If you "don't want something sweet to replace something sweet", then you don't want cake. If I understand you correctly, you want something with a cake-like texture that isn't sweet, and that's a whole different discussion.

There isn't a substitute for sugar that isn't sweet that does the same task.

What sugar does in a cake:

In the alchemy of cakes, sugar has a tenderizing effect due to its dilution of the flour proteins and delaying of starch gelatinization.

1. moisture-holding ability
2. contribute to texture - due to sucrose's ability to absorb and hold water.
3. controls microbial activity
4. browning
5. adding bulk
6. complex flavor influences.

A cake without enough sugar, even those made with sugar substitutes, are very dry and don't keep long and probably won't set correctly to begin with. Making low-sugar and/or low-fat baked goods takes a lot of skill. Sarah Phillips of the book "Baking 9-1-1" fame, made 100 white cakes before she got one that was both low-sugar and low fat, and probably not worth eating.....

I'd suggest you make a quick bread with a low-sugar to flour ratio, like cornbread, muffins, popovers, coffee cake, scones.....

I've made some "odd" recipes that were cake-like that were low-carb/paleo, and that's about the only place I can suggest you explore as a source for recipes.

Editing to add... A cake recipe with a high ratio of eggs that actually work are recipes using coconut flour, not wheat flour. A recipe for a yellow cake will include: 12-eggs, 1-cup of sugar, 1-cup coconut flour --- and any time you use over 3 eggs in a coconut flour recipe, they taste VERY eggy (and with the price of eggs, not entirely worth it). Eggs in a normal cake are added to help strengthen the structure, as well as to increase the leavening, to act as emulsifiers, and to add color and flavor.

The standard plain cake has, by measure, 1/3 as much fat as sugar; 2/3 as much milk as sugar; and about three times as much flour as liquid. When you reduce fat and sugar, you need to be aware that you are making a compromise. You'll have fewer calories, but be prepared to sacrifice tenderness, and no one likes a tough cake.

-Grainlady

Cake has sugar in it....try making biscuits instead.

I was going to suggest a quickbread too. Or you could make a bread recipe, like a brioche or something and add a little sweetener until you get something you like.

Also, if you're tolerant about outcomes, you could experiment. Molasses and dextrose are less sweet tasting than regular sugar (sucrose), but they behave differently in baking. Even though the ratios Grainlady has given are standards that work, you can make something nice to eat and still violate them somewhat. You could try cutting back on sugar just a bit, and/or substitute a bit of a less sweet sweet, and see what happens. Keep pushing the edge until you find the fail point.

The best thing, though, is to find some recipes that weren't that sweet to begin with.

How about a "Mug Cake"? This one happens to be low-carb and gluten-free. I make the recipe in two 4" ramekins for two small (individual-sized) cakes.

MEYER LEMON MUG CAKE

3/4 c. almond flour

2 T. erythritol (I use Swerve)

Zest of one Myer Lemon (I use dried California Lemon Peel from The Spice House if I don't have a lemon)

1 t. baking powder

pinch salt

Juice of one Meyer Lemon (I use 2 pkts. of TRUE Lemon - real lemon crystals - plus 2 T. water if I don't have a fresh lemon to use)

2 T. butter, melted

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Lightly sweetened whipped cream for garnish.

In a medium bowl (I use a 2-cup glass Pyrex measuring cup), whisk almond flour, erythritol, lemon zest, baking powder and salt. Add lemon juice, melted butter and egg, and stir until well combined. [Grainlady note: I have an OXO Good Grips Egg Beater for mixing small amount of batter like this. It's a kitchen tool I wouldn't be without.... http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Good-Grips-Egg-Beater/dp/B004VLYQFO/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1453056568&sr=8-3&keywords=oxo+hand+mixer]

Divide mixture between two microwave-safe mugs and microwave each separately for 1-minute and 20-seconds on HIGH. Remove. I turn mine out onto a small square plate for serving. Let cool before garnishing it with whipped cream.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ONE MINUTE PEANUT BUTTER CAKE

1 egg, beaten

1 T. brown sugar (I use coconut palm sugar)

1/2 t. baking powder

1 heaping tablespoon flour (I use a gluten-free flour or flour blend)

2 T. peanut butter

glaze:

1 t. milk

1 T. powdered sugar (I use Swerve - confectioners' style)

In a small bowl (I use a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup), whisk together egg, brown sugar, baking powder, peanut butter and flour. Pour batter into a greased ramekin. Microwave 45-60 seconds on HIGH. While cake is microwaving, stir together milk and powdered sugar to make a simple glaze (adjust sugar/milk until it's the consistency you want). Remove the cake from ramekin (or don't - your choice), and pour glaze over top. (Hubby and I split this cake, but most people would consider it one serving.)

-Grainlady

Quick breads came to my mind as well - maybe beer bread, soda bread or cornbread? I know some recipes call for a small amount of sugar, but that can be easily left out, I believe.

& may I inquire as to the reason for this?

Here's a link to an article that contains links for several soda breads - some contain a tablespoon or 2 of sugar, which could be omitted:

http://www.epicurious.com/archive/holidays/stpatricks/sodabread

My own decision has been simply not to make cakes.

I add sugar to very very little (I have some honey, some maple syrup, and some coconut palm sugar, all of which were opened ages ago, and not yet finished). I take in most of my simple sugars via fruit. And the occasional taste or two of dark chocolate.

(I do pick up those teaspoon-sized packets of sugar for friends who come by and want the stuff in their tea or coffee.)

i suppose the question is 'why cake'? ...Cake is often for celebration. Maybe that is the need for it?

Cake as 'cake' is nice for what it represents. So many other things mentioned can be a desert for following a meal to be a similar 'dessert' without being so sweet me thinks.

Lots of cakes are not so sweet. Some bunts and pound cakes.

I have never made cake but do like and make custards and chocolate desserts that are not full of sugars...

Never mind the taste. All I care about is the texture.

So what is it that you want to make?

You people are wonderful! This is the best ever forum.

I guess what I want to make is cakeless cake, which is impossible, so I'll settle for raisin bread and suchlike, as people here have suggested.

I'll be really glad if anyone has a t&t recipe they'd like to share for whatever baked entity whose sweetness comes not from sugar but from dry fruit. A bit of sugar in the recipe is OK, but only a bit. Most important is that the dry fruit be plentiful enough to turn the whole thing sweet.

I don't have any issues with gluten, eggs or whatever. Occaional bouts of cluelessness is my main issue.

TIA!

Grainlady, thanks again for the info and for the effort you're making to help me.

I was diagnosed as pre-diabetic nearly 6 months ago, with a glucose score of 102. It was very upsetting because I just don't fit any diabetes profile. I'm thin and always have been. I eat reasonably and exercise daily. I've always preferred savoury to sweet and I don't even care for chocolate.

I thought I was doomed, down an inescapable road to full fledged diabetes because I was already doing things right, so it must be genetics.

Then I started googling and luckily hit upon Mendosa's Insulin Index

http://www.mendosa.com/insulin_index.htm

"There are some instances, however, where a food has a low glycemic value but a high insulin index value. This applies to dairy foods ..."

I realized it was milk and dairy products - not sugar or white flour that were my undoing. A couple years ago I stopped using liquid milk and instead made it a habit to buy Nestle's full cream Nido, indulging myself in a huge latte twice a day - thick enough to stand a spoon in.

So for 3 months I just cut all milk and dairy products - but kept on eating fruit. and did the test again. For good measure I had a fairly large bunch of grapes the evening before the test. This time I scored 86 - down 16 points.

I still refrain from milk. I'm also extra careful with sugar. It's not difficult. I stopped taking sugar in my tea/coffee 40 years ago when I was a broke student of English Lit. at the Hebrew University and the price of sugar went up. Once you stop putting sugar in your hot drinks, there's no way back even if you win the lottery later on in life. It's too cloying sweet.

Still, someitmes I feel like cake or some cakey thing. I bake a lot for my family and they're into chocolate cakes which I don't particularly like. I'd like some cakeish thing for myself.

I'd love to see those banana recipes you mentioned.

Wintercat, may I make an additional suggestion to bring down your blood sugar. Cinnamon will bring down blood sugar, but you must be sure that it's true cinnamon (Ceylon cinnamon, C. verum) and not the more common cinnamon (cassia), that's sold as cinnamon in stores. The commonly available cinnamon contains coumarin, a blood thinner, so to take enough to affect blood sugar would also thin blood too much. I take three capsules a day of Cinnamonum verum, and my blood sugar which was a little high, is now normal.

Laceyvail, thank you for the suggestion. My blood sugar is already down to 86. As long as I keep away from milk and dairy products I'll be OK, I think. I'm just being extra careful - possibly unnecessarily paranoid - about sugar.

I may be wrong but I think that taking large doses of spice may be pretty dangerous. The cinnamon advice appears nearly on all sites dealing with diabetes, but I'd rather not.

In any case I'm already well out of the danger zone without cinnamon - just by cutting all dairy.

I'm glad cinnamon worked for you. Diabetes is very scary.

wintercat -

I've followed a low-glycemic diet since the 1990's (choosing whole foods, and foods from the lower-half of the glycemic index of foods. I was inspired by Rick Mendosa at about the same time - enough so I have used chana dal (immature garbanzo beans) instead of regular (mature) garbanzo beans - one of the lowest foods on the G.I., for all those years. Diabetes is rampant, and deadly, in hubby's family, so that's why we're proactive....

I also believe thinking wheat flour is "good" if you have blood glucose issues is a potential health mistake. I used almond flour and coconut flour to avoid high-glycemic flours.

I agree with laceyvail and adding Ceylon cinnamon to your diet. We use a product called T/C+ which is a blend of Trehalose, Ceylon Cinnamon and bio-available ionic multi-trace minerals, using about 1 T. each, per day.

Are you completely adverse to using stevia, (coconut) palm sugar, Swerve (which is erythritol)? I find they all have their use in cooking/baking. I've also used Trehalose as a sweetener, but it's only 45% as sweet as sucrose, so I've used it on a limited basis. In fact, I like switching the kinds of sweeteners I do use. If you aren't completely adverse to these sweeteners, then this is a great recipe to try: Gingerbread Bundt Cake with Lemon Glaze (Low Carb and Gluten Free) - http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/2011/10/gingerbread-bundt-cake-with-lemon-glaze-low-carb-and-gluten-free.html

I usually make 1/2 a recipe and bake in a 12-cup mini-bundt pan or muffin tin in order to keep serving size small.

I do believe the Mug Cakes I posted above would work well for an occasional cake "fix" since they are high-protein, low-carb.

This is a new recipe I tried last week we liked. One small muffin was very filling. I made 1/2 a recipe (6-muffins) so this recipe will fit into my "One Ripe Banana" recipes.

Anti-Muffin Top Muffins

2-1/4 c. rolled oats

1/2 c. unsweetened coconut

1/4 t. salt

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/2 c. raisins (could easily be left out and other dried fruit used, or use 1/4 c. cacao nibs or mini-chocolate chips, or chopped nuts/pecans.

4 T. coconut oil (melted)

3 eggs

2 ripe bananas, mashed

Makes 12-muffins.

350° pre-heated oven. Combine dry ingredients. Combine wet ingredients and mix into dry ingredients and mix well. Fill 12-cup prepared muffin tin. Bake 15-minutes. You can sprinkle some oats on the top of the muffin before baking for garnish.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SUPER-SIMPLE BANANA COOKIES

1 small banana

1 c. quick-oats

1/4 - 1/2 c. add-in of choice: mini-chocolate chips, cacao nibs, finely chopped pecans, dried blueberries, dried chopped dates, you can also mix and match ..... One of our favorites are (2-3) dried apricots, cut into 1/4" bits using clean kitchen shears, 2 T. sliced almonds, and use almond extract instead of vanilla.

2 T. coconut oil (melted)

1/2 t. vanilla

pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mash banana with a fork or mixer (I use my OXO Good Grips Egg Beater - just break the banana into 1-inch pieces before beating/mashing). Add salt, oil, and vanilla; mix well. Add oats and add-in ingredient/s; mix well. Using a #50 portion scoop, divide the dough into 12-13 balls. Place the dough balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Pat the dough balls into a 2"x1/4" cookie (use a silicon spatula, fork, or cover you hand with a sandwich bag/sheet of plastic wrap for this task). These cookies do not spread or rise. Bake in a 350°F oven for 22-25 minutes. The less you bake them, the chewier they will be, bake a little longer and they will be crispier - your choice. We like them crispier.

-Grainlady

Wintercat, you might also want to check out scone recipes, which use relatively less sugar than other baked goods.

Here's a not too sweet recipe I used to make for my children to grab while they were running for the bus.

SUN MAID BREAKFAST BARS

3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup toasted wheat germ

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. Baking powder

1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

1/4 cup melted butter or margarine, cooled

1/4 cup honey

1 egg

1/2 tsp. Vanilla

1 cup raisins

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 inch square pan. Combine flour, wheat germ, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon. In another bowl, mix melted butter, honey, egg and vanilla. Stir wet mixture into dry mixture. Stir in raisins and walnuts. Press mixture firmly into greased pan. Bake at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Makes 10 bars.

If you do decide to look for cinnamon, Pensey's spices sells the Ceylon version. Like you, I'd rather not take food as supplements, but as food, and it's just nice to have around for flavoring -- whether for desserts or for savory seasoning (Indian and middle-eastern recipes will use it).

Grainlady, I'm confused about your palm sugar/fructose statement. What I learned in basic Chemistry, and have looked up to be sure, is that sucrose (which is what table sugar is) is composed of equal parts fructose and glucose. An enzymatic process breaks it down into those two components, and then a different enzyme changes the fructose into glucose. All sugars are utilized as glucose. I would think if you have issues with fructose, you'd have the same issues with half of the sucrose. What am I missing?

Wintercat, I know other people who, as they've gotten a bit older, have had one food or food group that throws them out of whack, so I get it about the dairy. Sweetening with dried fruit, however, isn't far off from sweetening with refined fructose. Drying just concentrates the sugar somewhat less and leaves some fiber to go with it. When it hits your bloodstream, it's glucose. (So are all starches.) Fructose tastes sweeter than other sugars, so some people find they use less of it. If it's just a matter of too sweet flavor, could you not do the applesauce thing but make the applesauce from tart apples? Still plenty of sugar there, but not so sweet tasting.

If you're trying to keep down your sugar consumption, wouldn't a nice cake, no frosting, in moderation, to satisfy the cake craving, be better? Since your family love the chocolate cakes that you don't, how about making them a chocolate cake, and making yourself a mini-bundt strawberry cake, or whatever you fancy? When the cake is small, it's easier to cut a small piece and to save a larger portion for later, rather than trying to use it up before it goes stale, making it easier to do the moderation without thinking about it. :)

plllog-

I'm strict with the amount of the fructose portion of "sugars" due to Fructose Malabsorption (aka fructan intolerance) and the list of foods I need to limit or avoid. As much as 30% of the population are deficient (to some degree) in fructose receptors and don't even realize they may have a problem. This has nothing to do with the "anti-fructose or high-fructose corn syrup" issues popular in the last few years. Fructose Malabsorption can be the cause of mild to severe GI issues. It can be hereditary, but more often it develops as we age. Your physician can perform a hydrogen and methane breath test in his office to determine whether you have this condition.

With all sugars, the glucose portion is used for energy in your body - it's used by your muscles. I don't have a problem with that kind of "sugar". I can consume dextrose, corn syrup, and other sweeteners/sugars/syrups as long as they are low in fructose . I just don't use a lot of ANY of them as a general practice because high-sugar diets are basically --- deadly.

But, this may be what you are missing, and I didn't make it clear, the fructose portion of a sugar goes to the liver to be processed, and that's where the problem with fructose/fructans begins. I need to avoid the fructose/fructans for this reason since having my gallbladder removed, which means your only "filter" remaining is your liver - so be kind to it and avoid fructose/fructans - PLUS the GI issues from the malabsorption issue (double trouble).

But long before that, we have avoided high-glycemic foods AND sugars due to diabetes in hubby's family as a way to hopefully avoid diabetes. Two of his siblings died due to diabetes-related issues (age 55 and 66), and another is seriously ill and disabled due to diabetes (age 59) and another sibling is also a longtime diabetic (age 74), and another one has blood glucose issues, but not diabetes (65). That leaves one sister, one brother, and my husband, out of 8, who don't have diabetes. So we are dealing with several different issues, not one, and that may be where the confusion comes from. Sorry about that....

-Grainlady

I didn't know that about the liver, specifically, though that makes sense that that's where the process takes place. What I'm still confused about is the fructose that's in the sucrose. What I'm inferring from what you've said is that fructans are not pure fructose and are handled differently. Is that right?

plllog-

I'm not completely sure without more searching. It's been awhile since I studied the subject. But it is interesting how it's really NOT a "simple sugar". Our bodies certainly handle each component of it differently from the gut to the liver, in this instance. -Grainlady

I don't have any issues with sugar or white flour. I scored 86 on the glucose blood test the second time, and that was achieved by cutting only milk and dairy products (except butter).

I think I'm just being over careful, even paranoid. I think I'll just make ordinary pounds cakes and scones, as has been so sensibly suggested.

Grainlady and Ruthanna - many thanks for those useful recipes, and many thanks to all who replied and made me realize I was being unnecessarily overcareful.

Here's another recipe I make that's quite light on sugar. They have an unusual texture but once I stated calling them tea biscuits instead of cookies, they were fine.

http://www.marthastewart.com/337396/cornmeal-cherry-cookies

Wintercat: This is a recipe a dear old friend (who lived thru the depression) gave me. I haven't made it in a long time, but remember liking it when I did.

Simply Cake

1 cup orange juice

1 cup raisins

1/4 cup honey

Soak raisins in orange juice for at least 30 minutes. Then bring all of the above to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Sift together:

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 cups flour

Combine flour mix and raisin mix and beat well.

Then add: 2 Tablespoons orange zest

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 -1 cup black walnuts (or other nuts)

Bake at 350degrees. I don't have the time or the pan size on the recipe card.

I also have "Maida Heatter's Brand New Book of Great Cookies" that has a number of cookies that have a very low sugar content-although that probably isn't what you are looking for if it's just the cake texture you are wanting. I hope you find something that satisfies.

Ruthanna and Lizbeth - Thank you! I really like your recipes!