Baking without sugar is hard. It’s hard, you know? When you have been baking with the sweet stuff your whole life, finding an appropriate substitute can be a real pain in the butt. Sure, the options are plentiful, and I’ve tried them all…- Raw sugar: Great, but not as sweet, so you have to use more, and it’s still sugar.
- Honey: Works fantastically, and I love using it, but it adds a ton of moisture and that can easily throw off an otherwise foolproof recipe if you’re not careful. As such, it’s not appropriate for every recipe.
- Maple Syrup: Same problems as honey, but with the added hurdle of a distinctive maple-y taste that can further disrupt the balance of a recipe.
- Agave Nectar: Same moisture problems, and it can be expensive *and* I’ve read a lot of information lately that makes me think it’s actually less healthy than white sugar. (Case and point: 1, 2, 3; thanks to Tiffany at The Gracious Pantry for referring me to the 3rd one!)
- Splenda: Same problem as agave; I thought it was natural, but have recently learned that it was not as healthy as previously thought. (Examples: 1, 2)
- Stevia (commonly sold under brand names like Truvia and Stevia in the Raw): This one is my favorite, lately. It’s derived from the naturally-sweet stevia plant, and comes in both liquid extract and dry granulated form, so I nearly always use it in recipes where I need to add sweetness without adding moisture to the recipe. My only complaint is that Stevia in the Raw (what I have been using) has a little bit of a bitter aftertaste that can be a little bit annoying.
If your favorite differ from mine, that’s cool. I’m not here to pass judgement! But I was recently introduced to a new brand of granulated stevia that I am absolutely loving. It’s called Natvia. It’s an Australian brand that is natural, has zero calories, does not contain added preservatives or texturizing agents (not uncommon), is safe for diabetics, is GMO-free, and lacks the bitterness that annoyed me about Stevia in the Raw. I have been using it for everything lately, like Irish Soda Bread and these Carrot Cake Truffles. It’s been really easy to include in recipes because it replaces sugar 1:1, so there’s no chance of over-sweetening and ruining your recipe.
One of the reasons I like this product is that a little bit goes a long way. It tastes like sugar, with nearly as much sweetness, so you don’t have to use a lot. Especially not in these truffles, in which the dates, used primarily for binding the truffles together, also contribute some sweetness. So, as sweet and dessert-y as these taste, they are completely sugar free. Unbelievable, right?
I first dreamed these up as an entry in Natvia’s Easter Sugar Free Bake Off (you can enter too, if you dare go up against these irresistible truffles that is 😉 Visit Natvia’s Facebook Page to enter). Because what does the Easter Bunny love more than carrots, amiright? But they were so good that I’ve made them at least 3 more times since that first batch.
The inside is crunchy and moist and spicy and creamy all at the same time. But there is no gluten or grains, so you get all of the flavors of carrot cake, without the cake part. (Which means you can eat more…somehow. I’ll get back to you on that logic; just trust me for now.)
They contain all of the usual carrot cake suspects:
- moist shredded carrots (duh)
- crunchy chopped walnuts
- creamy frosting (in this case, using goat cheese instead of cream cheese, which is richer and more flavorful)
- warming spices like cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg
- bright orange zest
The truffles are a little light on the coconut, but they are also enrobed in the stuff, so you get that telltale tender crunch just as you bite in. Thanks to the dates and Natvia, these are sweet as cake, without being cloying like many slices of carrot cake tend to be (you know what I am taking about). In fact, the flavors and textures balance so well that you won’t miss the “cake” part of the cake at all.
Carrot Cake Truffles (Grain Free and Sugar Free)
2015-03-16 19:05:33
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Ingredients for the truffles
- 1 large egg
- 5 largesoft medjool dates, pitted
- 1/2 cup walnut halves
- 1 Tablespoon plain goat cheese
- 1 Tablespoon Natvia or other granulated sweetener
- 3 Tablespoons raisins
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ginger
- Pinch nutmeg
- Pinch salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
- 2 Tablespoons shredded unsweetened coconut
- 3/4 cups shredded peeled carrot
Ingredients for the coconut coating
- 1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
- Pinch salt
- 1/2 Tablespoon Natvia granulated stevia
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick pad and set aside.
- In a food processor, puree the first 11 ingredients (egg through zest) until smooth.
- Transfer to a large bowl and mix in carrot and coconut.
- Portion heaping Tablespoons of batter and roll into tight balls. Arrange them, evenly spaced, on the prepared cookie sheet.
- Bake for 10 minutes.
- While the truffles are cooking, stir together the coconut coating ingredients in a small bowl.
- Remove truffles from the oven after 10 minutes and immediately roll in the coconut mixture.
- Allow truffles to cool completely before eating.
Notes
- Yield: 8 truffles
A Clean Bake http://acleanbake.com/
But, ok, enough chit chat. Let’s get to the part you’ve been waiting for: the giveaway!! The generous crew over at Natvia has generously donated a prize pack for a randomly chosen reader. You have up to 6 opportunities to enter!
Entering is so easy: just leave me a comment below, telling me what recipe you’d make first with your Natvia prize.
But wait! There’s more! (<—say that with your best game show host voice)
You can gain additional entries by doing any of the following:
(1) Like A Clean Bake on Facebook (leave me a separate comment below letting me know)
(2) Share this giveaway on Facebook (leave me a separate comment below letting me know)
(3) Follow A Clean Bake on Twitter ((leave me a separate comment below letting me know)
(4) Tweet about this giveaway on Twitter and link back to this post (leave me a separate comment below letting me know)
(5) Follow A Clean Bake on Pinterest (leave me a separate comment below letting me know)
We have a winner!
Commenter #4 will be the recipient of the Natvia prize pack, and (since comments are posted below in reverse chronological order) that means the winner is Justine!
Congrats, Justine! I will email you with more details. 🙂
Please note: Natvia sponsored this recipe and giveaway by providing me with product samples, and furnishing the gift basket for the winner, but all opinions herein are my own. If you’d like to try your hand at baking with Natvia (it’s great!), you can find all of their products on the Natvia Amazon Store.
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