Good & Sweet: a pastry recipe book that doesn't use cane sugar

M

marilynfl

Moderator
So far I'm pretty impressed with this book.

Good & Sweet: A New Way to Bake with Naturally Sweet Ingredients: Levy, Brian, Chaplin, Amy: 9780593330463: Amazon.com: Books

Good & Sweet: A New Way to Bake with Naturally Sweet Ingredients [Levy, Brian, Chaplin, Amy] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Good & Sweet: A New Way to Bake with Naturally Sweet Ingredients
www.amazon.com

The author, Brian Levy got his bona fides working with Gina DePalma at Babbo...and then was a graduate student studying architecture at Yale. He uses fruits, mostly dried and freeze-dried (rather than purees) to sweeten the dishes. Sometimes he uses a specific flour (such as chestnut or buckwheat) to enhance the dish, but no cane sugar or chemical sugar substitutes. Even the chocolate he uses is unsweetened.

Of course, the first dish I wanted to try used freeze-dried sweet corn (Rosemary-Lemon Shortbread) and I'm pretty sure I'm not going to find it in my bodunk county. I'll continue to review the book and will probably try something out...he had scones that were merely sweetened with currants. That was one of the most basic entries.

Good and Sweet.jpg
 
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What an interesting find. That beauty on the front could mistakenly be full of sugar. I wonder what his motivation was.

I don't use cane sugar either (an allergy) but do use beet sugar (no allergy) and it is becoming increasingly difficult to find as factories close down. Or the farmers.

I'll be interested to see if you miss that particular sweetness as you journey through the recipes.
 
Marg, the cake on the cover is Sticky Toffee Pudding cake. It was his first major "sugar-free" success, which led him on to try other adaptations. The key sweetener is Medjool dates.

His initial motivation was biting into a perfectly sweet mango (yes, that is truly one of life's great blessings) and wondered
"can't I make a sweet dessert out of this?'
Click to expand...
 
marilynfl said:
So far I'm pretty impressed with this book.

Good & Sweet: A New Way to Bake with Naturally Sweet Ingredients: Levy, Brian, Chaplin, Amy: 9780593330463: Amazon.com: Books

Good & Sweet: A New Way to Bake with Naturally Sweet Ingredients [Levy, Brian, Chaplin, Amy] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Good & Sweet: A New Way to Bake with Naturally Sweet Ingredients
www.amazon.com

The author, Brian Levy got his bona fides working with Gina DePalma at Babbo...and then was a graduate student studying architecture at Yale. He uses fruits, mostly dried and freeze-dried (rather than purees) to sweeten the dishes. Sometimes he uses a specific flour (such as chestnut or buckwheat) to enhance the dish, but no cane sugar or chemical sugar substitutes. Even the chocolate he uses is unsweetened.

Of course, the first dish I wanted to try used freeze-dried sweet corn (Rosemary-Lemon Shortbread) and I'm pretty sure I'm not going to find it in my bodunk county. I'll continue to review the book and will probably try something out...he had scones that were merely sweetened with currants. That was one of the most basic entries.

View attachment 2341
Click to expand...
You can get it here. This is my favorite spice shop and we now have one here in Charlotte. There is free shipping on your first order. We always got a bag (at the one in Denver) of corn--it is an addictive snack!! It is possible Whole Foods might have it also.

www.savoryspiceshop.com

Freeze Dried Corn

This handy pantry staple will delight you with its light, fluffy and crisp texture that is similar to popcorn. The sweet corn is freeze-dried at the peak of sweetness, so it retains its amazing flavor. Try alone as your new favorite snack or add to endless numbers of existing recipes.
www.savoryspiceshop.com www.savoryspiceshop.com
 
Thanks charley2. I've already ordered/received it from Amazon. Had thought I was ready to make the shortbread but forgot to buy the fresh rosemary as my fresh rosemary bush died over the winter.
 
marilynfl said:
So far I'm pretty impressed with this book.

Good & Sweet: A New Way to Bake with Naturally Sweet Ingredients: Levy, Brian, Chaplin, Amy: 9780593330463: Amazon.com: Books

Good & Sweet: A New Way to Bake with Naturally Sweet Ingredients [Levy, Brian, Chaplin, Amy] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Good & Sweet: A New Way to Bake with Naturally Sweet Ingredients
www.amazon.com

The author, Brian Levy got his bona fides working with Gina DePalma at Babbo...and then was a graduate student studying architecture at Yale. He uses fruits, mostly dried and freeze-dried (rather than purees) to sweeten the dishes. Sometimes he uses a specific flour (such as chestnut or buckwheat) to enhance the dish, but no cane sugar or chemical sugar substitutes. Even the chocolate he uses is unsweetened.

Of course, the first dish I wanted to try used freeze-dried sweet corn (Rosemary-Lemon Shortbread) and I'm pretty sure I'm not going to find it in my bodunk county. I'll continue to review the book and will probably try something out...he had scones that were merely sweetened with currants. That was one of the most basic entries.

View attachment 2341Very interesting! Thanks for posting--looking forward to your reviews!
Click to expand...
 
marilynfl said:
Thanks charley2. I've already ordered/received it from Amazon. Had thought I was ready to make the shortbread but forgot to buy the fresh rosemary as my fresh rosemary bush died over the winter.
Click to expand...
I actually wonder if you could get it at a sports/backpacking store!! Plenty of that in Asheville.
And also, just FYI--and maybe you got it from Nuts.com, the latter is offering free shipping on first order.

But the corn really IS delicious!!
 
marilynfl said:
Marg, the cake on the cover is Sticky Toffee Pudding cake. It was his first major "sugar-free" success, which led him on to try other adaptations. The key sweetener is Medjool dates.

His initial motivation was biting into a perfectly sweet mango (yes, that is truly one of life's great blessings) and wondered
Click to expand...
I can sure see the dates being sufficient. I wonder if we actually use more sugar than we need other than for structure. I went off sugar completely and entirely for 6 months, once, and it made a huge difference to my well-being. I could be standing in a check-out line and the sight of a chocolate bar (known as a candy bar in the US) made me feel ill. And I then noticed that the texture of my skin had improved dramatically. I discovered years later that that was a common benefit.
 
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