Tag: Splenda

Chocolate Pudding Cups

Say hello to these sensational and succulent-inspired Chocolate Pudding Cups!  Pudding never tasted this good or looked as cute!

Plated Chocolate Pudding Cups

This easy, homemade dessert will wow your dinner party guests every time. They will want to dive their spoon into these the second you set them down.

Low-To-No Sugar

With no added sugar, these chocolate pudding cups also come with less guilt than your typical dessert like these. At the same time, they are rich, satisfying and deeply chocolatey.

You make “them,” or should we say “it,” with a handful of high quality ingredients. The recipe is not unlike a custard. In fact, with both eggs and cornstarch as ingredients, it’s both. Some would call it “budino,” the Italian term we also love. But alas, we grew up calling it pudding so we’re sticking with that.

The main ingredients?

  • semi-sweet chocolate chips – use ones with less or no added sugar, like these
  • egg yolks
  • Splenda Magic Baker, our favorite zero calorie, zero sugar sweetener
  • salt
  • heavy whipping cream
  • cornstarch
  • vanilla extract

Those 7 ingredients are all this decadent dessert requires. But then, the extra fun really starts. You can make whipped cream and pipe it on top of the pudding, in any way you desire. We love simple dollops or spiral tops that resemble succulent plants, like what we did these.

Closeup of Chocolate Pudding Cups

Chocolate bar shavings make an excellent garnish. A drizzle would be dandy as well.

However you deck this low/no sugar dessert out, you’ll enjoy every bit of it!

-Cyndi

 

Spiced Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake

Spiced Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake: Denese Johnson baked this cake for the 2022 State Fair of Texas and won “Best Low-Sugar Bundt Cake.” Ginger, cinnamon, pumpkin, and maple syrup flavor this cake to greatness. Its taste makes it perfect for fall and holiday baking.

Overhead shot of Spiced Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake

Denese sweetened her Spiced Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake with Splenda Magic Baker, a zero calorie sweetener you use 1:1 for replacing sugar. As a result, this cake is less indulgent than others. Denese used both the classic and brown sugar versions of Splenda Magic Baker. The recipe also calls for canned pumpkin and sugar-free maple syrup, adding to the sweetness and complexity of flavors. (You could also use fresh baked pumpkin also.) You finish this fabulous cake with a rum butter glaze. This makes for a moist, rich bite with every forkful.

Spiced Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake with Ice Cream

 

This Spiced Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake pairs perfectly with ice cream. My personal favorite is serving it with Kemp’s seasonal cinnamon flavor ice cream. Delightful! We highly recommend you make this soon!

Denese Johnson

Hats off to Denese for this delicious cake you’re going to want to bake again and again. Look for more recipes from Denese in the coming months as she has won MANY blue ribbons in her day. We’re bound to make another soon.

We now have quite a number of winning State Fair of Texas recipes. If you want to peruse more, simply search for Texas in the search bar that you can find on this page, here.

Happy Baking!

Cyndi

 

Best Low-Sugar Layer Cake

This Best Low-Sugar Layer Cake recipe won its top honors at the 2022 State Fair of Texas.

The gluten-free and sugar-free carrot cake is a “must make” recipe for those avoiding gluten, as it’s made with almond flour.

The recipe comes from Sally Muhl, who baked and won with it at last year’s fair.

Gluten-Free Best Low-Sugar Layer Cake 

We re-baked it, as both a cake and as cupcakes. One bite in, we could see clearly why it won. With 2 1/2 cups of grated carrots in the cake, cinnamon, a touch of molasses, and pineapple extract, we found the cake moist and flavorful. It also has just the right amount of sweetness.

Baking Tips

If you like extra frosting, double the recipe and you can frost the sides and have a thick filling between the two cake layers.

Slices of Best Low-Sugar Layer Cake

The recipe makes one layer cake, 24 classic-sized cupcakes, or 48 mini cupcakes.
We invite you to bake this best low-sugar layer cake recipe. If you do, post it on Instagram or Facebook and tag us @BlueRibbonFoodies and of course @Splenda.
And if you’re looking for more diabetes-friendly baked goods, check out the best low-sugar fruit pie here or visit Splenda.com.

State Fair of Texas Best Sugar-Free Pie

State Fair of Texas Best Sugar-Free Pie: This recipe earned its “best sugar-free pie” at the 2022 State Fair of Texas. It’s a blueberry apple pie that’s packed with 6 cups of blueberries and a sliced apple.

Cut State Fair of Texas Best Sugar-Free Pie

The recipe is from Robert Cook, who has won MANY times at the State Fair of Texas. Learn how to make this “sweetened with Splenda” award-winning pie with Robert’s detailed recipe below.

My family raved about this pie when my niece re-created it for a special occasion. They especially liked how it wasn’t overly sweet.

The filling cooks up perfectly and the pie sliced just how you want it to.

Blue Ribbon Blueberry Apple Pie

If you love fruit pies, this is the recipe for YOU! And if you want more blue ribbon winning pie recipes, simply search for “fruit pie” on our site and you’ll find a huge collection of drool-worthy delights.

Enjoy!

-Cyndi

 

Sugar-Free Coconut Icebox Cookies with Low-Sugar Cookie Dip

These Sugar-Free Coconut Icebox Cookies are buttery, delicious and made with just a handful of ingredients. They are easy to make and pair perfectly with a low-sugar cream cheese cookie dip

Sugar-Free Coconut Icebox Cookies dip closeup

Icebox cookies simply means you chill the dough after making it and before baking. We shaped ours into a long rectangle but you could do round or oval instead. Then you just “slice and bake” when you’re ready for some fresh-baked cookies. You can even freeze the dough to have on hand whenever a craving hits. 

A Short Ingredient List

For these sugar-free coconut icebox cookies, the short ingredient list includes flour, baking soda, salt, butter, and egg. Instead of sugar, you use a Splenda sweetener, like brown sugar or the new Magic Baker zero sugar baking blend (now available on Amazon and at Walmart or other stores). Then you can flavor the cookies like we did, with a coconut extract, or opt for your favorite flavoring. Personally, we are working our way through our favorite extracts, ranging from coconut and pumpkin spice, to cotton candy and citrus blends.

The cookie dip is such a fun idea, with the best part being you get to choose your cookie to frosting ratio. Or  you can frost each cookie instead. A tip with the dip/frosting is to make confectioners type sugar out of Splenda granulated sugar and cornstarch. And just like with the cookie dough, you can flavor the dip/frosting with your favorite flavoring.

“Low-To-No Sugar Showdown” Recipe Contest

We created this cookie to celebrate the first year of our Splenda Magic Baker “Low-To-No Sugar Showdown” and the upcoming contest at the State Fair of Texas. The fair runs Sep 30 to Oct 23 (2022), with the contest landing on Wednesday, October 5, 2022. The fair’s Creative Arts Building is where all their cooking contests happen and they have a terrific line-up. Hats off to all the aspiring blue ribbon bakers and amateur chefs there. We’re rooting for you! 

Whether or not you are competing, we invite you to bake these sugar-free coconut icebox cookies. Be sure to share and tag @BlueRibbonFoodies on Instagram and/or Facebook if you do! You never know when a giveaway will pop up.

And if you are at the State Fair of Texas please join us for all the ”Low-To-No Sugar Showdown” events. 

Splenda “Low-to-No Sugar Showdown” 10/5/2022

@ Contest Kitchen (Creative Arts Building)

  • 9am Entry Drop Off + Free Product Giveaway
  • 10:30am Judging
  • 12pm-ish Awards

@ Celebrity Chef Stage (Creative Arts Building)

  • 4:30pm Sponsor Showcase + Free Product Giveaway
  • Diabetes-Friendly Baking & Cooking
  • Featuring Andrea Luongo; Dieticians of Dallas

 

 

State Fair Blue Ribbon Baking Season 2022

Hey you! You’re here! And we are so glad you are! You are in the right place if… vying for the best cookies, cakes or pies at your local fair is a thing for you, or you want it to be. Or maybe you just like to eat blue ribbon goodies. Whatever the case, stay tuned for 2022 blue ribbon baking opportunities and other highlights about the upcoming state fair season.

State Fair Blue Ribbon Baking Season 2022

Watch for:

  • Low-To-No-Sugar Showdown at 5 state fairs, including Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Texas, and Arkansas. We want to see your best baked goods with little to no sugar in them and made with Splenda products.
  • Minnesota State Fair blue ribbon baking contest series that features 7 new special contests and spans all baking classes and categories (ranging from sourdough to salads). Find a detailed round-up and tips for entering: here. Our key sponsors are Kowalski’s Markets, King Arthur Baking Company, and the Splenda brand for this line-up.
  • State Fair of Texas baking contest series that features multi-class contests and special prizes/giveaways. Blue ribbon bragging rights await the best cookie, cake, bread, and pie bakers (classic and low/no sugar entries). Look also for a new “game-day” themed contest. This line-up was made possible by Tom Thumb stores and Splenda.
  • National recognition of blue ribbon baked greatness, state by state, or region by region

State Fair Hosts – Upcoming Dates

Here’s a quick run-down of when each fair is, a link to competition departments, and their pre-registration deadlines. Plus, check out each fair’s most popular winning recipe on our site.

If you are a state fair wanting to partner with us, drop us a line here.

If you are a blue ribbon baker with a great recipe you want us to consider featuring, please share it here.

In the News

We were invited on the ABC Minneapolis affiliate, KSTP channel 5’s “Minnesota Live program.” We gave the hosts and viewers a sneak peek at our Minnesota State Fair special recipe contest series. Check it out here.

 

Almond Blueberry Coffee Cake (Sugar-Free)

This Almond Blueberry Coffee Cake (Sugar-Free) recipe is one of the easiest and most delicious quick breads I’ve ever made.

It features – you guessed it – almonds and blueberries. We used sliced almonds and loved the end result. There’s a light crunch when you dig in, creating a delightful texture contrast.

Almond Blueberry Coffee Cake (Sugar Free) Key Ingredients

Blueberries abound

The bread portion is tender and filled with blueberries, which hold up well and provide a pop of fruity sweetness in every bite. We used fresh blueberries, but frozen would work well too. The batter is thick and spreadable. Because of this, the blueberries suspend throughout the quick bread and don’t sink down to the bottom, as they do often in other quick bread recipes. Here’s a look at the batter before I added the topping.

Thick Quick Bread Batter

How is this recipe sugar-free?

Thanks to the Splenda granulated sugar, this recipe is sugar-free. It bakes fast and gets a beautiful golden brown color. That color comes from tossing sliced almonds in egg white.  With the Splenda granulated sweetener added, that combo gives the coffee cake that fantastic, aforementioned texture contrast.

This type of recipe is called a quick bread for a reason, as it’s quick to make. It took me barely an hour from start to finish.

Almond Blueberry Coffee Cake (Sugar Free)

This almond blueberry coffee cake (sugar-free) creation was inspired by this one, from Splenda. I substituted heavy cream for 2%, but either will work. With no sugar, this recipe is diabetes-friendly. It’s ideal for my mother, who has type 2 diabetes, which she controls with her diet. According to my calculations, each serving has about 20 carbs, which makes it a sweet-treat that’s relatively low in carbs, especially compared to ones with sugar.

Upcoming recipe contest

Watch for more sugar-free desserts in the coming months as we experiment more with zero calorie sweeteners. Plus we have a 5 state fair recipe contest in the works with Splenda, so stay-tuned for more details on that this summer.

Cheers,

Cyndi

Almond Blueberry Coffee Cake (Sugar Free) Close Up