BAKING GUIDE

From birthdays to holidays to your favorite breakfast foods, some things are just meant to be sweet. Baking with alternative sweeteners can be tricky when you’re first starting out—we wanted to make it easy for you.

Our Lakanto Monkfruit Sweeteners are set up to be cup-for-cup replacements for sugar in your favorite recipes. With these extra tips and tricks, you’ll be even better prepared to wow people with your dazzling, sugar-free desserts.

THERE'S A BETTER WAY

A BETTER WAY TO SWEETEN YOUR DAY

Lakanto’s innovative products are delicious and work with a variety of lifestyles and dietary restrictions. We started with two sweeteners, Lakanto Classic Monkfruit Sweetener and Lakanto Golden Monkfruit Sweetener, and have expanded to over 20 sugar-free, gluten-free, vegan, and keto-friendly products.

This collection of monk fruit sweeteners provides great, simple substitutes for sugar in any type of use. Our signature blends maximize taste and sweetness, while making it as convenient as possible to swap out sugar for zero-calorie, zero-glycemic sweetness.

Monk fruit has been prized for centuries for its sweetness. It is a delicious and natural sweetener. Lakanto sources its monk fruit from growers in the remote mountain highlands of Asia, who use centuries-old tradional methods. Each fruit is grown without pesticides, hand-cultivated, and hand-picked.

Because monk fruit extract is up to 300 times sweeter than sugar, it is often too concentrated to use by itself. We formulated our own proprietary blend of monk fruit extract and non-GMO erythritol to be the best substitute for sugar.

LAKANTO SWEETENERS

A BETTER WAY TO SWEETEN YOUR DAY

Lakanto’s innovave products are delicious and work with a variety of lifestyles and dietary restricons. We started with two sweeteners, Lakanto Classic Monkfruit Sweetener and Lakanto Golden Monkfruit Sweetener, and have expanded to over 20 sugar-free, gluten-free, vegan, and keto-friendly products.

This collecon of monk fruit sweeteners are a great, simple substute for sugar in any type of use. Our signature blends maximize taste and sweetness, while making it as convenient as possible to swap out sugar for zero-calorie, zero-glycemic sweetness.

Monk fruit has been prized for centuries for its sweetness. It is a delicious and natural sweetener. Lakanto sources its monk fruit from growers in the remote mountain highlands of Asia, who use centuries-old tradional methods. Each fruit is grown without pescides, hand-culvated, and hand-picked.

Because monk fruit extract is up to 300 mes sweeter than sugar, it is oen too concentrated to use by itself. We formulated our own proprietary blend of monk fruit extract and non-GMO erythritol to be the best substute for sugar.

WHAT RECIPES WORK BEST WITH LAKANTO CLASSIC MONKFRUIT SWEETENER?

Use Lakanto Classic Monkfruit Sweetener just like you would with granulated sugar! Here are some ideas for how to alter Lakanto

Classic Monkfruit Sweetener for use in different types of recipes:

• For no-bake recipes, run the sweetener through a blender or food processor to pulverize it to a powdery consistency, so the finished product is not grainy.
• When using Lakanto Classic Monkfruit Sweetener in a cookie recipe that calls for melted fat (coconut oil, butter, etc.), add it to the saucepan or a microwave-safe bowl to dissolve while you melt the fat.
• In muffin recipes, dissolve the sweetener with the liquid ingredients before adding the dry ingredients.

How do the measurements compare to actual sugar?

When substituting regular sugar with Lakanto Classic Monkfruit Sweetener, I typically use a 1:1 ratio. Since monk fruit has a sweeter taste than regular cane sugar, some people might find that the end result of a 1:1 substitute is too sweet. In that case, the amount of sweetener used in a recipe may be reduced up to 25%; be aware that reducing the sweetener by more than 25% may negatively alter the texture, crumb, and appearance of your baked goods.

How do you dissolve the sweetener?

In certain recipes such as cakes and cheesecakes it would be more beneficial to use Lakanto Monkfruit Baking Sweetener. If the recipe calls for any liquids, add the sweetener during this step to dissolve. If the recipe does not call for many liquids, blend the sweetener in a high speed blender or food processor until it becomes a powder.

WHAT RECIPES WORK BEST WITH LAKANTO GOLDEN MONKFRUIT SWEETENER?

Lakanto Golden Monkfruit Sweetener is my favorite Lakanto sweetener and the one I use the most! It works best in baking rather than cooking—it has a nice caramel taste and I use it in brownies, scones, chocolate chip cookies, cinnamon rolls, and even as a topping for snickerdoodles.

How do the measurements compare to actual sugar?

In baking, I use a ratio of 1:½, substituting 1 cup of sugar with a ½ cup of Lakanto Golden Monkfruit Sweetener. If you use a full 1:1 substitution, it may cause crystallization in cakes, muffins, cookies, and brownies. When using Lakanto Golden Monkfruit Sweetener to sweeten a jam, lemon cream, or gummy bears (where there are more liquid ingredients), I recommend using at maximum ⅓ of what the recipe calls for in terms of cane sugar.

Quick tips and tricks:

• Use half the amount of Lakanto Golden Monkfruit Sweetener in a recipe to prevent crystallizing and for a more natural flavor.
• Make sure flours are moist, such as almond flour, arrowroot, tapioca, or flaxseed flour.
• Use recipes with a liquid ingredient to balance out the recipe and ensure the sweetener dissolves.
• Use less Lakanto Golden Monkfruit Sweetener rather than more. Test recipes with different ratios to see how much sweetener you prefer.

Can you use it to replace maple syrup or honey?

Yes, but take care when substituting wet ingredients for dry ingredients—you need to modify the recipe and adjust the fat/liquid content. You can’t just replace the maple syrup with a dry sweetener or it will dry the baked product. In my brownies recipe, for 1 cup maple syrup, I use ¾ cup Lakanto Golden Monkfruit Sweetener + ¼ cup water.

How do you dissolve the sweetener and avoid crystallization?

• Blend it in a Vitamix to achieve a texture similar to castor sugar, which is finer than cane sugar and not as fine as confectioners sugar.
• Using half the amount of Lakanto sweetener as cane sugar will help it dissolve better and avoid crystallizing.
• When substituting wet ingredients for dry ingredients, the recipe must be modified by adjusting the fat or liquid content, otherwise the sweetener may crystallize.

What kind of flour would you use with this sweetener?

I love Lakanto Golden Monkfruit Sweetener with almond flour, spelt flour, and cassava flour. Starches such as arrowroot, tapioca, and flaxseed flour also work great. This sweetener does not do as well with very dry flour such as coconut flour; if using a dry flour, make sure the recipe includes a moist ingredient such as butter, oil, coconut cream, whipping cream, or almond milk, to balance out the recipe.

Anything else to consider?

Some people have expressed a concern with gut issues or stomach sensitivity towards erythritol sweeteners. I have used Lakanto sweeteners consistently over the years with no issues. Try it and see how you feel—we are all different and I always say listen to your body.

What recipes work best with Lakanto Powdered Monkfruit Sweetener?

I use Lakanto Powdered Monkfruit Sweetener in a variety of recipes, including frosting, glazes, shortbread, chocolate glaze, and sprinkling in place of powdered sugar. I also use it in French pastry tart doughs like pâte sucrée and pâte sablée. It is also an ideal substitution in panna cotta, mousses, crumbles, and Mexican wedding cookies.

How do you alter this sweetener for baking?

Sometimes it clumps in storage, so sift or process the sweetener before using it. In a regular sugar glaze, I found it needed a binder; I added coconut milk powder and it worked perfectly! Powdered sugar generally creates a softer cookie with a shortbread-like texture; if you are looking for a crispier cookie, I recommend using Lakanto Golden Monkfruit Sweetener instead. The sweetener will be more soluble with avocado oil, almond butter, coconut oil, coconut cream, or cream cheese in the recipe; pay attention to the fats in the recipe.

How do the measurements compare to actual sugar? Would you add more or less?

I generally use a ratio of 1:½ sugar to Lakanto Powdered Monkfruit Sweetener. For glazes or frostings, I use much less Lakanto Powdered Monkfruit Sweetener than the amount of powdered sugar called for in the regular recipe.

What problems did you encounter and how did you fix them?

When making a sugar glaze, it wouldn’t bind together as powdered sugar does when mixing with milk, water or lemon, it needed a binder to have that fluid texture so I added powdered coconut milk and it worked perfectly. See my recipe for more details!

What kind of flour would you use with this sweetener?

I like using Lakanto Powdered Monkfruit Sweetener with almond flour, whole wheat, spelt, or a mixture of paleo flours. I have found that it is too dry when used with coconut flour.

Quick tips and tricks:

• Make sure it is sifted or processed.
• The more fat in the recipe, the better the texture and moisture of your baked goods.
• Use coconut milk powder as a binding agent when using Lakanto Powdered Monkfruit Sweetener for glazes.

Do you have any additional tips?

• If you want to learn how to bake with keto sweeteners, bake a lot! Take notes, understand the texture, taste the products, think ‘less is more,’ and adjust sweeteners.
• Learn the role of each ingredient and what creates moisture or dries the recipe. When substituting sugar with a keto sweetener such as Lakanto, remember that some types of flour turns to sugar also, so your end result may not truly be sugar-free!
• I find that when using these sweeteners at high altitudes, they tend to dry more because of the loss of moisture in high altitude baking. To counterbalance the drying effect, I add more oil, yogurt, cream, or sometimes even a tablespoon of maple syrup to the mixture. Always cover your baked goods with plastic wrap right after baking, especially cakes!

Quick tips and tricks:

• Make sure it is sifted or processed.
• The more fat in the recipe, the better the texture and moisture of your baked goods.
• Use coconut milk powder as a binding agent when using Lakanto Powdered Monkfruit Sweetener for glazes.

Do you have any additional tips?

• If you want to learn how to bake with keto sweeteners, bake a lot! Take notes, understand the texture, taste the products, think ‘less is more,’ and adjust sweeteners.
• Learn the role of each ingredient and what creates moisture or dries the recipe. When substituting sugar with a keto sweetener such as Lakanto, remember that some types of flour turns to sugar also, so your end result may not truly be sugar-free!
• I find that when using these sweeteners at high altitudes, they tend to dry more because of the loss of moisture in high altitude baking. To counterbalance the drying effect, I add more oil, yogurt, cream, or sometimes even a tablespoon of maple syrup to the mixture. Always cover your baked goods with plastic wrap right after baking, especially cakes!

WHAT RECIPES WORK BEST WITH LAKANTO BAKING MONKFRUIT SWEETENER?

Lakanto Monkfruit Baking Sweetener has worked well in everything I have tried so far! I love it in cookies, things that need an easier mix-in (such as cold beverages), sauces, uncooked glazes, and frozen items. I’ve used it in many different sauces that just need a touch of sweetness but don’t allow for any hint of grittiness—see my aioli recipe! I have also used it in recipes with cassava, tapioca, coconut, almond, and arrowroot flours.

How would you use it in a cookie recipe versus a muffin?

I prefer using Lakanto Monkfruit Baking Sweetener in cookies, as it helps with cookie spread. Because muffins need more bulkiness, I have found that Lakanto Classic Monkfruit Sweetener or Lakanto Golden Monkfruit Sweetener is better-suited to those types of recipes.

Although other sweeteners provide more lift in cakes, I have found that the Lakanto Monkfruit Baking Sweetener is still very good in cake and other rising sweets. Lakanto Monkfruit Baking Sweetener will evaporate if left to dissolve, so Lakanto Golden Monkfruit Sweetener is preferable for recipes that require a candy-like melting of the sweetener. Lakanto Monkfruit Baking Sweetener stirs beautifully into things like mousse, light cream, or ice cream; there is no grittiness and stirring it into the other ingredients will bind it to them and prevent evaporation.

How do the measurements compare to actual sugar? Would you add more or less?

• Generally speaking, a 1:1 ratio works. I find that people respond best to recipes that don’t require too much scientific thought on their end in regards to sweetness; 1:1 is a simple standard to apply and most people don’t mind if it’s a little sweeter than using coconut sugar or another sweetener.
• I always start with less, unless it needs some additional volume or bulk from the amount of sweetener, as I prefer desserts that are not overly sweet. I also layer flavors in desserts so I’d rather use less in one element as there will be sweetness from the other elements.
• Another way to accomplish this without needing to experiment with the ratio is to simply balance the recipe by using less sugar in other components. For example, I make cheesecake with a 1:1 ratio of Lakanto Monkfruit Baking Sweetener, but I don’t sweeten the fruit compote or whipped cream which will be served with the cheesecake.

Quick tips and tricks:

• Start with half of the amount of Lakanto Monkfruit Baking Sweetener and adjust the level of sweetness from there. Consider which other elements in a recipe will add sweetness and adjust levels accordingly.
• Less is more—add slowly to taste, especially if not using it in a baked good.
• As with all erythritol sweeteners, it requires a longer baking time due to the higher melting point.
• Lakanto Monkfruit Baking Sweetener blends better with other ingredients, but doesn’t create the same lift in rising sweets, so I use it in cookies more than cakes.

What is the science behind why these tweaks and methods work?

The liquid/fats in a recipe help to dissolve the erythritol. Water breaks Lakanto Monkfruit Baking Sweetener down better than other liquids such as alcohol or oil. Acids like vinegar or lemon juice have more of an emulsifying effect on Lakanto Monkfruit Baking Sweetener.

Can you use it to replace maple syrup or honey?

Because it’s so texturally fine, Lakanto Monkfruit Baking Sweetener is the perfect direct substitute for things like maple syrup and honey. Use less Lakanto Monkfruit Baking Sweetener than you would honey/agave/maple syrup—start with half and increase from there. Lakanto Monkfruit Baking Sweetener is also great in cold drinks or frozen treats, as due to its solubility it does not leave a gritty texture.

Do you have any additional tips?

• Usually, recipes need slightly less Lakanto Sweetener than sugar. Blitzing Lakanto Classic Monkfruit Sweetener or Lakanto Golden Monkfruit Sweetener in a food processor is a great way to mimic British castor sugar in recipes that call for it. Lakanto Classic Monkfruit Sweetener or Lakanto Golden Monkfruit Sweetener also work well in recipes that include more fats.
• Use a bit of Lakanto Monkfruit Baking Sweetener in everything from stews to baked goods. Recipes like Bologneses recommend a spoonful or two of sugar to cut the acidity of the tomatoes—I use Lakanto products in recipes in the same way that you should add a pinch of salt to anything you eat; Lakanto is my not-so-secret ingredient.

Note from Lakanto

Our product development team collected feedback from both customers and expert bakers about how our sweeteners baked and used what they learned to develop this sweetener, specifically for baking.

Since the release of this baking sweetener, people have used it not only for baking, but for other desserts where they want a powdered texture, such as cheesecake, frostings, and sauces. It is one of our most versatile products.

“We put in a significant amount of time and testing into this baking sweetener in order to make sure we not only sourced the best ingredients, but also created a formula that tastes amazing and is easy for even the newest of bakers to use.” -Kiersten Cole, Product Development Formulation Manager.

We are continually expanding our collection of sweeteners to meet the different needs you have with different recipes.