Replacing sugar is not only about sweetness
Sugar sweetens, but it also holds moisture, tenderizes, helps cakes rise, feeds yeast and browns in the oven. When you swap it for honey, a syrup or a low-calorie sweetener, you must adjust the amount for sweetness and sometimes the liquid, the oven temperature and the leavening. This calculator gives the amount of each substitute for the sugar in your recipe, the adjustments and the calories you save.
Conversion table for 1 cup (200 g) of white sugar
| Substitute | Amount | Adjustments |
|---|---|---|
| Honey | ¾ cup (255 g) | reduce liquid by ¼ cup, add ¼ tsp baking soda, oven 25 °F lower |
| Maple syrup | ¾ cup (240 g) | reduce liquid by 3 tbsp, oven 25 °F lower |
| Agave syrup | ⅔ cup (220 g) | reduce liquid by ¼ cup, oven 25 °F lower |
| Coconut sugar | 1 cup (200 g) | darker, caramel flavor |
| Erythritol | 1⅓ cups (260 g) | 70% as sweet, does not brown |
| Allulose | 1⅓ cups (260 g) | browns faster, keep cakes moist |
| Xylitol | 1 cup (200 g) | toxic to dogs, can upset digestion |
| Monk fruit and erythritol blend | 1 cup (200 g) | sold as a one-to-one replacement |
Worked example
A recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar and you want to use honey. You need ¾ cup of honey (255 g), reduce the milk or water by ¼ cup (59 mL), add ¼ teaspoon of baking soda and lower the oven from 350 °F to 325 °F. Calories hardly change: honey has fewer calories per gram than sugar, but you use more of it by weight.
Calories
| Sweetener | kcal per gram |
|---|---|
| Sugar | 3.9 |
| Honey | 3.0 |
| Maple syrup | 2.6 |
| Xylitol | 2.4 |
| Allulose | 0.4 |
| Erythritol | about 0.2 |
Tips
- Swap only half the sugar at first; the texture changes less.
- Liquid sweeteners give moister, denser cakes, which suits muffins, quick breads and granola better than meringues or crisp cookies.
- Sugar alcohols such as erythritol and xylitol can cause bloating in large amounts.
- Xylitol is dangerous for dogs: even a small piece of a xylitol cake can cause life-threatening low blood sugar and liver damage.
- Honey must never be given to babies under 1 year old because of the risk of infant botulism, even when baked.