moderate sweetness

Since I can't seem to make dinner without making dessert these days, I've had a few opportunities to continue on my quest to make sweets not so sweet.  It started with strawberry jam this summer.  This weekend I made a pumpkin pie with kobocha squash -- I followed Martha's recipe and used about two-thirds the recommended sugar (and sucanat instead of actual sugar).  The results were just enough sweetness.  Unfortunately this very pie was the last thing I ate before last month's stomach flu, and the memory did not serve me right.  Fortunately I had the occasion to make another fancy dessert, just two days later.

The Ginger-Pear Upside Down Cake mentioned recently by Molly is good.  Really good.  Even with half the called-for sugar (again, I used sucanat) in the topping, and two-thirds of the molasses and sugar in the cake.  When I make it again, I'll double the ginger.  This girl likes a bit more zing.  And, I'll be sure to plan on spending the time the cake is baking cleaning the kitchen, since, as with most of Molly's baked recipes, I end up completely trashing the kitchen in the process of the making.  Well okay, I should just admit that making a mess is an integral part of any of my making. 

Comments

[emily]

oh, that looks good. so do you just leave out the remaining sugar? or do you substitute? love molly's recipes. and love making a mess, too!

[Dad]

Obviously, the "making a mess is an integral part of any of my making" is something that you inherited from Dear Old Dad. Reading your writings and seeing the pics helps to offset the fact that the three of you are half way across the country. Happy Solstice to all!!!!

[Tracy]

Double the ginger--that's what I like! That Ginger-Pear Upside Down Cake is calling my name! And mess is essential for joy in the kitchen. Thanks for sharing the links to goodies. Wishing you & yours a happy holiday season, peace and many blessings in the New Year! :o)

[Elizabeth]

Sarah,
With the adjustments you made what are the amounts of sucanat for the topping and the cake, separately. What is the amount of molasses for the cake.
Let's talk this weekend.
Love,
E

[gina]

oh it looks so yummy! ~ thanks for the healthier alternative too :O)

[carolyn]

I'm with you about reducing sugar in recipes...way too many are just too sweet---sugar is cheap after all.
Becareful as sucanat doesn't work in most recipes as it doesn't dissolve. It also doesn't capture the air bubble that help keep cakes light. In cookie dough you'll get bland dough with little sweet spots from the sucanat. However give it a go in crisp toppings. cheers.

[h.]

There something about someone who can cook or create without making a mess that always makes me uneasy. I remember talking to a friend about a woman who always washed each utensil, bowl, pot, and pan immediately after she used it. When she finished preparing her meals her kitchen was spotless. But did she have any fun? Were her meals served hot? Was there any joy, imagination, light, warmth in her meals? It seems to me that there is something inherent in the creative process where we must make messes. Chaos must be created so that order can be dispensed with and new things can be made from the pieces! How can inspiration strike if it is kept locked away in the dishwater?

[cloth.paper.string]

Here's the scoop on the modifications: I used 1/4 c sucanat in the topping. 1/2 c molasses and 1/2 cup sucanat in the cake. No substitutions, or other adjustments.

As for the big sucanat crystals weighing down a cake or making pockets of sweet, I sometimes whirl the sucanat in the food processor before baking with it to make the crystals a bit smaller and more readily dissolveable. I didn't this time and it didn't seem to matter.

And yes, yes a mess is a good thing. Thanks for passing along this trait, Dad!