Out of Sugar, one case
Sugar substitute for cake
5 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Use Light brown sugar
1 cup for every cup of sugar
If you are out of white sugar, use the same amount of packed light brown sugar: the cake comes out a little moister and darker. Honey or maple syrup works at ¾ cup per cup of sugar with 3 tablespoons less liquid and the oven 25°F lower. For a sugar-free cake, use a granulated baking blend that measures cup for cup, and expect a paler, drier cake with less rise.
- Verdict —
- Works
- The tweak —
- Pack it into the cup and break up any lumps before creaming.
- Best for —
- yellow, chocolate and spice cakes
- Pantry —
- Likely in your cupboard
One casethe full sugar card
Every option, one card
Ranked| # | Substitute | Instead of 1 cup sugar | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Light brown sugaryellow, chocolate and spice cakes | 1 cupWorks | Works |
| 2 | Honeyoil-based cakes: carrot, spice, chocolate | ¾ cupTweak it | Tweak it |
| 3 | Maple syrupspice, apple and pumpkin cakes | ¾ cupTweak it | Tweak it |
| 4 | Granulated sugar-free baking blendsugar-free pound cake and bundt cakes | 1 cupYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 5 | Unsweetened applesauce, for half the sugarspice, carrot and apple cakes | ½ cup sugar + ½ cup applesauceYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| Not a swap | Pure stevia or monk fruit extract alone | not a swapNot for this | Not for this |
Light brown sugar
a light caramel note; the crumb is moister and darker
White sugar with a little molasses in it. It creams with butter the same way, so the cake rises as written.
- Best for
- yellow, chocolate and spice cakes, pound cake and bundt cakes, carrot and banana cake
- Prep
- Pack it into the cup and break up any lumps before creaming.
- Suits
- vegetarian
- Where it fails
- White cake and angel food cake, where the color shows and the extra moisture weighs down the foam.
Honey
floral and sweeter; darker crust
Sweeter than sugar and about 18 percent water. It makes a moist, dense, close-crumbed cake that keeps well.
- Best for
- oil-based cakes: carrot, spice, chocolate, snack cakes and loaf cakes
- Prep
- Cut the other liquid by 3 tbsp per cup of sugar replaced, add ¼ tsp baking soda per cup of honey if the recipe has none, and bake 25°F lower.
- Contains
- honey
- Where it fails
- Cakes that start by creaming butter and sugar: a syrup has no crystals to beat air into the butter, so a pound cake or layer cake comes out heavy. It will not make a sponge or angel food cake.
Honey must not be given to a child under 12 months, even baked into food.
Maple syrup
clearly maple
Behaves like honey in a batter, with a maple flavor and a little less sweetness.
- Best for
- spice, apple and pumpkin cakes, vegan oil-based cakes
- Prep
- Cut the other liquid by 3 tbsp per cup of sugar replaced and bake 25°F lower.
- Suits
- vegan
- Where it fails
- The same as honey: creamed butter cakes turn dense, and foam cakes do not work.
Granulated sugar-free baking blend
sweet, sometimes with a cooling or lingering aftertaste
A bag sold to measure like sugar: an erythritol and monk fruit or stevia blend, or Splenda Granulated. It gives bulk and sweetness without sugar.
- Best for
- sugar-free pound cake and bundt cakes, chocolate and spice cakes, where the flavor covers any aftertaste, sheet cakes
- Prep
- Check the bag is a cup-for-cup product, start testing the cake 5 to 10 minutes early, and cover it once cool.
- Suits
- vegan
- Where it fails
- It does not brown, hold moisture or tenderize like sugar: the cake is paler, lower and dries out within a day. It will not hold up an angel food cake or caramelize.
For a better crumb, replace only half the sugar with the blend.
Unsweetened applesauce, for half the sugar
less sweet, faintly apple, denser
Applesauce can stand in for part of the sugar in a moist cake. It is far less sweet than sugar and is mostly water.
- Best for
- spice, carrot and apple cakes, snack cakes and muffins
- Prep
- Cut the other liquid by 2 tbsp for each ½ cup of applesauce.
- Suits
- vegan
- Where it fails
- Replacing all the sugar gives a dense, pale, rubbery cake. Not for layer cakes that need a fine, light crumb.
Pure stevia or monk fruit extract alone
sweet, often bitter in large amounts
Drops, packets and pure extract powders sweeten but add no bulk.
- Best for
- sweetening frosting or whipped cream to taste
- Where it fails
- A cup of sugar is a large part of a cake batter. Take it out and replace it with a teaspoon of extract and the cake is flat, tough and dry.
How it behaves in this recipe
In a cake, sugar does more than sweeten. Its crystals beat air into butter, it holds water so the crumb stays soft, it slows the flour and eggs from setting so the cake can rise, and it browns the crust. A dry, crystalline swap keeps most of that. A syrup or a fruit puree keeps the sweetness and moisture and loses the lift. A sugar-free blend keeps the bulk and loses the browning and moisture.
Tips for substituting sugar
5 tips- Pound cake and layer cakes that begin with creaming butter and sugar need a dry, granular sweetener: brown sugar, coconut sugar or a granulated baking blend. Honey and maple syrup belong in oil-based cakes.
- With honey or maple syrup, use ¾ cup per cup of sugar, take out 3 tbsp of the milk or water, and bake 25°F lower so the top does not darken before the middle sets.
- Coconut sugar swaps in cup for cup. The cake is darker and slightly drier, with a caramel taste, so it suits chocolate and spice cakes better than white cake.
- With a sugar-free blend, test the cake 5 to 10 minutes before the recipe says. These cakes set sooner and do not brown much, so color is not a sign of doneness: use a skewer.
- Angel food, chiffon and sponge cakes hold their foam with dissolved sugar. Keep the sugar in those, or use a recipe written for the sweetener you have.
Questions
5 questionsCan I use powdered sugar in place of granulated sugar in a cake?
In a pinch, use 1 ¾ cups of unsifted powdered sugar per cup of granulated sugar. Powdered sugar contains cornstarch and has no crystals to cream, so the cake is denser and a little drier. It works better in oil-based and one-bowl cakes than in a creamed butter cake.
Can I substitute applesauce for sugar in a cake?
For up to half the sugar, yes: swap ½ cup of unsweetened applesauce for ½ cup of sugar and take 2 tablespoons of liquid out. Replacing all of it gives a dense, pale cake that is barely sweet, because applesauce has a fraction of the sugar and a lot of water.
Can I make a pound cake or a 7UP cake with a sugar substitute?
Yes, with a granulated product that measures cup for cup, such as an erythritol blend or Splenda Granulated, so the butter still has something to cream against. Expect a paler, lower, drier cake, and start testing 10 minutes early. Replacing half the sugar gives a result much closer to the original. In a 7UP cake, a diet soda keeps the rest of the cake sugar-free.
Can I bake a cake with no sugar and no sugar substitute?
Only a fruit-sweetened one. Cakes built on mashed ripe banana, dates or applesauce work when the recipe is written for them: they are dense, moist and mildly sweet. Leaving the sugar out of a standard cake recipe gives a tough, pale, bread-like result.
Why did my sugar-free cake come out dry?
Sugar holds on to water, and most sugar-free sweeteners do not. Bake for less time, replace only half the sugar, add 2 tablespoons of sour cream or yogurt per cup of sweetener, and wrap the cake as soon as it cools.