As I have been trying to eat more whole foods I have also been trying to incorporate different natural sugars into my foods. I decided to run a little experiment with a long time favorite: apple crisp. I decided to try the same recipe on 4 different natural sweeteners on single serving apple crisps.
In the lineup two liquid sweeteners, agave nectar and maple syrup and two crystal sweeteners, coconut palm sugar and date sugar.
I had never seen date sugar before I spotted it on the shelf. The ingredients list has one ingredient, dates. It’s actually a little lumpy.
To keep the experiment equal I followed the same recipe for all 4 variations. This isn’t exactly fair to each sugar, but it will let me know if I need to add more sugar to future uses of the sugar. I don’t have a recipe credit for this one. Apple crisp is so quick and easy that I’ve kind of internalized how I make them.
Ingredients
- Filling
- 1.25 whole apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
- 1 tablespoon sweetener (agave nectar, maple syrup, date sugar, coconut palm sugar)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- Topping
- 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
- 1/4 cup spelt flour
- 2 tablespoon sweetener (agave nectar, maple syrup, date sugar, coconut palm sugar)
- 1 tablespoon earth balance, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Mix filling ingredients together and place in a ramekin
- Mix topping ingredients together crumble on top of the filling ingredients.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes.
The first variation is with Maple Syrup. The liquid sugar variations of the topping ended up being moist, almost more like a crumble instead of a crisp. I usually make apple crisp with maple syrup in the filling and a crystal sugar in the crisp. I loved the maple syrup on maple syrup combination. It was just lightly sweet.
My favorite of the combinations was agave syrup (although I think I may have only put 1 Tablespoon of sugar in the topping instead of 2). It was also the sweetest of the four.
The third variation was a crystal sugar, coconut palm sugar. The topping was a little dry to begin with, but it ended up being a crisp in texture. I have no complaints. The liquid from the apple made up for the lack of liquid in the sugar. It was probably tied with the maple syrup in my preference list.
The fourth variation was the date sugar. I didn’t even know it existed before this weekend. It probably wasn’t the best choice for this application. It was still yummy, but there was a certain amount of date aftertaste and was only mildly sweet. It was also quite dry compared to the other mixtures.
My top choice would probably be a agave syrup in the base with a coconut palm sugar in the topping. At least now I know that most natural sugars work really well in one of my favorite desserts.
All four were wonderful when served with some hemp milk ice cream.
Remember Diet Dessert and Dogs’ Wellness Weekend? It’s a weekend link up that Ricki does for whole foods with an effort on healthier options. I’m submitting this recipe there this week. If you are a blogger you can submit your vegan whole food recipes there until Monday. If you are a reader/foodie, be sure to check it out for wonderful inspiration.
Experiment Conclusion: Why would you ever put processed sugar in apple crisp? There are so many other yummy healthier options out there. Apples and oats tend to be healthy, why ruin it?
What is your favorite natural sweetener?
I'm an engineer, an animal lover, a runner and an ex-rower. I like medical devices, big ships and mountains. This is my journey teaching myself to make healthy foods and explore the world of vegan and vegetarian cuisine.
This is my kind of experiment! They all look fantastic to me, but I have to say that coconut sugar is my favorite natural sweetener so far (if we’re not counting stevia). I am able to tolerate it in small amounts, which has allowed me to make some very traditional desserts again–yay! And I think your apple crisp is going to be top of my list. Thanks so much for submitting this to Wellness Weekend this week!
Ricki recently posted..Wellness Weekend September 29-October 3, 2011
I didn’t even think of trying stevia in apple crisp. Once I (or the hubby) finish eating all these little guys I’ll have to give it a shot.
Oo, this is so interesting! I love baking with agave–it gives baked goods such a great texture! But maple syrup has got to be an all-time fave (and only partly because I grew up in New England). Nothing’s better with pancakes! Hmm, haven’t used date sugar before, but I think I’ll stick to maple syrup in my crisps
Allie recently posted..To Do
The hubby is such a maple syrup snob. He checks if a restaurant has real maple syrup before ordering pancakes. But then again, who would want the fake stuff when you come from a place where all your neighbors tap their trees.
I’m a complete syrup snob, too. My uncle makes it, and I absolutely can’t eat any maple syrup that isn’t his real-deal stuff. How can anyone eat the fake thick Aunt Jemima stuff? I dunno. I make my own pancakes instead of eating them out for pretty much that reason alone–your hubby is a smart man to ask first.
Allie recently posted..Cold-Hearted
My latest love is a mix of maple syrup and apple sauce on my pancakes. I try to be healthy but can’t resist blending them. It’s like all the fall happiness in one batch. Maybe I’ll post that next
I completely agree with Ricki on the sugar favorites. They make life so much easier nutrition-wise and are so rewarding flavor-wise. Thanks for posting!
[...] I made more Apple Crisp. I refuse to deviate far from my all-time favorite recipe found in the 30-Minute Vegan, but I did play around with my sugar options after reading Miriam’s post on options for sweetening Apple Crisp. [...]