As the holidays approach, my oven is going non-stop. I love to bake. My favorite ingredients in autumn are pumpkin and apple and cranberry. Because both my parents are diabetic, I spend a lot of time trying to make my tried and true recipes better. I know how is it possible to make something better. In my case, I try to use items other than shortening and sugar.
I have done some baking with Splenda. I find that the brown sugar blend works best. I do not like how Splenda itself tastes in baking. It is not bad, but it not fantastic either. So I set out this morning, prior to 6 am so I hope my brain woke up with that cup and a half of coffee, to make Vegan Pumpkin Bread with Stevia.
By the way, if you would like more information on Stevia, please visit No Meat Athlete’s blog and this entry.
Here is the recipe I altered. If I had been smart, I would have remembered that Belly Laugh Baker had posted a vegan pumpkin bread recipe on No Meat Athlete’s blog. I didn’t, though, so started out with my own and some information on Stevia from that blog.
PUMPKIN BREAD
Blend together:
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon Stevia (I used “in the raw”)
2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
¾ cup canola oil
2/3 cup water
Sift together (or mix well with whisk):
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon each cinnamon, nutmeg (freshly ground if possible) and cloves
3 ½ cups flour (I used whole wheat flour)
1 cup raisins
1 cup walnut meats, chopped
Mix dry and wet ingredients all together until smooth, by hand or with electric mixer; do NOT overbeat. Add one cup raisins and one cup walnut meats. Pour into loaf pans and bake at 325F. Let cool 15 minutes and remove from pans to finish cooling.
2 ½ “ x 4 ½ “ x1 ½ “ pans; 11-12 loaves; ½ cup batter each; bake for 45 minutes
3” x 6” x 2” pans; 6 loaves; 1 cup batter each; bake for 55-60 minutes
8” x 4” x 2” pans; 3 loaves; 2 cups batter each; bake for 1 hour, 15 minutes
9” x 5” x 2” pans; 2 loaves; 3 cups batter each; bake for 1 hour, 25 minutes
Muffins: makes 24; bake 25 minutes at 350F
And, in an even more daring attempt, I have made an apple cake without the eggs.
Apple Cake
1 teaspoon Stevia (in the raw)
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup canola oil
2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 cups whole wheat flour
3 cups chopped apples, skins on
Mix and bake at 350F in a large, ungreased pan for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
