Better yet get the Ball Complete Book. It has all the recipes found in the BBB and many more. Including the Carrot Cake Jam recipe and yes, it really is 1 1/2 cups peeled and chopped ripe pears regardless of what someone on YouTube said or did and the juice is supposed to be the liquid from the undrained pineapple. Most recipes call for using the liquid pectin and liquid pectin and dry pectin are not interchangeable. So you made several changes in the original recipe. It is supposed to be very thick but it wouldn't look or taste the same as the original with all those changes. It honestly isn't advisable to keep picking recipes to try that are obviously quite sweet to begin with when it's clear that that sweetness doesn't appeal to you. Trying to make all sorts of modifications in them usually only leads to very poor results. So if low-sugar is your primary consideration then why not stick with all the low sugar recipes? Dave

once the berries have been cooked, no harm will come from freezing them. Here's the recipe for the curious. RASPBERRY FRANGIPANE CAKE (Serves 12) This is good made the day before and covered with plastic wrap. 7 oz. almond paste 7 oz. unsalted butter, softened 1 cup plus 2 tbsp. sugar 1 tsp. vanilla 5 eggs 1 cup sifted cake flour 1 1/2 cups whole raspberries Preheat over to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9-inch cake pan. (I like to use a springform pan.) Use a food processor or a mixer w/ a paddle attachment to cream the almond paste, butter, and sugar until smooth and light. (Some almond pastes stay chunky for a while.) Add the vanilla and eggs, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. By hand, gently fold in the flour until the batter is just barely combined. Fold in the raspberries. Avoid overmixing, or the cake will be tough. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the top is nicely brown and a toothpick comes out clean, about 50-55 minutes. Cool completely before removing from the pan. Serve this moist cake plain, or in a pool of raspberry sauce, or with whipped cream topped with a few raspberries. (Raspberry sauce: Press 2 c. raspberries through a fine strainer to puree them and remove seeds. Make a simple syrup by stirring together 3 tbsp. water and 1/4 c. sugar in a small saucepan and bringing to a boil. Cool. Stir the puree and simple syrup together. Keeps in the refrigerator for a week, or freeze.)

I don't like sweets at all, and all of the carrot cakes I've eaten have been way too sweet for me. But this is one that I started making 30 years ago, and I love it as do my family and friends. It is very moist and sweet, but not too sweet. I found the recipe in a vegetarian cookbook, so it is aimed at being a healthy substitute for the regular carrot cake. Carrot Cake Combine: 1 ½ cups whole-wheat flour ½ cup soy flour 2 tsp ground cinnamon 2 tsp baking soda ½ tsp kosher salt Mix Separately: 2 cups grated carrots 1 cup crushed pineapple drained ½ cup chopped nuts (any variety) ½ cup sesame seeds ½ cup coconut Beat in large bowl: 3 large eggs ¾ cup canola oil ¾ cup buttermilk 2 cups turbinado sugar (unrefined) 1 tsp vanilla Sauce: ½ cup buttermilk 1 cups turbinado sugar (unrefined) ½ tsp baking soda 1 tsp corn syrup ½ cup butter unsalted (whole stick) ½ cup coconut ½ cup chopped nuts (any variety) Add carrot mixture to the egg mixture, and then add the flour and spices. Pour into a 13" x 9" cake pan and back at 350 ° for 55 to 60 minutes. Cook sauce for 5 minutes, almost to boiling. Remove cake from pan (or you can leave it in the pan), punch small holes into it and pour the sauce over the cake while it is still hot. Can serve either serve hot or cold. Linda Turner Collins Rockport, TX This is a health food recipe that is high in protein. However, if you wish, you can use just plain old unbleached flour, just plain old refined sugar, and just plain old salt.

Isn't it wonderful that we all can make our own choices according to our own tastes?! And no one is right or wrong. I laughed when I saw your list of pineapple and dairy mixtures, Linda...bleh! I wouldn't eat any of them. Back in the olden days when people actually ordered banana splits, the one thing I never could abide was pineapple sauce on the ice cream! And coconut cream isn't dairy in my book, but not really a Pina Colada fan either. But I do love a fresh, ripe pineapple! Maybe it is regional...where I live there are so many fresh, local ingredients, many from the sea, and a real foodie culture, so you're right....beef stew would likely not be served for a company meal (regardless of the fancy French name it could be called); crepes might be served, not as a dessert, but maybe as a main dish or breakfast. Not much flaming of food these days. Back in the 1970's when I lived in a more rural area where people raise their own beef, so they eat much more of it, beef stew might have been something we'd have eaten (but still probably not for a company meal). Come to think of it, that's when carrot cake was at its most popular in my cooking life, too. Likely not what you'd find around here these days. Things seem to be focused on lighter fare, fresh ingredients, more veggies, fewer sauces, etc. But I'm sure I'd enjoy a beef stew dinner with crepes for dessert, if I were your guest. I'd pass on the ambrosia!