Imagine this: you have the perfect plan to bake a cake for your loved ones. Maybe you’re celebrating the Paris 2024 Olympics with a watch party, the new school year starting soon, or even a birthday (or maybe just for you for no particular reason, we don’t judge! Treat yourself!). You enter your local grocery store to find and grab your favorite vanilla or chocolate frosting from the baking aisle. Your mouth waters. You picture yourself in your kitchen making that richly sweet cake and covering it with the frosting you just found.
Then, you twist the container around to see the nutrition facts on the back. Your smile fades. You just read the total amount of added sugars in the container, and you are finally hit with the realization of what you will really be consuming if you eat that frosting.
Did you know many typical frostings you find in the grocery store can have around 20 grams of added sugars per 2-tablespoon serving (for comparison, a typical container of frosting has around 13 servings)? But what does this even mean? Why is this a problem?
Why is added sugar a problem?
Added sugars, defined by the American Heart Association, are sugars that do not occur naturally in foods such as fruits—instead, they are added to foods as the food is being processed. These are the sugars that everyone warns you about. Added sugars are the culprit of the many adverse effects of having too much sugar, including an increased chance of heart disease, depression, weight gain, acne breakouts, and high blood sugar.
However, this is in no way, shape, or form to convince you to reject all sweets. Here at SweetLeaf, we don’t believe in completely sacrificing your favorite foods—we believe in replacing so you can continue to indulge in sweets without worrying about the risks. Instead of refusing your favorite desserts to continue your diet, try a healthy alternative to sugar instead.
According to the American Heart Association, sugar alternatives reduce the amount of added sugars you consume, helping to limit calories and regulate blood glucose levels. SweetLeaf has many of the best alternatives for sugar that you can try to help cut harmful added sugars from your diet. For those hoping to find the perfect stevia sugar substitute to make their own healthy cake frosting, we recommend using Indulge Powder to reduce your calorie intake while keeping that same sweet taste of sugar.
What is Indulge Powder?
Indulge Powder is one of SweetLeaf’s many sugar alternatives—a healthy substitute for powdered sugar. It is sweetened by nature, making it the ultimate all-purpose sweetener. Despite not containing any sugar, it tastes, bakes, browns and caramelizes just like sugar. It’s made of allulose, inulin, stevia leaf extract, and monk fruit extract. Also, it measures cup for cup like sugar and has no artificial sweeteners. If you love frosting or love to top your favorite desserts with powdered sugar, Indulge Powder may be the perfect, healthier option to save yourself from those harmful effects of consuming too much sugar.
Try these frosting recipes to make your own healthy version using sugar-free powdered sugar instead of buying that sugary frosting from the store.
Vanilla Frosting:
This delectable vanilla frosting uses Indulge Powder to cut the calories while saving that great taste of sugar.
Ingredients
1 (8 Oz.) Package Of Cream Cheese, SoftenedDirections:
- Beat the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth.
- Add SweetLeaf® indulge™ and mix at low speed until combined.
- Stir in the vanilla extract and mix again.
- Frost your favorite cupcakes or cakes and enjoy!
Chocolate Frosting:
The classic frosting without all that pesky added sugar!
Ingredients:
1 (8 Oz.) Package Of Cream Cheese, SoftenedDirections:
- Beat the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth.
- Add SweetLeaf® indulge™ and mix at low speed until combined.
- Melt chocolate in a bowl in the microwave stirring every 15-30 seconds until chips are melted or use the double boiler method on the stovetop.
- Stir in the vanilla extract and melted semi-sweet chocolate chips.
- Mix until smooth and combined.
- Apply frosting on your favorite dessert!
For the perfect sugar-free cake to pair with your no-sugar-added frosting, try this cake recipe! The recipe calls for two round cake pans, but you can use whatever size pan you would like best, such as a 9”x13” rectangle cake pan. If you would like to shape your cake into a bunny, follow the instructions to do so further down on the recipe page.