When baking desserts, it is impossible to replace white sugar (a solid ingredient) with honey or maple syrup (liquid ingredients) and expect the same result, without making changes to the amount of liquid and sometimes even to the method of preparation. We rolled up our sleeves and tested and retested cake and muffin recipes using honey or maple syrup instead of sugar. The result? We've come up with an almost foolproof approach to replace some of the sugar in your cake and muffin recipes.
The honey
THE TASTE
The colour and flavour of honey depends on the type of flower collected. Depending on its origin, honey can have aromas of butter, flowers, caramel, spices and fruit. Generally, the darker the honey, the stronger the flavour. Very light honeys have a milder flavour. Since the flavour and colour of the chosen honey will still be present in the recipe after baking, it is important to use a honey that you like the taste of and that matches the recipe. A butter cake made with chestnut honey might be surprising, whereas the same honey used in apple muffins, for example, would better enhance its unique flavour. If you want the sugar replacement to be rather inconspicuous, choose a pale honey.
REPLACE SUGAR BY HONEY
3 things to know:
- Use less: One cup of honey contains more carbohydrates than one cup of sugar (280g vs. 210g) and is sweeter in flavour. We therefore suggest that you use less honey than sugar (see our table below).
- Reduce liquids: Honey generally contains 18% water (by weight), which is about 60 ml (¼ cup) of water per cup (250 ml) of honey. To compensate, subtract some liquid (mostly milk) from the recipe (see our chart below).
- Lower the oven temperature: Honey contains glucose and fructose, two sugars that browning more when baked than white sugar. For this reason, we recommend reducing the oven temperature by 15°C (25°F), especially for recipes that contain a large amount of honey (more than 125 ml/ ½ cup). See our experience on this subject below.
THE METHOD
- For muffins: Since muffins generally contain little sugar, you can exceptionally replace 100% of it with honey. Mix the honey with the liquid ingredients of the recipe (milk, butter, yogurt, etc.).
- For cakes: Cakes contain a lot of sugar. The fructose in honey has a different impact on the baking of the flour starch than white sugar. If too much honey is used, the formation of the crumb is compromised and the cake does not rise properly. For best results, opt for a mixture of half sugar and half honey, and add the honey to the liquid ingredients in the recipe (milk, butter, yoghurt, etc.).
- For sponge cakes, which do not contain any liquid other than eggs: it is better to find recipes that already contain honey than to try to modify them.
GUIDE TO REPLACE SUGAR WITH HONEY
| Replace this amount of sugar | By this amount of honey | And subtract this amount of liquid*. |
|---|---|---|
| 250 ml (1 cup) | 180 ml (3/4 cup) | 45 ml (3 tablespoon) |
| 180 ml (3/4 cup) | 150 ml (2/3 cup) | 40 ml (2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons) |
| 150 ml (2/3 cup) | 125 ml (1/2 cup) | 30 ml (2 tablespoon) |
| 125 ml (1/2 cup) | 90 ml (1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon) | 20 ml (4 teaspoons) |
| 80 ml (1/3 cup) | 60 ml (1/4 cup) | 15 ml (1 tablespoon) |
| 60 ml (1/4 cup) | 45 ml (3 tablespoon) | 10 ml (2 teaspoon) |
GOOD TO KNOW
Before measuring the maple syrup or honey, oil the measuring cup first. The honey and syrup will slide out of the cup without leaving a trace!
DID YOU KNOW?
The fructose in honey is a "hygroscopic" sugar, which means that it attracts water. Honey therefore helps to retain moisture in cakes, quick breads and muffins, making them last.
IS SUGAR INDISPENSABLE?
In cake recipes where butter is creamed with sugar, the rubbing of the sugar crystals against the butter traps thousands of air bubbles which are crucial to the expansion of the cake when it is baked. A certain amount of sugar must therefore be kept in the recipe in order to achieve this. For these reasons, we recommend that no more than half of the sugar be replaced by maple syrup or honey.
Experience
To see if our recommendations really work, we tested them. Here are the results.
VANILLA CAKE WITH HONEY
Ricardo's best vanilla cake uses a preparation method in which the eggs are whipped with the sugar until the mixture triples in volume. It is this foam that ensures that the cake will rise properly. Will the result be as good with honey or maple syrup? We checked, following the proportions and indications of the replacement guide. Here are the results.
100% WHITE SUGAR VERSION
500 ml (2 cups) of sugar
310 ml ( ¼ of a cup) of milk
HONEY VERSION
250 ml (1 cup) of sugar
180 ml (¾ of a cup) of honey
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) reduction of milk
- Reduce oven temperature by 15 °C (25 °F)
RESULTS?
Replacing some of the sugar with honey and changing the amount of milk worked beautifully. The cakes are beautiful: perfect browning, nice height, well-celled crumb and delicate honey flavour. This experiment also confirmed that it is necessary to reduce the oven temperature by 15°C when baking with honey. The cooking time is only a few minutes longer.
