Splenda vs. Splenda Baking Blend (was RE: [Sca-cooks] custards)

[Celia des Archier]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: sca-cooks-bounces+celiadesarchier=cox.net at ansteorra.org [mailto:sca-
> cooks-bounces+celiadesarchier=cox.net at ansteorra.org] On Behalf Of Stefan
> li Rous
> Sent: Saturday, April 22, 2006 10:15 PM
> To: SCA-Cooks maillist SCA-Cooks
> Subject: [Sca-cooks] custards
> 
> Anne-Marie mentioned:
> =====
> when I was a kid on the farm we would use up eggs by making custards,
> sweet and savory. I learned how
> to make them in the microwave by the time I was 8 :).
> =====
> 
> Hmmm. I guess the custards I can think of are the sweet kind, such as
> a custard pie.
> 
> Unfortunately, I now tend to stay away from those because of the
> sugar. I wonder if Splenda would work for those, lemon custard /
> chess pies?

I've used Splenda in custards, in fact several of the recipes I have for
Splenda based desserts are custards, one of which is a crock pot custard
that worked out pretty well, but you do have to be careful not to overcook
it. 

I don't know how it work with chess pie, since you're replacing a syrup (or
at least all of the chess pie recipes I've seen include corn syrup), and
while Splenda is stable when heated, it doesn't have quite the same
properties as sugar, and thus you may have to play some with other
ingredients (additional egg yolks or egg whites or a little bit of gelatin
may need to be added, for example) to create the texture that you want.  In
some cases, where you would use dark corn syrup or brown sugar, you can add
only a tablespoon or so of molasses (which is a small amount of sugar carbs
for the trade off in taste intensity, and which contains a small amount of
iron as a benefit) to get the taste you want. 

Don't be fooled by the promotion of "Splenda for Baking" if you're trying to
stay away from sugar though.  "Splenda for Baking", also known as "Splenda
Baking Blend" is *1/2 white sugar* and 1/2 Splenda.  It's for folks who are
trying to trade off calories more than those trying to avoid sugar.  The
Blend is promoted as giving you a closer texture to regular sugar in baked
goods than plain Splenda, which is probably true, but if you're trying to
avoid sugar all together it's not the best trade off.  Learning a bit more
about the chemistry of baking to find out what else you could add to get the
quality you want (moistness, tenderness, "firmness", cohesion, etc.) may be
a better trade off.

As for flavor, Splenda packaged in bulk (not packets) is supposed to measure
cup for cup equal to regular sugar, but I find Splenda sweeter than sugar,
especially the bulk stuff, which is packaged with dextrose and/or
maltodextrose for bulk, so I decrease the amount I use by about a quarter
for my own taste.  And while Splenda does make a "Brown Sugar Blend" now,
it's like the "Baking Blend", 1/2 brown sugar, 1/2 Splenda, so I prefer to
just add a small amount of "robust" molasses to get that brown sugary flavor
instead.

Hope that info's helpful. 
Celia