How to Make a Birthday Cake with No Sugar or Sweetener
This birthday cake with no sugar or sweetener is my most popular recipe for a reason. It is sweet but not sickly, super easy to make, and simple to adapt to different tastes. I’ve seen it made into 2-tier cakes, cupcakes, breakfast muffins and more. Give it a go and see why it is so well-loved!
Screaming kids, bright balloons, scarily energetic children’s entertainers.
What do the words “children’s birthday party” bring to mind for you?
Let’s face it – there are few parents in the world who actually look forward to a kid’s party. And for those of us trying to feed our kids a little more healthily, it can be a minefield of sugar, junk food and snacks in colour shades that have never existed in nature.
But parties are a big part of our kids’ lives. They happen, and short of becoming “the hermit family”, there’s no real way around them.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against my kids indulging a little at a birthday party. I’m not going to tell them they can’t smear a slice of the cake every other kid is eating over their previously clean cheeks. After all, if they are eating really well at home, then it’s not exactly the end of the world if they have a little chocolate cake and pink icing.
But I like to have a healthier option available. Whether that’s bringing something with me that I can fill them up on before the sugar-high foods get brought out, or whether it is feeding them a healthy, veg-packed lunch before we head out, I have my tricks.
And when the party is theirs, then who says it can’t be full of healthy delicious food?
When my daughter turned 2, all chubby cheeks and golden curls, I didn’t see the need to make a cake packed with more sugar per slice than even an adult should have, so I sought out a healthier alternative.
Sadly, options were thin on the ground.
Sugar, in all its forms, was frequently in higher quantities than I felt was needed for a toddler. Those that weren’t were often complicated to make, and who’s got time to make a three-tier smash cake when you’ve got a party to plan?
So I created my own.
And it was yummy. And easy. And healthy.
Every plate was licked clean, and my daughter was grinning from ear-to-crumb-covered-ear.
Even the skeptics were impressed. You know the ones. The people who feel it is their business to inform you that choosing to feed your child the amount of vegetables, sugar and other foods that the experts recommend, that choosing to raise your kids eating healthy foods 80% of the time, is somehow a form of neglect. That you are depriving your kids of joy.
Urgh, they make making good choices tough, don’t they?
If you’ve met more than your fair share of them, here are my top tips for coping:
- Take a deep breath (anger makes things worse – no one was ever convinced by negative emotions)
- Know your stuff (make sure you can point them towards research that isn’t a headline in the Daily Mail)
- Always stay positive (remind them that it’s not that you aren’t letting your kids anywhere near sugar, but rather that you are trying to stick to the recommended daily intake of free sugars)
- Actions speak louder than words (it’s a cliché for a reason – the more people watch your kids making positive choices and see them have steady energy, mental clarity, stable emotions and more of an appetite for healthier, less sweet foods like vegetables, the more they’ll be convinced – let them watch your kids enjoying sugar free or low sugar foods so they know they aren’t “missing out”)
- Serve them yummy recipes you’ve tested at least once before and watch them be wow-ed by the fact that they are low in sugar but no one is upset about it! (I’ve rounded up some of my favourite super low sugar/sweetener recipes for you at the bottom of this post)
- Give it time – most people come around eventually!
And in the meantime, take a few minutes to make this cake, then put your feet up while you spoon fluffy, naturally sweet, delicious banana cake into your mouth. Because after all, someone has to taste test it, amIright?
I may not be able to stop the screaming of 20 children as they tear apart the room, but I can at least help you take away a little of the sensory overload by reducing the sugar high (and inevitable crash) that can often take kids from 0-60 faster than any supercar.
Little hands can:
- peel and mash bananas
- mixing ingredients
- spooning into cake tins
- icing and decorating the cakes
A birthday cake recipe that is not only sugar free, but sweetener free as well. Sweetened solely using fresh whole fruit, this cake is perfect for young kids' birthdays for parents who don't feel that a birthday cake has to have sugar! So healthy you could even have it as banana muffins for breakfast! 😉
- 2 1/2 large ripe bananas***, mashed (should weigh about 250-300g before peeling)
- 60 g (1/4 cup) yogurt (full-fat dairy or unsweetened non-dairy)
- 125 ml (1/2 cup) coconut water*
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 210g g (1 1/2 cups) gluten free or plain/all purpose (or better yet, wholemeal) flour (see notes for a coconut flour option**)
- 115 g (1 cup) ground almonds (almond meal) - or use another 115g (3/4 cup) flour (not quite as sweet, but still soft and fluffy!)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
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Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4.
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Mix the bananas, yogurt, coconut water, eggs and vanilla extract in a bowl until as smooth and combined as possible.
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In a separate bowl, whisk together the other ingredients.
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Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and stir until just combined and there are no more visible flecks of flour.
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Pour into two 8" sandwich cake tins or a 12-hole muffin tin lined with cupcake cases and bake for 20 mins or until slightly golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
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If you prefer to ice the cupcakes, you could simply dust (very) lightly with icing sugar, coconut flour or cocoa powder. Other great frostings include: whipped cream cheese mixed with orange or lemon/lime zest, whipped heavy cream (double cream), or no-added sugar peanut butter beaten with a little unsalted butter (and cocoa powder, if you like).
*you can use tap water/milk/coconut milk, but I found coconut water a great way to naturally add extra sweetness
**one reader has successfully adapted this recipe with coconut flour for gluten free/low carb cakes and kindly shared the conversions with us: "I used 1 cup of coconut flour, a whole cup of coconut milk rather than water, and 2 more eggs. I also had to cook them for about 30 minutes instead of 20, but they came out beautifully!"
***not a banana fan? Try subbing with about 150g (2/3 cup) applesauce or roasted pear puree if you prefer - it won't be quite as sweet, so adding a small handful of raisins or a couple of drops stevia may make it a little sweeter if you feel it needs it
If you want other recipes with no or super minimal added sugar or sweetener, look no further:
- Banana Chocolate Chip Donuts (Gluten Free)
- Chocolate Banana Bread
- Banana Upside-Down Cake (Gluten and Dairy Free)
- Peaches ‘n’ Cream Ice Cream
- Strawberry Ice Cream (Vegan and Gluten Free)
- Strawberry Shortcake
- Microwave Veggie-Loaded Applesauce
- Blueberry Galette
- Carrot & Apple Muffins
- Pumpkin Spice Waffles (Gluten and Dairy Free)
- Pumpkin Pie Pop-Tarts
- Banana Milkshake
- Lemon & Poppy Seed Scones
- Wholegrain Croissants
- Sugar Free Crêpes
- Chocolate Orange Hot Cross Buns
- Valentine’s Day Cream Tea (Scones, Jam, Cream)
- Peanut Butter Cups
- Sourdough Waffles
- Chocolate Éclairs
- Green Blender Pancakes with Blueberry Cinnamon Sauce
- Chocolate Bread
- Banana Choc Ices
- Apple Cinnamon Biscuits (Cookies)
Hi Claire, totally awesome blog. This cake is especially exciting. I have had the same luck with searching for sugar free cake for my sons birthday. We have been sugar and all sweeter free for about a year and now that he is turning 5, we need a cake. Here it is! THANK YOU!! I have a question though about the ground almond… could I sub coconut flour for it? My son has issues eating almonds, and it seems like it would taste good. Thanks again!!
Hi Falynn,
I’m so glad I can provide a solution! I definitely found the search frustrating! I cut the sweetener back further or leave it out entirely in a lot of my recipes, but I wanted a birthday cake recipe that everyone could do without sweeteners that would still be sweet enough for all. 🙂 I would probably not use coconut flour as it is a very very thirsty flour and so cannot be subbed in instead of other flours without adding in extra liquid (often eggs). You could play around with adding extra eggs or water or yogurt and see if you can get the right consistency, but you may find it easier to simply use additional plain (normal, wholewheat, spelt or gluten-free) flour (exactly the same amount as you would ground almonds) or a different nut flour (chestnut/hazelnut/walnut) instead. Hope that is helpful. Let me know how it turns out – I’ve had great feedback from this cake so far! 🙂
Hi ASAP answer please. Tried the recipe it is nice can I freeze it please?. To defrost to eat for my xmas pudding
Thank you!! I’ve had the exact same experience searching for sugar-free birthday cakes. Everything looks amazing until you realize what “sugar-free” means in most cases. (In the end I used dates, which I know aren’t ideal, but which I figured at least added some nutrition.) We’ll definitely try this!
Hi! Can equal amounts ofall purpose flour or whole wheat flour be subbed for the almond flour? Or does it need to be adjusted?
Hi Bethany, a few people have asked this. I actually haven’t tested it without almond meal so I’m not 100% sure, but I don’t see why it shouldn’t. I may need to test it when I can finally get my hands on some flour again as a fair few people have asked now. You’ll see in the Notes that one reader had success with subbing in coconut flour, too. Let me know how you get on if you test it. It shouldn’t need any other tweaks. 🙂
Thank you!! I’ve had the exact same experience searching for sugar-free birthday cakes. Everything looks amazing until you realize what “sugar-free” means in most cases. (In the end I used dates, which I know aren’t ideal, but which I figured at least added some nutrition.) We’ll definitely try this!
Thank you, I’m glad this recipe is an answer for you, too! Hope it helps next time you need a sugar free birthday cake! 🙂
I just ran across this article and I almost cried when I read the first part about searching for sugarless recipes. It was like you read my mind! I have been experiencing the EXACT same emotions over the last few weeks planning my daughter’s second birthday party. I know how many dirty looks you get when you say to people that you don’t want your child to have desserts. My father said “She’s going to grow up and hate you”. But a birthday is a celebration of your baby – not of sugar. And if we’re going to build a healthier future for our children we have to start NOW, not wait until it’s fashionable.
I can’t wait to try this recipe. But I just bought a whole bag of coconut flour, so I think I’ll try to fiddle around with it and see if I can make the coconut work. Thank you so much for this!
“A birthday is a celebration of your baby – not of sugar”. YES Lydia! So true! I couldn’t agree more. I hope the recipe works well for you. If you are going to use coconut flour, I recommend adding a couple of extra eggs and/or some more liquid in general as coconut flour absorbs much more liquid than most flours! 🙂
Hey there, I just wanted to share my experience using coconut flour for this recipe in case your other readers wanted to give it a try. I used 1 cup of coconut flour, a whole cup of coconut milk rather than water, and 2 more eggs. I also had to cook them for about 30 minutes instead of 20, but they came out beautifully! A little darker than yours in the photo, but that may be because I used my coffee grinder to grind the almonds and I’m positive some coffee grounds got in there.
For the icing I mixed cream cheese with another banana and some unsweetened coconut flakes and it was just okay…not a winner. It also turned grey after awhile – presumably because the banana in it was trying to turn brown.
Anyway, thanks for the suggestions! I froze the rest of the batch and will be sharing them with husband when he gets home this weekend.
Glad to hear it worked well Lydia – I shall add a note on the recipe so people can check your substitutions if using coconut flour. Definitely going to try it myself – I have quite a lot of coconut flour nearing its use by date so am desperately searching for recipes! 🙂 Icing can be really tough to get right. I’ve had success using the zest and juice of 1/2 an orange mixed with cream cheese, or using a little stevia or rice syrup to sweeten, or making a chocolate ganache using really really dark chocolate (85% minimum) melted with double (heavy) cream. But I’ve yet to find a way completely free of sugar!
I know this is old, but for frosting I just use regular whipping cream without anything added and put berries on it for the sweetness factor.
I do that too sometimes! Yummy. 🙂
I am excited to have found a truly sugar free recipe! Thank you so much for sharing it!!! I am trying this recipe to see if it will work for my sons first birthday party. I baked it today with 1 cup of whole wheat flour to replace the ground almonds because there will be a baby with a peanut allergy at my sons birthday party so I am staying away from all nuts just to be safe. I also added 2 tbs of flax meal just to add a bit more nutrition.
As expected, the cake was simple and not sweet which I am ok with. It tasted like a healthy sugar free banana muffin. Not a grain of sugar or sweetener which was exactly what I was looking for. I am struggling to find a frosting that will work. I made a test cake today using a sugar free vanilla whipped cream with a chocolate ganache (slightly sweetened with maple syrup) middle. The whipped cream was very simple and the chocolate ganache was over powering, too rich and bittersweet.
My husband was very gentle when telling me he didn’t like it. He said it wouldn’t be a hit. That it was delicious but had no favor but that the texture of everything was great. He said it didn’t taste the way cake should taste, sweet. He is not on the same page as me when it comes to sugar. Luckily, he humors me but honestly can’t understand why I won’t agree to let our son have a regular piece of cake. I’d like to find a middle ground but every middle ground sounds like we’d be compromising and giving our one year old more sugar than we should.
Am I being crazy?
Should I make a smaller cake just for my son and a different cake for our guests?
By the way, I thought you should know, I gave my son a slice of cake tonight after dinner and he loved it. And I loved that I didn’t feel like a terrible mother giving it to him! Thanks again for sharing your recipe.
I think I just need to work out a few things in order to call it birthday cake for us. 🙁 and my timeline is pretty tight. The party is this Sunday so I only have a couple days to figure it out. Looking back, I probably should have started testing cakes sooner! LOL Oh well.
Hi Maribel,
Thank you for your feedback! I’m glad you and your son enjoyed the cake. As you say, without sugar or sweeteners, it is never going to be as sweet as regular cake, so I’m not surprised your husband wasn’t too impressed if that’s what he was expecting or comparing it to. I would definitely say you aren’t being crazy – I feel exactly the same about giving sugary cakes to our young children! When people question it, I try to give the cold hard evidence-based and scientifically-proven facts of World Healthy Organisation recommendations: 6-9 teaspoons free sugars (which includes syrups, fruit juice and honey) a day maximum for adults, 3 teaspoons maximum for kids aged 4-11 and as close to 0 teaspoons as possible for under 4s. I am all for occasional treats and letting younger kids try a little sweeter stuff or sugar as a rare thing, but I find if I tell people all I’m doing is sticking to the World Health Organisation recommendations rather than listening to health foodie or clean eating trends and made up stats, I find they are a little more understanding! But it’s true that there is often a sense that you are “depriving” kids by not giving them sugar. I usually simply point to my very content children munching happily on celery sticks, peanut butter sandwiches and just a little cake at a party to point out that this is not the case! They do my convincing for me much more effectively than me talking about it could!! I created my Party Survival course out of the frustration of these experiences!
For the cake, you could always make one batch of the batter and scoop a bit into a cupcake lining for your son and then add 1/4 cup xylitol (or to taste) to the rest of the mix before putting that in cupcake cases, too and baking it all. That way you would have one for your son and some sugar free xylitol-sweetened ones for the adults (you can buy xylitol in many supermarkets these days – Total Sweet is usually available). Otherwise, if you are comfortable using a bit of sweetener or a little dark chocolate, you could try my one-bowl chocolate fudge cake or flourless chocolate cake recipes? They are still lower than most cakes in sugar/sweetener, but are more like your average cake in flavour?
I hope this is all helpful. 🙂
Do let me know if you have any other questions, I’m always happy to help. You can email me directly at: claire@raisingsugarfreekids.com if you like. 🙂
Do you have a link to the WHO guidelines I could share with those family members who think I’m being unnecessarily strict about sugar? I’ve tried searching online but just come up with the “5% of total energy” guideline and would love something that simplifies that in grams or teaspoons.
Also, THANK YOU for this recipe! Your struggle trying to find a no sweetener recipe mirrors mine in my search for my daughter’s first birthday cake. They claim to be sugar free but then add maple syrup or dates. Or I finally find one that’s sugar free but it tries to be dairy free, egg free, gluten free as well with the outcome of a dense, dry cake. I can’t wait to try this!
Sorry for the late reply! You can download the WHO report here: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241549028 – they talk about the benefits of reducing free sugars to less than 10kg per person per year. 10,000/365=27.40g per day which is just under 7tsp as an adult’s RDA. It’s always harder with kids because of the difference in energy intake and needs of say, a 4-year-old vs an 11-year-old, but when the report was originally released in 2015, the recommendation was around half of an adult’s intake for that 4-11yr old range, and as little as possible below that. Hope that helps, and I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe. My kids are now 8 and 10, and while we do eat some free sugar most days (limited during the week, a bit more relaxed on weekends and holidays), they are happy to eat less sweetened foods (including still loving this recipe) and eat a varied diet with plenty of fruit and veg. I definitely don’t regret keeping them off free sugars almost entirely for the first few years of their life – I’m sure there are many factors contributing to their good diets and lack of fussiness now, but I really do believe the lack of over-sweetness early on was one of the leading reasons! So it’s worth sticking it out, but definitely don’t beat yourself up if some slips in occasionally – just do the best you can! 🙂
Hi there,
my wife and I are trying this out right now, for the 2. birthday of our grandson.
(My role is the kitchen helper who gets a whack on the head every now and then from the 4-star chef).
Is is right that there is no butter or oil in the recipe? Its going in the oven as I type, but I still thought I’d ask 🙂
Cheers, Ferit
Ha ha, nope, no butter or oil in this. Hope it turned out well? Happy Birthday to your grandson! 🙂
Hi Claire, you’re my new best friend. I LOVE your thinking … It’s in line with mine. I have to ask your opinion on flours. I do not use rice, whole wheat, or Coconut… they all dissolve too fast and cause a Glycemic index response. I feel almond flour is absolutely safe on this front but do not know how to substitute it in recipes. What do you think? Also, this birthday cake recipe calls for ground almonds; is that different from almond flour? Thank you in advance for your help!
Hi Sabrina,
Ha ha, I’m glad you’ve found the website and it’s nice to hear we think along the same lines! 🙂
Ground almonds and almond flour are very similar and while some people don’t, I tend to use them interchangeably and find that is rarely an issue other than occasionally different texture. Ground almonds are less finely ground but they are cheaper, so if a perfect “wheat flour” texture is not essential to you, I would stick with the less fine ground almonds to keep costs down, but if you don’t mind shelling out a little more for the sake of getting a similar light fluffy texture, almond flour might be the way to go.
In terms of adapting recipes, it can be difficult to say exactly with things like almond flour/ground almonds. Sometimes I have swapped it 1:1 for wheat flour and it’s been fine, other times the batter has looked wrong and I’ve added a little more egg or almonds to get it to the right consistency before baking. I think a lot of it is trial and error, and using your senses when you make the batter to adjust it to what you expect batter to look like before baking. Nuts are quite high in fat and are gluten free, so you may need to add less fat (butter/oil) and play around with ingredients a little bit to get it just right.
Caroline from All Day I Dream About Food knows far more about baking with almond flour than I do and has written a great post on it here: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/low-carb-basics-baking-with-almond-flour/
I personally usually start with a similar amount of ground almonds/almond flour and a little less fat in the recipe and play around with extra flour, egg, fat or liquid until the batter looks like what I expect it to. Sometimes it ends up being the same recipe with flour swapped for almonds, but sadly it doesn’t always work out exactly that way. Are there any other flours you can tolerate? Buckwheat perhaps or oats?
Hope you enjoy this and other recipes on the site! 🙂
Hi my friend, I tried the recipe. The changes I made: Only used Almond flour, used almond-cashew milk blend instead of coconut water, 4 eggs instead of 3, and 9″ round pans.
So it wasn’t too bad at all, although it needs tweaking and I’m looking to you for advice again! 🙂 It was a bit wet; if you know what I mean, it was well past moist. It had to be refrigerated and not left out or else I’d fear it would spoil due to how “wet” it was. But it tasted like healthy, hearty banana bread. The baby’s 1st birthday party is in 1 week and I’ve decided I’ll do mini muffins. I may do some with cocoa powder or melted No sugar added chocolate drizzled across the tops.
The reason I added the 4th egg is because the batter seemed too wet, and I figured the egg = drier, fluffier, soufflé-like. I do not know of another flour I can use at this time.. can’t use coconut flour, and I can’t gamble with the others just yet. Do you think I should have used only 3 eggs or smaller bananas? Perhaps leave out the liquid? And what do you think of trying them as mini muffins? And how long to bake would you suggest?
Claire, Thank you, Thank you in advance for your help! By the way, I can’t wait to try your savory dishes for the upcoming holidays!
Hi Sabrina,
I’m glad it worked for you with the changes, but if you found it too moist, I would have thought using 3 eggs instead of 4 would be the easiest way to solve that problem. I would then check the batter while adding the liquid and add less if it still looked like it might end up too wet. If it’s quite liquidy before baking after mixing all the ingredients, the easiest way to fix it is to add more flour until it’s more of a cake batter consistency again. When you use almond flour, it can be a bit different in texture to using plain flour and you sometimes have to play around with the ingredients a bit. Using 3 eggs instead of 4 seems the most logical change to me, but there are a few wet ingredients you could use a bit less of instead and just add into the batter until it looks right just before baking! The yoghurt and coconut water/milk can be added more slowly and the batter checked regularly until it looks wet but not liquid. It should be a little wetter than a muffin mix, but drier than pancake batter… Hope that helps! 🙂 Let me know if you need any more help with it. I hope it goes well, and that you enjoy the savoury holiday recipes too! 🙂
PS: Chocolate drizzled on top sounds yummy to me! 😉
Hi Claire! Thanks for sharing this recipe — I will be trying it out soon! Would this work as a round cake? Thank you, Betsy
Yes, that should be fine Betsy. A deep 8 inch cake tin or two 8 inch sandwich tins should be right. You may need to adjust baking times a little. It’s done when a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Hope it’s lovely! 🙂
Hi Claire! I’m so excited to have found your website. I’m planning on making a birthday cake for my younger cousin who is sugar free by choice! This recipe seems perfect; however, he is a (former) lover of all things chocolate, so I’d like to add dark chocolate to the recipe to make it more of a chocolate and banana birthday cake. I’m thinking of adding chunks of dark chocolate to the batter and maybe replacing some of the ground almonds with cocoa powder. Thoughts? Thanks!
Hi Brianna,
So lovely to hear of a young person making the choice to be sugar free – I’m seeing it more and more which is very exciting! 🙂 I am a BIG chocolate lover, too, so I’d say go for it! I would recommend using 85% dark chocolate (especially for someone who is more used to be sugar free) and chop it into chunks to add to the batter just before baking, and I think your suggestion of adding some cocoa or cacao powder to the batter is great. It’s easy enough to replace 1:1 for flour, but it can be a little different sometimes with ground almonds so just make sure the batter looks like cake batter consistency before you bake it (it should be fine – as long as it’s not too runny or hard to mix it’s ok!). Let me know how it goes. 🙂
I need a sugar free icing help me!
No problem Wilma. I usually go one of 3 ways: cream cheese icing (as for these pumpkin cookies: https://www.raisingsugarfreekids.com/sugar-free-pumpkin-cookies/), full on sugar free standard icing (uses sweetener, as for these gingerbread men: https://www.raisingsugarfreekids.com/low-sugar-gingerbread-men/), or chocolate ganache (as for my chocolate fudge cake here: https://www.raisingsugarfreekids.com/lower-sugar-one-bowl-chocolate-fudge-cake/). Alternatively, simply melting 85-90% dark chocolate and drizzling can be yummy, or drizzling with cream. Or, in the summer, sometimes I like to top with “nice cream” which is made by blending frozen fruit (usually bananas) with a little dairy or non-dairy unsweetened yogurt until soft scoop consistency. I have a sugar free buttercream recipe on my Party Survival Course (https://www.raisingsugarfreekids.com/product/keeping-treats-as-treats-a-party-survival-course-for-low-sugar-families/), too. Hope one of these options helps! 🙂 Let me know if you need any more inspiration.
Fabulous thank you! My frustrations exactly. Now all I need is a vegan version – my brother and wife have recently chosen to adopt a vegan lifestyle, which we totally respect. It just makes birthday cakes a little bit harder. I’ve not managed to adapt anything successfully yet as everything has eggs and so far, my attempts at egg subs have yielded tasty results but not exactly birthday cake kind of consistency. The coconut flour variation of your recipe is intriguing though. I bought a small pack of coconut flour a long time ago and you need so little compared to wheat flour that I’ve yet to find enough ways to get through it!
Thanks for posting!
Ha ha, I’m like that with coconut flour! I bought a big pack first time round (#beginnermistakes) and it took me over a year to get through it! I’m glad to hear we think alike. It can be really tough to make substitutions for vegan bakes. I have tried some egg replacements with success and others with dreadful results (my husband really dislikes when the overriding flavour of something is baking powder). You could certainly give egg replacements (whether your own or shop bought) a go, and see how it turns out, but I couldn’t guarantee it would work, not having tried it myself. Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
With respect, unless you want a savory cake, there is no such thing as sugar free cake, and yes your cake is very low in sugar but it isn’t “sugar free” Banana contains natural sugar just like dates or any other fruit, albeit less. I’m a dentist and I have seen it happen where kids are forbidden all sweet things as a child only to rebel in their teenage years and destroy their teeth. A bit of cake won’t do any harm. However credit to you for creating a healthier alternative.
Hi Nb, I completely agree! “Sugar Free” can be a misleading term, I appreciate that, since sugar can incorporate so many things. However, as I explain in our “Food Philosophy” page, when I say sugar free, I am using the World Health Organisation’s definition of free sugars, which does not incorporate whole or pureed fruits (although it does include fruit juice). I do believe that the fibre in whole fresh fruit vs fruit juice is beneficial, and although we prioritise vegetables over fruit and try to limit ourselves to 2 (absolute maximum 3) portions of fruit a day and make the other 4-8 portions vegetables, we do not worry about fruit too much in our diet. We do personally include dried fruit and dates in our limited “free sugars” as a family, primarily to protect our teeth, but this is a personal choice. I don’t believe a little bit of cake is a problem, but I have seen “a piece of cake” become a daily “treat”, especially when people are eating a lot of processed foods and are unaware of exactly how much sugar they are consuming. While my kids, husband and myself usually avoid added sugar as much as possible, we do indulge and have a bit of cake sometimes, but I am a firm believer that if you can enjoy something without “added” or “free” sugars instead of something high in them, then why add the strain to your health. Added or free sugars, at least for me personally, are not worth it unless I am really, truly, thoroughly going to enjoy it more than a lower sugar alternative. My kids are not forbidden all sweet things (they have fruit daily, enjoy sweetened treats at the weekend – often sweetened with xylitol to keep the impact on teeth to a minimum), but they understand that having added sugar on a daily basis can be a problem. I have been blessed to meet and hear from some parents of older children who have successfully raised their kids on a low sugar lifestyle, and have not found the teenage years to be a problem when they have encouraged “low sugar” (rather than “no sugar”) and have prioritised educating their children about sugar, health, cooking and real food. The name of the website can be misleading (it was chosen for being more catchy than: “Raising Low Sugar Kids Who Still Sometimes Have Sugar and Sweet Things, But Are Part of a Low Sugar Family Who Live By the 80/20 Rule”), but on the whole, we refer to ourselves as a “low sugar” family. I hope you enjoy the cake if you choose to make it, and appreciate the comments and sentiments behind them! 🙂
Hello. This looks like a great recipe and I will definitely try it but there are some things I learned from people more knowledgeable than me that I would like to share. Egg whites very well beaten are a natural cake rising agent. The best results for using it this way but without sugar is by adding a teaspoon or two of lemon juice fleshly squeezed and a pinch of salt. You then add the egg yolks and beat quickly to incorporate them. For a very heavy batter I’d add just baking soda, but I stay away from baking powder, it’s taste is not that great. Lastly, and most importantly mix the flour and rest of ingredients with the eggs using a spatula and very light movements. Made a banana apple and beetroot cake this way and it was moist but airy. And lastly add some vanilla flavor, just have the milk/liquid infused with seeds if you don’t want to use the regular stuff, it does make a difference.
Hi Carmen, thanks for your tips. I actually know a lot of these having learned them from cooking/baking courses, books, friends and practice myself, but I wanted to keep this particular cake recipe as simple as possible, so though it best to keep it as is. However, if anyone has the time and energy or desire to try some or all of these tips out, it should make a beautifully airy cake! So thank you for the ideas! Hope it turns out really well for you. 🙂
Hi! Just wanted to leave a comment mostly because I think it’s awesome you’re really sticking to the zero sugar thing. I just had a birthday myself and felt like I had to ingest things I didn’t want to (sugar in cake etc) just so it would be fun for everyone around me.. well it’s not fun for me! And it’s my birthday :)! so this weekend (celebrating with more family) my sister was willing to make me a cake.. but like you said it’s hard to find a recipe without syrup added. Anyway thanks! Sugar and all the other unnecessary chemicals put into food should just be done away with. Everyones become numb to it all some people don’t ever even see/know/realize what they’re eating. 🙁 I hope we can all go back to what is natural. God bless and keep you and your family. 😀 ~Holly
… also I just saw some of your comments about avoiding sugar to protect teeth… that was actually the dealbreaker for me. My sister originally wanted to get me a cake. But…This last cake and ice cream I just ate hurt my teeth SO bad and I take such effort to maintain them. If something makes me feel crappy PLUS I can literally feel it rotting my teeth afterward to a point that it’s painful.. thats not a good sign. Poison!
Thanks again just for sort of confirmation.
We don’t get dental insurance in the UK and my sugar habit was costing us a fortune! 😉 Tooth protection was a very large part of lowering our sugar intake as a family. It’s also why we chose xylitol as our primary sweetener for when we do have something sweet, as it is known for its ability to prevent tooth decay. And I’m right there with you – I don’t believe there is a problem with having a bit of sugar or processed foods every now and then as a treat, but I find that I have been eating so little of it for so long now that if I have a highly sweetened food I pay for it: stomach cramps, headaches (the infamous “sugar hangover”) and queasiness. It’s just not worth it!
Thanks Holly. I definitely agree – if it’s your birthday, you should be allowed to choose what you eat! 🙂 Happy Birthday! I hope it’s a lovely one.
Hi Claire,
I wonder if you can help.
I am looking for a cake that uses fruit instead of sweetners or sugar.
Today I have unsuccessfully tried to make a Swiss roll, using a blueberry, and banana purée in the same way as the sugar, whipping the eggs into the fruit over a pan of water etc. The batter was fine, and I actually thought I’d conjured a masterpiece after continual and expensive disasters. Sadly I ended with a mush inside what appeared to be a Swiss roll from the outside.Maybe I just needed to adjust temperatures and didn’t let it cook long enough. However It seemed very similar to previous ‘fruit cake’ attempts that just have no cake consistency what so ever. More like baked fruit purée funnily enough!
Problem is I don’t actually like banana cake, so using the blueberry hid the taste, but using your recipe isn’t an option unfortunately. I guess I’m hoping you have some others? Unfortunately I made a regular swissroll, and used the purée as the filling. Still better than regular jam I keep telling myself, but not what I started off wanting to serve to my family after Sunday lunch.
Looking forward to any ideas,
Thank you, Carrie.
Hi Carrie,
What a shame the Swiss Roll didn’t work! I’m afraid I have also struggled to make cakes with only fruit to sweeten. The main problem is that sugar isn’t just in cakes for the flavour, it also works with the other ingredients to create the texture and structure of the cake. That makes it practically impossible to get the same kind of cake as a sugary one without using some form of sugar or sweetener. There are only a couple of cakes I have successfully made this way. This is one of them, the other are my pear & ginger muffins. This is the recipe: https://www.raisingsugarfreekids.com/low-sugar-pear-ginger-muffins/ and I usually don’t bother with the sweetener (xylitol and rice syrup) as I find them sweet enough now we’ve been off sugar long enough for our tastebuds to adjust. On the whole, when adapting recipes, if I want to get the same texture, structure, mouth feel and taste of a regular cake, then I find I have to use a sweetener like xylitol or erythritol, or I need to just halve the sugar (in most recipes you can use half or even up to a third of the sugar without losing the structure too much) and call it a weekend treat. If you are determined to make cakes without sugar or sweetener, you need to be prepared for it to look, feel and taste quite different to what you are used to. I have had success (after a lot of testing and tweaking) with this recipe and the pear muffins by making sure all the other wet and dry ingredients are in proportion. This can be hard with sugar, which is often listed in “wet ingredients” but is usually a “dry” one in terms of look and feel, which is why it takes so much playing around and tweaking. If you cannot find other recipes where other people have already done the tweaking for you, you will probably need to try a few times yourself! If you are a frequent baker, then you probably instinctively know what a cake batter should look like. So when you are adjusting it, you need to make sure it keeps looking that way by adding more or less of certain ingredients. The difficult thing about fruit is that most fruit have a high water content, which means the batter will need a lot of dry ingredients (like flour) to balance it out, and may even need to look a little stiffer than usual because the water from the fruit could be further released with the heat during baking!
For this recipe, if you like pear or apples, I would recommend using equal amounts unsweetened pear puree (I like roasting the pears to get the best flavour and then puree-ing with or without the skin) or unsweetened applesauce (chop apples – leave skin on if you like – and bring to the boil in a pan with a little water and some ground cinnamon and simmer until broken down – adding more water to avoid catching if needs be – then puree). Replace the banana with those and it should work. Berries are a very different fruit with different levels of sweetness and water content/structure, so while you could try it with berry puree, you may find that less successful. If you want to try, I would recommend using fresh berries (probably raspberries or strawberries) instead of frozen and maybe adding a little less of them (or adding a little more flour).
I hope this is all helpful. Do let me know how you get on! If you want to learn a little more about sweeteners and which ones we use for our treats and why, you can read more here: https://www.raisingsugarfreekids.com/well-stocked-pantry/a-guide-to-sweeteners/ 🙂
Claire, Thank you!
I shall indeed give your ideas a go, and will let you know how I get on,
It’s so good to get some sound advice on how to make something that might just be edible!
Mums ridiculous recipes are becoming a bit of a joke in our house, so can’t wait to give them something to really smile about and get there teeth Into!
Thanks again,
Carrie
Also, these chocolate doughnuts are yummy and should still work (they may rise a little less quickly) without the rice syrup: https://www.raisingsugarfreekids.com/low-sugar-baked-chocolate-doughnuts/ You could even use unsweetened applesauce or blueberry puree thickened with cornflour for the filling instead of the chocolate if you want! 🙂
Hey! Thank you for sharing your recipe! I’m going to try it out tomorrow for my son’s birthday. I have a few questions, and they may sound a bit naive because Ive never baked in my life! So I apologise in advance! Can I substitute the coconut milk for applesauce? In your opinion, which of the two will provide more sweetness to the cake? And why are we using ground almonds or almond flour? What purpose do they serve? If I do use almond flour instead of ground almond, do I substitute for the exact amount? Also is it possible to add some blueberries as well, or will that mess with the cake. And last question, I want to bake it in a 9 inch pan. Is that possible? And do I split the batter in two?
Some people were asking for sugar free frosting, I have found 2 recipes that look really good. They are both buttercream. One is a swiss meringue buttercream found here: http://www.wifemamafoodie.com/naturally-sweetened-swiss-meringue-buttercream/
The other is also amother buttercream recipe: http://amygreen.me/real-buttercream-frosting-refined-sugar-free/
Hi Sara,
Applesauce will be probably be a bit thick to use instead of the coconut water – I would use water or dairy/non-dairy unsweetened milk instead, which is a similar consistency. Ground almonds can be subbed 1 for 1 for almond flour and they are used primarily to add sweetness, as they add sweetness more than regular flour, but if you don’t have any, then feel free to sub in plain/all-purpose flour – you may find you need to add a little more or less however, as ground almonds and flour, while similar, do act a little differently in baking. I specified ground almonds rather than almond flour in the recipe simply because they are a) easier to source (especially in England, where I am based) and b) cheaper. This recipe can be made in two 8 inch sandwich cake tins to make a layer cake. It will probably work in 9 inch ones, but the layers will be a bit thinner and may cook a touch faster so keep an eye on them in the oven and take them out when a sharp knife or skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean (no batter or clingy crumbs) and the top of the cake is going golden.
Unfortunately the buttercream recipes you have linked to are quite high in “free sugars” (honey/maple syrup) in the form of fructose which is received by the body (especially the liver) in exactly the same way as table sugar. However, they look like nice recipes, so would make a nice treat perhaps. But if you are looking for something truly “sugar free”, I would recommend whipping double (heavy) cream to stiff peaks and folding in some sugar free vanilla extract and filling the cake with that. Some sliced bananas or fresh berries would be lovely in the cream (or layered up with it), too! As for the blueberries, I am not 100% sure whether it would change the cake much since I haven’t tested it, but I think it would be ok as long as they were fresh blueberries (frozen would contain too much water). I would strongly recommend mixing them in the flour mixture (dry ingredients) before adding to the wet ingredients since that will help prevent them sinking to the bottom of the cake. Alternatively, get some fresh blueberries (or mixed berries), spread the whipped cream on the bottom cake, then sprinkle with the fresh berries before placing the top cake on it, to make a “layer cake”. 🙂
Hope this helps.
Let me know if you have any other questions. I hope it goes well! 🙂
PS: If you want a Swiss meringue buttercream that is genuinely “sugar free” and uses a natural sweetener that will not impact blood sugar levels or the liver, I have tried this recipe before very successfully: http://www.domestifluff.com/2009/04/sugar-free-swiss-meringue-buttercream/. It makes a big batch so I would make half or even a quarter and use a little less sweetener than suggested (instead of 1 cup in the full recipe, I like to use more like 2/3-3/4).
Claire, thank you so much for your lengthy response! I made it, and it tastes so incredibly delicious, it really surpassed my expectations of what a sugar free cake would taste like! My husband didn’t believe me when I said it was sugar free, because it is VERY sweet, and that’s without any added frosting or anything! Thank you for a beautiful recipe, and thank you for all the tips. I didn’t make any changes at all, I used the almond flour, the coconut water, I didn’t add any berries (which I am glad I didn’t), and it turned out really good. I just have one last question, is each layer suppose to come out only 2 cm high, or did I do something wrong? Is it a flatter type of cake? I increased the ingredients by 25% as recommended when adjusting a recipe for a 9 inch cake, however I’m not sure what the end cake is suppose to look like? Is it suppose to be spongy and airy, because mine was not. The cake I made yesterday was a trial cake for my son’s upcoming Saturday birthday party, so I want to know if I did anything wrong. Thank you!
Hi Sara,
I’m glad the comments helped and the cake tasted so great. 🙂
For the height – with the weight of the pureed fruit it probably won’t rise quite as much as a normal cake, but it may also be that a 9 inch pan is just a bit bigger than anticipated. I usually make these as cupcakes, and have had success making it in 8 inch tins once, but it could be that you need to further increase the recipe to get a thicker cake. Maybe make a double recipe? Or at least 1 and a half times the batter? The other option would be to increase the baking powder, but that is riskier as it may rise and fall (collapse) if you put too much, and sometimes too much baking powder adds a “tinny” taste. If I were you I would make a double batch and let the cakes cook a little longer.
Hope your son has a lovely birthday on Saturday and the cake is a hit. 😉
Love love love these! I found this recipe for my son’s first birthday and I still make them all the time two months later. I would like to incorporate zucchini, any tips?
Oh, I’m so glad you love them Leah! 🙂 What a great idea, adding zucchini. The main thing to bear in mind is that zucchini have a high water content. I would recommend grating it and squeezing out as much moisture as possible before adding it. You may also need to reduce the amount of coconut water or yogurt or add a little more ground almonds to soak up some of the moisture? Let me know if you give it a go – I’d be interested to know if it works out! 🙂
Hi Claire! Tomorrow is my son’s birthday, and I was looking for a cake just like this one, no sugar or sweetener added since he can’t have it right now, but then after reading I found out that it has bananas, and he’s allergic to bananas, do you have any idea of other fruit to use instead of bananas?
Thank you so much for your time and for sharing this wonderful recipe!
Hi Jassell,
I would replace the banana with equal amounts of unsweetened applesauce (stewed apples) or roasted and pureed pears (my personal favourite). For the apples, I don’t bother peeling (if organic) and just stew them in a pan with a little water and cinnamon until soft, adding more water if it starts to stick. For the pears, I bake them at 200C/400F/gas 6 until soft (again, I usually don’t peel if organic) and then blend them to a smooth puree.
Hope that helps! 🙂
Hello Claire. Can this cake be made with self raising flour. I found using bicarbonate of soda left a slight taste. Apart from that the recipe is just what I’ve been looking for. I baked it in Sandwich tins and it came out perfectly. Many thanks.
Hi Lucy, you could certainly give it a go – I imagine it would work just fine. Let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Thank you!! 😀
Love this! I have a 8 month old baby & I am really trying to keep him sugar free as long as possible! X
Yay, glad to hear it Katy! 🙂
Hi Claire. I will be attempting the recipe tomorrow for my 1 yo nephew to try and had a query. There seems to be a lot of wet ingredients – what is the consistency of the batter? Also, what sort of yogurt would you recommend, plain or any flavours? I found that self raising flour works just as well as plain flour and baking powder.
Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Tay, the batter should be a “muffin batter” kind of consistency – not overmixed, a little wet but not thin. For yogurt, I would always stick to plain or unsweetened coconut. Flavoured yogurts contain a huge amount of sugar, some have as much as ice cream! Self raising flour should work ok in place of plain flour and baking powder, but I’ve only made it with plain and baking powder so I cannot guarantee it will rise as well. You may need to add a teaspoon or half a teaspoon of baking powder on top of the self raising to get them to rise properly as I think self raising usually comes out equivalent to about 1 teaspoon baking powder to 100g (2/3 cup) plain flour). Hope it goes well! 🙂
Hi,
Thank you for this recipe. My daughter is currently milk free due to intolerance – we’ve started the milk ladder but we’re not quite there yet! Is there a substitute for the yogurt? She’s also reacted to soya so I’m not keen to use that either. Also, do you know of any milk free/naturally sweet icing recipes as well?
I’m planning to make this for her first birthday cake smash… with any luck!
Many Thanks!
Hi Mine, you could definitely sub with unsweetened coconut yogurt? That would be the easiest swap, although you could possibly sub in coconut oil (or ghee/butter if she tolerates them), but it might take a bit of tweaking to get the right amount. For a dairy free icing, whipped coconut cream (not milk) sweetened to taste with vanilla extract or a little liquid stevia makes a good one. Or you could melt some really dark chocolate (85-90%) over it – the darker the chocolate, the less sugar, but also the less milk. Check ingredients, but usually ones that dark don’t contain milk at all. Or for a hot day you could skip icing and serve the cake with frozen fruit you blitz in a blender until smooth (add a little coconut yogurt to help it along if it needs it) to make a very simple no added sugar “ice cream”. Hope that helps!
That’s a great help! Thank you! Fingers crossed I don’t bugger it up 😉
What could I use instead of bananas?
Hi Jane,
You’ll see in the comments I’ve suggested replacing it with unsweetened applesauce (I make my own by stewing apples with a little water and cinnamon) or with roasted mashed pears (roast in the oven until soft then puree).
Hope that helps!
These cupcakes sound yummy, but my husband is allergic to nuts. Are the almonds necessary for texture or volume, or could they be omitted?
Hi Louise, the ground almonds are being used as a kind of flour here. You could definitely try using more of the plain (all-purpose) or wholemeal flour in its place? Ground almonds tend to be more oily and dense than flour, so you may need to adjust the amount slightly, but these cupcakes are fairly forgiving, so you may find it works in a 1:1 ratio. Or if he is ok with coconuts, someone in the comments has successfully made this recipe with coconut flour? Alternatively, my chocolate and banana bread recipe could probably be made in cupcake cases and is nut free: https://www.raisingsugarfreekids.com/low-sugar-chocolate-banana-bread/ – you would need to keep an eye on them in the oven as they would cook in much less time, but as soon as they were risen and a skewer inserted into the middle came out clean they should be done (probably about 20-30 mins).
Hope this helps – let me know how you get on if you make them without the ground almonds, I’d love to know how they turn out! 🙂
Made this and turned out wonderful! Thank you! https://photos.app.goo.gl/xv4PSNP0Ktq1trc73
Glad to hear it – it looks beautiful! 🙂
WOW!!! You are seriously the answer to my prayer!!! I’ve been looking for a sugar-free birthday cake for my daughter who turns 1 in a month and I couldn’t find ANYTHING until I randomly found your website! I love it, I love it, I love it!!!
Sugar is so addictive and there are so many great products out there that are so much better and healthier! Why does one of the main ingredients always have to be sugar?
Thank you for sharing that recipe!!!
Can’t wait to make it <3
Oh I’m so glad to hear that Allessia! 🙂 I totally agree! I hope you enjoy these, let me know how they turn out.
God bless.
Hi Claire, my husband and I have recently decided to eat as little sugar as possible – we’re a week in! I tried this recipe yesterday to give us some encouragement that all was not lost 🙂 We both thought it was delicious, as did the friends we shared it with. I chopped up one strawberry per cupcake, added this to some whipped double cream and “iced” them with that – yuuuuuuum! I used mostly chestnut flour and a little maize flour – they were slightly dry/crunchy. Did I leave them in the oven too long or is chestnut flour a bad choice?
Hi Dimity,
Yay, well done for giving it a go! It can be tough at first, but it gets easier and easier with time and is 100% worth it. 🙂
For the cakes, I personally love chestnut flour as it is naturally really sweet, but I know that it is not always easy to sub 1:1 for wheat flours. It does seem to harden baked goods, which is why I like using it for pastry or low sugar cookies, but I’ve not tried to make cakes with it before. Maybe next time use a little less of it and a bit more yogurt to make a slightly runnier batter and see if that works? If it comes out a bit dry again, I sometimes like to poke all over with a skewer and drizzle over a tiny bit of vanilla extract mixed with warm water while the cake is still warm to help moisten it. I’ve not tried either the flour or the “syrup” with these cakes though, so not totally sure! If you are gluten free, I think rice flour, buckwheat flour or gluten free plain flour might work better in this recipe than chestnut.
Glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Can I simply not use the almonds or can I substitute this?
Hi Victoria, you could try replacing the ground almonds with more flour, but you may need to check the consistency before baking – if it looks a little dry, add a bit more yogurt or liquid. Let me know how it goes if you try this, a few people have asked about the ground almonds so it would be great to know if it works with the same amount of flour!
Hi. Could yI u tell me what the calorie content for each fairy cake is please? Thank you
Hi Katy,
We tend not to list calories and focus instead on dense nutrition and healthy fresh ingredients, since they tend to be naturally lower in calories, and trying to listen to our bodies and eat when we are truly hungry. It can be very easy to eat a lot of sugar on a low calorie diet (when I was counting calories, I ate more sugar and processed food than ever before since I was buying low-fat high-sugar and packaged food with nutritional labels more). Having said that, I know many find it useful to know the calorie count of recipes, so I would recommend you use a calorie calculator like this one: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076 (it’s coming out as 128 kcal per serve for me). Hope that is helpful.
Finally a genuine sugar free cake recipe. Have been searching on line and everything includes some kind of sweetener or honey. I’m trying to remove sugar or as much as possible from mine and my families diets and moving towards a whole food life style, but at the same time want to have treats that feel like naughty treats but be completely guilt free. Thank you
No problem Rachel. I had the same problem when I wanted a sugar & sweetener cake for my daughter’s first birthday. I just couldn’t find a honey/date/maple syrup/dried fruit free cake so decided to make my own. Do have a browse through the other recipes on the website – a lot of the treat ones contain a natural sweetener called xylitol that I wouldn’t call “guilt free”, but it’s good for teeth and sugar free and we tend to reduce the amount even further than what is in the recipes, which you are most welcome to do (or leave it out, or play around with replacing with stevia). We still keep those treats for weekends, as we try to keep our dependence on and preference for sweet things to a minimum. 🙂
Hi there ! I don’t understand what’s the wrong with the dates and dried fruit , why the banana is better ?!
I made my daughter cakes with homemade dates syrup , I only used a tiny bit of that , we made passion fruit cakes with a bit a honey .
I never gave my daughter sugar , but she is eating fruit everyday , so I don’t mind that in her cakes.
Once a year , but no refined sugar at all ,
Hi Anita, it sounds like dates, dried fruit and honey are treats in your family, too, which is a great way to see them. The World Health Organisation’s latest recommendations for sugar intake include honey and syrups (including date syrup) in their “free sugars”, of which they strongly recommend we should have no more than 6 teaspoons a day as adults, no more than 3 teaspoons a day as 4-11 year olds, and as close as possible to 0 teaspoons a day for under 4s. We also choose to include dates and dried fruit in this as a family for two reasons: 1) they contain up to 12 times the amount of sugar as in fresh fruit as they have had the water removed which highly concentrates the fructose (fructose being the addictive sugar that affects the liver), for example, dates can be 60% sugar, 30% of which is fructose, and 2) dental health is a big part of being low sugar for us – the number 1 reason in the UK for kids being admitted to hospital is for tooth removal (that’s baby teeth!), and having been through chemotherapy and autoimmune problems, I know firsthand that having a mouth in poor health means your body is more susceptible to sickness. Many dentists are strongly against dried fruit as anything other than an occasional treat because they have a tendency to get stuck in your teeth, where the concentrated sugars then cause tooth decay.
For more information, I Quit Sugar did a great post on dried fruit here: https://iquitsugar.com/dried-fruit-healthy-snack/, you often find posters up about not-so-great foods for dental health in dentist’s offices (mine has one that includes dried fruit – there was even an article based on dentist’s findings last year that concluded that crisps were better than dried fruit for dental health: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/crisps-are-better-than-raisins-say-dentists-5fhsfnjwg), and the NHS in England even includes dried fruit and fruit in syrup in its list of sugary foods to avoid for better dental health: https://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/dentalhealth/Pages/Keepteethhealthy.aspx .
The more visual example I’ve seen used to explain this to children (and adults sometimes!) is to compare portion sizes of fresh fruit vs dried fruit. Fresh fruit is perfectly packaged to include fibre, water and nutrients, but the sugar content in it means that even though it is a wonderful food to eat daily, it should still be second in the 5+-a-day portions after vegetables (you can get more vitamin C from a red pepper than an orange – in fact, there is nothing you can get in fruit that you cannot get in vegetables or other healthy wholefoods, too). So a couple of pieces of fresh or frozen fruit every day is not a problem, but if you are having dried fruit, it can be very easy to get too much! The example I’ve seen used to show the difference is eating the same fruit in the two forms. So trying to eat 30 grapes vs 30 raisins, or 5 apricots vs 5 dried apricots. It is far easier to eat more fruit (and so more sugar) when you are eating it dried, as it is smaller and the water is removed, so you feel full less quickly and think you have eaten less. And since removing the water concentrates the fructose so that the dried fruit already has more sugar in it, you can quickly end up eating a candy bar’s worth of sugar when eating it.
Sorry, I’ve just realised how long this explanation is but I have researched this thoroughly over the last few years so I have a lot of information on it.
Don’t get me wrong, as with all sugar, a little bit of dried fruit or dates here and there is not a big problem. Despite the website name (we went for catchy :P), our family is low sugar, and we still enjoy sugar, dried fruits, dates, syrups and natural sweeteners as a treat. We try to stick to the World Health Organisation’s max 6 teaspoons a day 80% of the time and relax a bit more the rest of the time, but since a large handful of raisins can easily take us halfway to the daily recommended intake already, we like to have other options up our sleeves for those times! 🙂
Hope that explains where I am coming from. It is a shame that the official stance of NHS, World Healthy Organisation, the British Dental Association and experts is not always as widely experienced by us parents as poorly regulated “healthy” stamps on packets from the food industry, but it is worth digging into a little. It’s also worth occasionally ignoring for a treat – so if you want to use dates, dried fruit, honey and syrups as your preferred sweetener, by all means, do! Sometimes we do, too. We just make them an occasional treat rather than a common occurrence, as I’m sure you do by the sounds of it. 🙂 And please do keep eating fresh fruit every day, it’s full of goodness and a yummy “dessert” or something to make it feel like you are getting a “treat” each day when you are a low sugar family. Sounds like you are doing a great job with your daughter. Keep up the good work. 🙂
Hello,
Thank you for posting this sugar free, sweetener free recipe. Will it be okay to use a 6 inch tin with this recipe?
Thank you!!
Yes! A deep 6 inch tin would be fine, just keep an eye on it in the oven as it may need a little longer. Once it is golden on top and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean, it is cooked. 🙂
Thanks Claire. I will definitely give it a go and let you know how it turns out. It is for my parents’ birthday. They celebrate it on the same day every year 😀
Hi! Have you got a cake recipe that is totally sugar free ie no fruit? Need one for my nephew’s birthday!
Hi Jenny,
Unfortunately I have yet to succeed in making a sweet-tasting cake that contains neither sugar, sweeteners nor fruit! I’m not entirely sure how you would sweeten it, but things like liquorice root, cinnamon, vanilla and coconut spring to mind? If you are happy with natural sweeteners, I have plenty of cake recipes that contain xylitol (and occasionally stevia/rice syrup), all of which are totally fructose free so fine for those with problems digesting fructose. Xylitol and stevia are suitable for diabetics, if that is the concern. Not sure exactly what you are looking for? Cake tends to imply sweet-tasting, which is very very hard to do without sweeteners or fruit in some form! But in France, we had a lot of savoury cakes growing up like this one: https://www.raisingsugarfreekids.com/asparagus-olive-loaf/ or this one: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/apr/20/broccoli-feta-pine-nut-cake-recipe-carrot-tzatziki-claire-thomson. Hope that helps you. Let me know if you have any further questions! 🙂
Hooray! I’m so excited to make this for my daughter’s 2nd birthday this weekend! I’m going to try the cream cheese icing you included the link for. I’m hoping to use 6in round cake pans and make it a tiny cake (watermelon themed party- will color icing with a little beet and spinach so I can decorate in theme!). I have given my daughter a bite of a cookie etc here and there, but generally it doesn’t feel right to me to give her lots of sweets when there are better options. This will sound crazy, but for her 1st bday, I actually made an adorable tiny 2 tiered cake out of a “turkey meatloaf” iced with mashed potatoes and decorated with peas and piped mashed potato! I bought cupcakes for the guests, but my daughter LOVED the turkey cake! The party was during lunchtime and she loves peas, so she ate it all up for lunch! Some people were horrified and said she’d hate me later for depriving her of “real cake” (I still hear about it from my mother-in-law!) …but my baby enjoyed a tasty lunch and it looked great! This year I’m so happy to have this more cakey option, particularly for my banana and cream cheese loving toddler! Thank you so much!
Oh Greer, I LOVE this! I always say: if the child is loving it, then how is it deprivation? 😉 They don’t think they are missing out on anything at that age, it’s just us projecting our feelings about it onto them. To be honest, that sounds like a yummy cake to me! Hope she loves the banana one – I’ve had plenty of success before making cream cheese “icing” by just beating cream cheese until softened with the zest of an orange or lemon (add a little of the juice for more of a sweet flavour”). All of us love that one over sugar free carrot or banana cake! Hope your little girl has a lovely birthday. 🙂
Thank you for this fab sweetner and SUGAR FREE recipe, I was set a challenge to bake a totally fruit and sugar and sweetener free cake, bananas being the rare exception (a sugar free full veggie that hates fruit 🙄) Can’t wait to try it out THANK YOU 🙂
Ha ha, what a challenge! 🙂 Hope you enjoy it!
Hi!
Do you have a sugar free icing recipe? The one you mention there doesn’t have a valid link anymore as the I quit sugar lady has sold her website.
Aargh, of course, sorry Amelia! I love to use the icing in this one: https://www.bbc.com/food/recipes/spiced_carrot_cake_with_04420. It’s just cream cheese beaten until soft with some orange zest (lemon or lime zest work well, too). You can sweeten with a little sugar free vanilla extract if you like, but we quite link the little tangy-ness of it. Another nice icing is smooth peanut butter mixed with a little softened butter and vanilla extract. It’s very creamy and icing-like, and you can add cacao powder to make a chocolate-peanut-butter-icing too if you like. Hope those ideas are helpful. 🙂
Can I make this without the almonds? I’m allergic to all kinds of nuts.
Yes! I haven’t tested it, but this should work using more wholemeal flour in place of the ground almonds. If the mixture looks a little thick, add a touch more liquid. If it’s a little thin, add more flour. But it should be about the same amount. Let me know how you get on. 🙂
I’ve just found out that sugar causes headaches for me, so needed some sugar free options. This was actually the first recipe to show up on my search. But on top of that my son is allergic to eggs, so does anyone know if this can be successfully made with an egg substitute like greek yogurt or applesauce?
Hi Jessica, I’ve not tried it without eggs before, but it’s definitely worth a try! Here is my go-to list when I don’t have eggs on hand: https://www.egglesscooking.com/egg-substitutes/ Hope that helps. Let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Thank you for this recipe, i used it for my daughters 1st birthday cake and was really impressed, ive just baked it again today
Glad you liked it Charlene! 🙂
Hi there,
I made this recipe but the contents all stuck to the sides of the cupcake casing. Is this because there wasn’t any butter in the mix? How do I stop this from happening in the future?
Many thanks – Flick
Hi Flick, oh no what a shame. Honestly, I tend to favour a lightly greased muffin tin over cupcake cases as I find a lot of cake/muffin batters tend to stick to the cases and you end up missing out on a lot of the cake! I would probably make them directly in the muffin tin in future, just make sure to grease it lightly with butter/coconut oil/olive oil. Or you could try use silicone/non-stick cupcake cases? Hope it works better next time and that what you did get to eat tasted nice!
you criticize the use of fruit to sweeten a cake, but then that’s what you did. bananas contain sugar, too. it’s just not a cake without some form of sugar– that’s bread.
As you will see from various posts and static pages on this website, we use the World Health Organisation’s guidelines when it comes to “free sugars” that they strongly recommend us limiting our consumption of, particularly for young children. These free sugars include honey, syrups, fruit juice and fruit concentrates. We as a family choose to limit our consumption of dates and dried fruit on top of this due to the increased sugar in these comparative to fresh fruit. For example, eating 30 grapes feel excessive, but eating 30 raisins in one handful is not only far easier to do, but also physically contains more sugar as the fructose increases when you remove the water (take a look at the amount of fructose sugar in 100g of grapes: https://www.google.co.uk/search?safe=active&source=hp&ei=5o80W5VZibWwB8_2jsgJ&q=sugar+in+grapes&oq=sugar+in+grapes&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0l4j0i20i263k1j0j0i22i30k1l4.166.1883.0.2009.16.13.0.1.1.0.140.1165.8j5.13.0….0…1c.1.64.psy-ab..2.14.1165.0..35i39k1j0i67k1j0i131i67k1.0.PSykatIVDDQ – 16g vs the fructose sugar in 100g of raisins: https://www.google.co.uk/search?safe=active&source=hp&ei=4Y80W_PPD4HpsAf1woeQBQ&q=sugar+in+raisins&oq=sugar+in+raisins&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0l5j0i22i30k1l5.768.2721.0.3043.17.11.0.4.4.0.119.809.9j2.11.0….0…1c.1.64.psy-ab..2.15.824.0..35i39k1j0i131k1.0.j1-z3EU3Xww – 59g, which shows an increase of almost 400% in the sugar in the dried fruit; dates are not dried, but have 63g fructose sugar per 100g: https://www.google.co.uk/search?safe=active&ei=6I80W6nFJ8vygQavp4roBw&q=sugar+in+dates&oq=sugar+in+dates&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0l4j0i22i30k1l6.133946.134320.0.134447.5.4.0.1.1.0.101.305.3j1.4.0….0…1c.1.64.psy-ab..0.5.307….0.g1-UgxHinK0). Similarly, a glass of apple juice contains the sugar of approx 4-5 apples, while eating 4-5 fresh apples would be much harder than drinking a glass of juice due to the removal of fibre. Our choice to include dates and dried fruit, in particular, in our “free sugar” limit is primarily for dental health – dentists are notorious critics of dried fruit which is high in sugar and tends to get stuck in teeth, causing decay (which is particularly bad in the case of baby teeth which are more fragile than adult ones). As you say, without the fruit, the cake would simply become bread, and would not taste remotely like “cake” as we know it. I do criticise the use of dried fruit and fruit juice (free sugar) over the use of fresh fruit for the reasons listed above, but we eat 1-2 portions (occasionally even 3) of fresh or frozen fruit every day in our house, as the benefits of fresh fruit and the presence of the fibre and water slow down the release of the natural sugar in the fruit, while fruit juice in particular, dumps straight on the liver. I understand your confusion and appreciate your query in calling me out, so I hope that that explains why we are happy to use a little fructose sugar in fresh fruit while trying to limit our consumption of dried or juiced fruit. 🙂
Mrs. Wright, this was the most perfect answer! I have truly enjoyed this recipe and agree that the sugar from the fresh fruit is more appealing than the sugar from dried fruit or fruit juice. My family is on a journey to limiting sugar intake but want to offer our children an alternative, such as this cake recipe. They may choose to indulge, from time to time, but we want this to be the norm for all of us. Thank you!
Glad you like it Ty! 🙂
Thanks for this recipe! Will definitely give it a try. Been searching the internet for a sugarfree, sweetener free etc recipe for muffins/cake. Was about to loose hope then found this. Hope my little ones will like it.
Glad I could help Joanne – I know that feeling. 🙂 Hope they love it.
Thanks, my daughter is diabetic. I might try the banana sugar free cake. I wish I knew the nutritional values though.
Robin
Hope you enjoy it Robin. We make it an aim not to count calories (which can be quite misleading as not all calories are equally good or bad for you), but instead listen to our bodies and try and eat healthy, low sugar foods until we are full. Because of this, we have chosen not to include nutritional values, but I appreciate that some people may need or want them. I have found a nutritional values calculator for you here: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076 which lets you input the whole recipe and works out the values for you. Hope that’s helpful! 🙂
Thank you so much for this recipe! Wanting to cater for no added sugar & gluten free for a first birthday, I was on the verge of giving up with the idea of cake althogether before coming across this recipe.
Would you reccomend keeping these in the fridge? And how quickly would you suggest that they need eating? Apologies if this information already appears in the above threads.
Thanks again 🙂
No problem Tilly, I’m glad you like the look of it. 🙂 These are definitely best on the day, but they will keep another couple of days in an airtight container in the fridge. Make sure you bring them up to room temperature before serving, and if you are icing them, do that just before serving! Hope you enjoy them. 🙂
These made really nice cup cakes, moist even the day after. I didn’t have almond meal but substituted with cashew meal. We decorated with thick double cream and flower petals. Left overs were sliced and buttered for snacks. Will make again.
Yay, glad you enjoyed them Cindy! Cashew meal is a lovely idea. 🙂
Hello- this is amazing! I’m baking this for a party with children who have loads of different food allergies and requirements- is there any egg substitutes you would recommend for this (e.g: fruit sauces/ purées?)
Thanks!
Aaw, thanks Indy. I haven’t tested them with egg substitutes so not 100% sure, but I would have thought flax eggs (1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp warm water left to sit for 5 mins in place of each egg) might be your best bet. This list is pretty comprehensive and useful, as it breaks down what works best in different bakes: http://chefinyou.com/articles/egg-substitutes-cooking/. It seems to think using unsweetened applesauce or more mashed banana might work! Let me know how you get on. 🙂
Hi, it’s my sons birthday next week and I’d love to make these for him. I was wondering if you think adding dark chocolate chips (which I don’t think contain sugar) would be alright in this recipe? He loves bananas and dark chocolate so I wondered if you think this would be ok, both nutritionally and also whether it would unbalance the recipe? I’ve done it before in banana bread so thought it might be ok here too? Thanks!
Hi Davina, dark chocolate chips are lovely in this! They will most likely add some sugar, but how much totally depends on which you use. You could get unsweetened/sugar free dark chocolate chips online or in some health food shops. The kind you get in most shops is about 50% cocoa content (and so 50% sugar) so check packets. I personally just coarsely chop a handful of 85-90% dark chocolate when I use chocolate chips as it usually adds very very little sugar (we’re talking less than a teaspoon). Basically, the higher the cocoa content, the less sugar. It depends on the brand exactly how much, but the general rule is that whatever percent is left over is sugar (so 70% dark chocolate contains twice as much sugar as 85% because it’s 30% sugar instead of 15%). Does that make sense? You could use cacao nibs if you’re concerned about sugar in it, but personally I don’t feel that a small amount of 85-90% dark chocolate is a problem – I have a square most evenings as it’s only about 1/2 teaspoon of sugar in 20g of chocolate. 🙂 Hope your son enjoys the cake. I’m a big chocolate banana fan myself! 😉
These cakes are amazing. Personally I’m a sugar addict and thats why I’m making sure my daughter doesn’t take after me. I made these for her 1st birthday and everyone loved them including me 100% making these again and who would of known I’d love them just as much as standard cakes. Thank you so much for sharing your recipes can’t wait to try more.
Yay, so glad you liked them so much Samantha! 🙂
Hi Claire!
Thank you for this recipe which sounds yummy! I’d like to make it for my grand-daughter in celebration of her first birthday.
Can you please tell me if I can make this recipe as a cake — as opposed to cupcakes — and if so, which shape and size (e.g., round, square, 9 in) baking dish to use? Would I need to make any adjustments to the recipe?
Thank you!
…Robin
Hi Robin,
This makes 12 cupcakes or one round 8 inch sandwich cake. It’ll make two thin layers as a sandwich cake, but you could just use one 8 or 9 inch round cake tin to make a single layer cake instead. Keep an eye on time in the oven as it’ll probably take a bit longer, but once it is lightly golden on top and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean, it’s cooked (usually about 25-30 minutes at 180C/350F/gas4)! I recommended lining the cake tin well as it has a muffin-y like texture which might make it prone to sticking to the sides of the tin and tearing if not lined.
Hope it goes down well. 🙂
Great recipe!!! Made this for my son’s 1st birthday.
Glad you enjoyed it Amy! 🙂
Just made this for my DF, SF daughter who is turning two next week. It’s awesome. I’ll be using it for her cake on Saturday. I was short 1/2 a banana so I used fresh strawberries instead. Coconut milk because she’s dairy free and it’s delicious. I made a cake vs muffins. Took about 35 minute to bake. Very filling. I topped this with a fudgy DF, SF chocolate icing recipe. I’ll defintely keep this for future reference. Thank you
That’s great Sarah, so glad it worked and thanks for sharing the subs that worked for you. I love the thought of fresh strawberries in there – definitely going to be trying that one! 🙂 Happy Birthday to your daughter for next week.
What did you do for the yogurt?
People do not want to eat sweet because they want to live healthy they know that sugar are not good for their health.but for cake lover it is not good because in cake sugar available. and it is good that in this post i get how to make a birthday cake with no sugar or sweetener. thank you for sharing this post.
When you say ground almonds? Like how you can grind them at Whole Foods into almond butter? Or in a food processor?
Thanks!
Hi Katherine, I mean almond meal (we call them ground almonds in the UK). Sorry, I usually make an effort to include US names and measurements in recipes, too. That one must have slipped through the net, I’ll change it now! 🙂
AMAZING! It looks delicious and mouth-watering and also easy to make. I made this for my brother on his birthday and the results were unbelievable for me.
Thanks!!!
Yay, glad it worked so well for you Ritika! 🙂 Hope your brother enjoyed his birthday.
Hi. Bananas come in various sizes, I don’t want to use too much or too little. About what weight of banana, in its skin, do you think I should use? Thanks
Hi Angel, I’m not sure of the exact weight, but 2 1/2 large bananas would be roughly 400g of unpeeled bananas I believe (about 14 oz)? An average to large banana is approx 120-160g in its skin so that is roughly what I would go with. I am based in the UK where we largely import only 1 type of banana so they are all about the same size and weight to us! 🙂
I didn’t look through all of the comments, but any suggestion for subbing the yogurt? I’m dairy free, too.
Never mind. I see the unsweetened non-dairy yogurt option. I’ve never noticed it in the store, but this is new to me. I’ll have to check it out!
Sorry Amy, just saw this! I like coconut yogurt as I’m not a big fan of too much soy, but you can use any dairy-free yogurt. Coconut milk or cream might be good alternatives, too. Hope it works well for you. Let me know how you get on!
This is so delish!! Made it today for my hubby’s birthday – moist n scrummy!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Annie! 🙂
I’m so glad I found this recipe! Looking forward to making it for my daughter’s first birthday.
I have lots of powdered peanut butter on hand, do you think that would work instead of almond meal? Would I need to add a bit of oil in this case?
Thank-you!
Ooh, that sounds like it should work! I’ve not tested it, but I feel like it must be the same consistency as almond meal, so should work fine. Hazelnut meal or other nut meals work, so I don’t see why peanut wouldn’t! 🙂 Let me know how you get on.
Thank you so much for this recipe, Claire! I made it for my son’s 4th birthday with some simple cream cheese and Greek yogurt frosting and it was a hit with my family. We are always looking for ways to cut sugar out our kids lives and ours and this was the perfect solution. Thank you!
Oh Meghan, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂 Thanks for rating and leaving your feedback.
Hi,
Was searching for a sugar & sweetener free cake recipe for my son’s 1yo birthday end of nxt month. He’s allergic to peanuts so I’m thinking of omitting ground almonds. Is there anything else I can replace it with? It’s impossible to get whole wheat flour or the likes during this period (covid-19), stocks of non essentials like these are hard to get.
Also, i’ll be using a regular 8inch round pan, just one, not splitting into 2 pans. How long will I have to bake it for?
Thank you!
Hi Faith, you could replace the ground almonds with more flour – keep an eye on the consistency before baking, but it shouldn’t be a problem! For 1 deeper tin, I would cook it for about twice the time, but check after about 30-35 mins and when it is going golden and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean, it’s ready. 🙂 Hope you enjoy it, let me know how you get on with the changes – I would love to know how it works without ground almonds.
Hi Claire, thank you for your recipe!! I’m looking to make it for a birthday coming up this week, does it taste like banana, or is the banana-y taste masked by the other ingredients?
Thank you!
Hi Arden, it does taste a bit banana-y. If you are not a fan, you could give it a go with applesauce or roasted and blitzed pears. They wouldn’t be quite as sweet as ripe bananas but should work. Or you could try to mask the banana flavour by swapping a little of the flour for cocoa powder, or adding some nice extract to mask it slightly?
Am only seeing pictures of cup cake, does it mean that this recipe isnt goono b good for tier cakes? Like making a big birthday cake with this recipe. From the pictures it doesn’t look fluffy, pls for those that have tried it pls help me, is the cake fluffy? Even though I want a sugar free I still want it fluffy.
Pls your answer is very precious to me, pls
Please an urgent answer will be appreciated because I want to try it for a customer tomorrow.
Pls help me keep this customer I don’t want a disaster.
Hi Kells, there are instructions in the recipe on how to make it as a 2-tier sandwich cake. 🙂 It is fluffy, but more muffin-like than cake-like as the lack of sugar gives it a slightly different texture. It’s a pretty great cake though! Let me know how you get on.
Hi! I made this cake for my boyfriend’s birthday as he doesn’t eat refined sugar and it was honestly so good! I’m trying to eat vegan though so I was wondering if you can substitute anything for the eggs without losing the fluffy texture.
So glad you enjoyed it so much Pierson! 🙂 I haven’t tested any egg subs, so I’m not sure. My instinct would be to use an extra banana and perhaps one chia or flax egg or some oil? I am not sure whether that would be a simple swap however, as it may require balancing out with other ingredients like more baking powder or extra flour. I suspect there would be a way that may work, but as you say, it may not retain as fluffy a texture! If you do find a way that works, do let us know. 🙂 Sorry I couldn’t be of more help.
Hello,
Thank you so very much for sharing this beautiful recipe!!!
My little one LOVED it, so as her Grands.(I didn’t tell them I didn’t used sugar :P, but they also absolutely loved it!!)
This recipe wiped off all that concern of “the sugar free loving young parents vs the all about sugar senior generations” issue without a fuss, I think!
This definitely is in my eternal recipes in our family. 🙂
Thanks for letting me know Shiho, glad everyone enjoyed it!
The cake looks perfect and fabulous to bake for a special day. Yes, its definitely the best no sugar cake. Lovely!!
🙂
Can I please know if I use coconut flour instead how many eggs should be replaced by flax eggs.. please I’m just trying to make it vegetarian
Love this! Just stumbled across your blog while looking for a sugar/sweetener-free cupcake to celebrate my twins’ second birthday. As a Type 1 diabetic, I am always acutely aware that “natural sweeteners” like maple syrup are still treated like sugar by your body. I’d love for my kids to enjoy the lightly sweet taste of baking with fruit, instead of getting hooked on sweeteners! Looking forward to exploring more of your recipes.
Amen Karen! Glad you are enjoying the website. 🙂
Hi there, please could you clarify why there are two flour amounts. I’m confused. Can I use plain flour for both? Thank you very much
Hi Susannah, you could use plain flour alone if you prefer and it should work with the same amount. I use ground almonds (almond meal) both for added sweetness and texture, but it won’t be hugely different with plain flour. Because ground almonds are more oily than flour, the mix may be a touch drier and needed a little extra liquid, but with this small amount I think it should be fine! Let me know how you get on. 🙂
This is exactly the kind of thing I’m looking for for my daughter’s first birthday! Thank you! What do you use for an icing?
Brilliant, glad it is helpful, that’s exactly why I created it! 🙂 I’ve deliberately left icing up to the individual, as some people don’t might adding some lightly sweetened icing on top (eg: maybe a cream cheese icing with just a small amount of maple syrup or icing sugar to sweeten to taste), while others prefer to keep it totally sweetener free (using Greek yogurt and berries, for example). I personally love to use one of 3 options best: 1) a very lightly sweetened cream cheese icing which I add some lemon or orange zest to as well as just a drop or two of liquid stevia, or a little icing sugar until tangy but gently sweetened; 2) I make a low sugar chocolate ganache icing by mixing equal parts 85% dark chocolate and double (heavy) cream that has been heated to only just simmering before stirring in chopped chocolate and allowed to cool to room temperature; or 3) keep it super simple with some whipped cream or even coconut whipped cream (if using coconut I usually add a small amount of sweetness but I find dairy cream sweet enough). Hope these help!
Hello, I’m just wondering why sugar free cakes don’t use butter as the fat source? Is this a health/lifestyle choice thing or is it a chemical thing in terms of how the cake bakes / rises / texture turns out? I like our family to have a low sugar diet but I’m comfortable with whole fats so just wondering about the reasons before I get cracking.
Many thanks in advance. Recipe looks great!
… Whole fats as part of a balanced diet I mean.
Hi Lois, we LOVE butter! 🙂 Grass-fed butter is a regular in our house, and I would choose it over vegetable oils and margarines every time. This particular recipe doesn’t use butter as it’s more of a “gateau au yaourt” (yogurt cake) style cake, and if you choose to use ground almonds/almond meal in it, the oils in that combined with butter may make for a greasy cake. Also, fruit purees/mashed fruit tend to provide the texture that butter provides in a cake, which is why fruit-sweetened cakes often leave butter out as it would result in a potentially strange texture. That might be why you are struggling to find them? Having said that, you could definitely try this recipe with butter, but would need to leave out some of the yogurt and/or bananas to do so. Leaving out some banana would also reduce the sweetness, so you may need to compensate for that in some way. I hope that helps! You’ll find that plenty of my other recipes use butter – do have a look through the list of low sugar and sweetener recipes just below the recipe for more ideas if you like. 🙂
In the pictures what frosting did you use?
I just used whipped cream sweetened with vanilla and piped through a star nozzle to make it pretty. But I’ve used various different frostings before – some with a little sugar and some with none. Favourites are whipped cream or chocolate ganache (equal parts dark chocolate and heavy cream) or cream cheese lightly sweetened to taste (and sometimes some citrus zest). 😊
I followed this recipe exactly and I found the cake undercooked and mushy after 20 mins. I put it back in for another 10 and then 10 again. It never really turned out for me.
But the outer edges had a nice light flavor.
That’s so strange! It’s worked so well for so many people! Did you use the cup measurements or the metric? Did you weigh the bananas? It is possible that if you used quite large ones it would add more moisture? Sorry it didn’t work out so well for you. I hope you’ll give it another go at some point as so many have had great results from it.
Has anyone successfully turned this chocolate?
We can’t do banana at our house due to an allergy. So I’m thinking of subbing sweet potatoes purée. And my turning 4 year old daughter loves chocolate.
Thoughts? Thank you.
Hi Lisa – you can replace some of the flour/ground almonds with cocoa powder and add some dark chocolate chips to make it chocolate. 😊 I would recommend about 2 tbsp cocoa powder subbed for the same amount of flour. Mashed banana can be replaced with sweet potato purée, but it won’t be as sweet, so you may need to add a little sweetener with it, just enough to taste a little sweet. Alternatively, roasted and mashed pear or unsweetened applesauce are good banana replacements and tend to be a little closer to the sweetness of a banana. Hope that helps!
My cousin is on a low GI diet but I wanted to make something fun for her. It took me a long time to choose a recipe but I’m so glad I picked this one. It was delicious!
I’m vegan so I subbed the 3 eggs with Bobs Red Mill egg replacer and subbed the yogurt with the thick coconut cream at the top of the can plus the juice from half of a lemon. Wow!
I also made a pineapple glaze with the remaining 1/4 can of coconut milk, blended fresh pineapple, and cornstarch. I believe this would work well with any fruit 🙂
Thank you for adding another healthy recipe to my arsinal!
Ooh, your sub suggestions are great, thanks for sharing! And I love the sound of the glaze! 😊
Hi! I scrolled through every single comment searching for an answer, but didn’t find one. Why is the weight of the bananas before peeling?? I have bananas of various sizes and would really appreciate knowing how much actual banana I need to add. What is the total weight of banana in the recipe, please?