JOIN USPamper your sweet tooth with sugar-free bakery
Have you ever killed your sweet pangs just for the reason that you are a diabetic or minding your weight and sugar-free sweets are unavailable in the market?
Probably not anymore. Cashing on the increasing demand for low calorie and sugar-free bakery, many confectioners are now coming out with customised diabetic-friendly sweetmeats. Everyone from five-star hotels to entrepreneurial homemakers cum bakers are following the trend making many food lovers make the switch to sugar-free confectionary. Chef Nitin Upadhyay, who recently gave a makeover to the confectionery at The Suryaa hotel, has focused on fresh bakes with inclusion of low-calorie and sugar free bakery item.
The hotel’s culinary showcase, Ssence, includes items like oat peach crumble served with details of each ingredient and its quantity jotted on a display board. This, says the hotel enables a customer to make a choice suitable for their diets.
“We have focused on fresh variety. Instead of spending our time in decoration, we have utilised it to do fresh desserts. People can see their cake being baked and get its essence. We do sugar-free cakes on demand as well, and some desserts can even be customised, like dessert at the crepe station,” says Upadhyay.
He also points out that seasonal fresh fruit tarts and special ‘essence’ fruit salad also makes a presence felt on the dessert menu.
Besides low-cal bakes, Upadhyay, with an experience of 24 years as a patisserie has included some of global classics like Nanaimo bars, a Canadian traditional sweet delicacy.
Chef Ankush Bhatia, Head Chef Raro Bakery, Defence Colony says there is an increase in demand for sugar free confectionaries as people become more health conscious. Among their low-cal items are ‘Whole wheat muffins with honey and raisins’ made with multigrain wheat and rye on request too. “Our Date and walnut tea cake sweetened with date puree and minimal sugar is most popular,” he adds.
Rashma Sud started her own baking company Dessert Carte when she realised that diabetic persons in her family were having to go without sweets. Since then, it has earned a clientele list including weight-watchers and even children who love to stuff themselves with sweets.
She says, “It is all about experimenting with ingredients because making a healthy sweet is actually very easy. I make granola bars, fruit cakes, oat bran cakes with muesli, yoghurt brownie cakes, caramel cakes and eggless tiramisu with paneer.”“It’s nice to see diabetics and weight-watchers enjoy sweets without the fear of spoiling their health.”