Baking with Less Sugar (22 page)

4.
Refrigerate the pie shell for at least 30 minutes. (The gluten needs a little time to relax so it doesn't shrink as much in the oven). The unbaked pie shell can be stored, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 4 weeks. If frozen, the pie shell can be baked directly from the freezer.

5.
Blind bake (that is, prebake) the shell so it doesn't get soggy when you eventually fill it with pumpkin filling: Line the shell with parchment paper or a large coffee filter and then fill it with pie weights, uncooked beans, uncooked rice, or even well-washed marble-size rocks. Press down slightly on the weights to make sure the shell is entirely filled and place in the oven. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the shell is brown on the edges and pale and matte when you lift the parchment and peek at the surface of the shell. (If the edges brown too quickly, cover the shell with foil.) It doesn't need to color at this point; we are just trying to give the shell a head start in baking before we fill it. When the pie shell is done blind baking, remove it from the oven and let cool on a wire rack, leaving the weights and parchment in place. Leave the oven set at 350°F [175°C].

6.
Meanwhile, scrape the pumpkin purée into a medium saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the pumpkin reduces into a somewhat-thick paste and darkens in color. Remove from the heat and whisk in the ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Whisk in the cream, vanilla, and maple syrup until well combined. Whisk in the eggs thoroughly, one by one.

7.
Remove the parchment paper and pie weights from the baked shell and pour the pumpkin custard into the shell. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until the custard is just set. The edges of the custard will puff up a little and the center should still have a little wiggle in it. Remove the pie from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour. Serve at room temperature or chilled, topped with the whipped cream. The pie can be stored, wrapped in plastic wrap, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

I originally came up with this recipe when testing recipes for a no-sugar baking article for
O, the Oprah Magazine
. I took some popular recipes from my first and second cookbooks and experimented with substituting various sweeteners for white sugar. This was by far my favorite makeover. In the original recipe for
O Magazine
, because I was simply tasked with no white sugar, not less sugar in general, the recipe I came up with uses 400 g/1
¹
/
₄
cups of maple syrup. I've learned since that we really don't need as much sweetener as we think we do. So I decreased it by fourths until I got to 160 g/
¹
/
₂
cup. You could even go as low as 80 g/
¹
/
₄
cup for more of a breakfast bread than a cake—if you do, increase the milk to 180 g/
³
/
₄
cup.

MAKES
ONE
9-IN [23-CM] CAKE

• 50 g/
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  cup walnuts, chopped
  
• 280 g/2 cups all-purpose flour
  
• 1 tsp baking powder
  
• ¹
  /
  ₂
  tsp baking soda
  
• ¹
  /
  ₂
  tsp kosher salt
  
• ¹
  /
  ₂
  tsp ground cinnamon
  
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
  
• 160 g/
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  cup grade B maple syrup
  
• 225 g/1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
  
• 120 g/
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  cup whole milk, at room temperature
  
• 3 medium Empire, McIntosh, Golden Delicious, Gala, or other sweet baking apples, peeled, cored, and cut into
  ¹
  /
  ₈
  -in [3-mm] slices
  

1.
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F [175°C]. Butter and flour a 9-in [23-cm] round cake pan or spray with nonstick cooking spray.

2.
Put the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast for 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Set aside to cool.

3.
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, maple syrup, butter, vanilla, and milk until thoroughly mixed together. With a rubber spatula, stir the apples and walnuts into the wet ingredients until evenly distributed. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold carefully with a rubber spatula until the wet and dry ingredients are thoroughly incorporated. Be sure there are no flour pockets and also be sure not to over-mix.

4.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown and springs back when you press it in the center. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan on a wire rack. Slice and serve. The cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Or store in the freezer, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 2 weeks; thaw overnight at room temperature before serving.

Sometimes when I bite into a juicy, crisp apple, I'm so struck by how perfectly sweet and balanced it is that I wonder why I ever eat anything else. I grew up eating fruit almost exclusively for both snacking and dessert; to this day the inordinate amount of fruit I eat daily should make me the poster child for the USDA food pyramid. Fruit contains fructose to make it sweet. As with any food, you should consume fructose in moderation. But when you're using fruits as your sweetener, you can know that you are adding flavor and sweetness naturally to make these desserts delicious and memorable.

It's a shame that we typically eat pumpkin pie only once a year at Thanksgiving. I always take one bite and think: I want to eat this all the time! For a flash, you see them in bakeries and grocery stores and then WHOOF! they're gone. Here's a way to enjoy all of the warm, spicy flavors of a terrific pumpkin pie in cheesecake form. A simple walnut crust is topped with creamy, gently spiced pumpkin cheesecake filling and baked until just set.

MAKES
16
BARS

WALNUT CRUST

• 100 g/1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
  
• 140 g/1 cup all-purpose flour
  
• ¹
  /
  ₄
  tsp kosher salt
  
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  
• 85 g/6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  
• 120 g/
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  cup whole milk
  
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
  

PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE FILLING

• One 335-g/12-oz can frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed
  
• 240 g/1 cup pitted and finely chopped Medjool dates
  
• ¹
  /
  ₂
  tsp baking soda
  
• 340 g/12 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
  
• 120 g/
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  cup heavy cream
  
• 420 g/15 oz pumpkin purée
  
• 3 large eggs
  
• 2 Tbsp vanilla extract
  
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  
• 1 tsp ground ginger
  
• ¹
  /
  ₄
  tsp freshly grated nutmeg
  
• ¹
  /
  ₈
  tsp ground cloves
  
• ¹
  /
  ₂
  tsp kosher salt
  

1.
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F [175°C]. Butter the bottom of a 9-by-13-in [23-by-33-cm] baking pan, or butter and line the bottom with parchment paper.

2. To make the crust:
Put the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast for 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Set aside to cool.

3.
In a medium bowl, use a wooden spoon to stir together the walnuts, flour, salt, and cinnamon. Drizzle the butter over the flour mixture and stir to mix in. In a small bowl, combine the milk and vanilla and add to the flour mixture; stir until the dough comes together. It will be very soft. Press the dough evenly on the bottom of the prepared pan and bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until it is no longer wet looking and starts to turn pale golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.

4. Meanwhile, make the filling:
In a medium saucepan, bring the apple juice concentrate to a boil over high heat and then decrease the heat to medium-low and simmer until the juice reduces to
³
/
₄
cup [180 ml], 20 to 30 minutes. It will thicken up, become syrupy, and boil a little slower as it reduces. Watch out that it does not over-boil or burn; you may need to decrease the heat as it thickens. To check to see if it is reduced enough, every now and then pour the juice into a measuring cup to measure it; if it is not yet
³
/
₄
cup [180 ml], pour it back into the saucepan to continue to simmer and reduce until it measures out to
³
/
₄
cup [180 ml]. Remove from the heat and set aside.

5.
While the juice is reducing, put the dates and baking soda in a small bowl and add enough hot water to cover the dates. Stir to dissolve the baking soda; it will soften the skins of the dates, allowing them to blend more easily into the filling. Let the dates soak for 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the dates and, using a spoon, mash them until they are smooth and soft. Mix the mashed dates into the reduced juice and refrigerate until cold to the touch.

6.
With a food processor, blend the cream cheese, reduced apple juice and dates, and cream for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the dates mix into the cream cheese. Add the pumpkin, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt and process for 2 to 3 minutes, or until well blended, stopping occasionally to scrape the sides with a rubber spatula. Pour the pumpkin mixture on top of the baked crust.

7.
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the top of the filling is set and doesn't jiggle when you wiggle the pan. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours to chill. Cut into 16 bars and serve. Bars can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

These tender, melt-in-your-mouth, just-barely sweet shortbread cookies will have you stocking your pantry with dates so you can make these over and over again. Dates offer a rich, caramelized sweetness to pastries in much the same way brown sugar does. Soak them in a little baking soda before you mash them into a sweet paste—the baking soda breaks down the sometimes leathery skin and renders it soft enough to dissolve into the cookie dough.

MAKES
12
COOKIES

• 100 g/1 cup pecans, chopped
  
• 160 g/
  ²
  /
  ₃
  cup pitted and finely chopped Medjool dates
  
• ¹
  /
  ₄
  tsp baking soda
  
• 225 g/1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  -in [1-cm] pieces
  
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
  
• 1 egg yolk
  
• ¹
  /
  ₂
  tsp kosher salt
  
• 210 g/1
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  cups all-purpose flour
  
• 30 g/
  ¹
  /
  ₄
  cup cornstarch
  

1.
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F [175°C].

2.
Put the pecans on a baking sheet and toast for 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly toasted. Set aside to cool.

3.
Put the dates and baking soda in a small bowl and add enough hot water to cover the dates. Stir to dissolve the baking soda; it will soften the skins of the dates. Let the dates soak for 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the dates and, using a spoon, mash them until they are smooth and soft.

4.
Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or with an electric hand mixer or by hand with a wooden spoon), beat the butter and dates on medium speed for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla, egg yolk, and salt until thoroughly combined. Scrape the bowl down with a rubber spatula to make sure all of the yolk is mixed in with the butter-date mixture.