S. I look forward (well, I'm not sure that's the right phrasing for someone else's troubles, but you get my drift) to reading about your travails on your site -- let us all know when you post.