Agave is not new to the market. It has been ruling the market lately as a healthy alternative to sugar. Unlike honey it does not crystalline, so, it can be easily added to one’s drinks, sauces or to stir-frying. But what most people have no idea about is that agave can as well be a cooking ingredient as sugar. If you had been thinking the reverse all your life, here are some tips for substituting agave in baked goods. We are sure these tips would change your mind completely! Take a look at these health filled cooking guidelines.
Replacing Your Sugar Intake
Some people may wonder how can you use agave instead of sugar in baking? The trick is relatively simple! If you have come across agave you would surely have noticed that agave has a thick liquid consistency, much like honey. Thus, when added to cooking ingredients the mixture requires lesser liquid addition. If you are using agave in your recipe, you should add lesser liquid amounts to it. You may replace maple syrup or honey with equal amounts of agave and white or brown sugar to just 2/3 cup of the healthy substitute. In place of corn syrup or brown rice syrup, you can use half a cup of agave.
First Mix Thoroughly
Agave forms an oily crust if it is not mixed properly. If you want to bake right, all you have to do is mix your dough or whatever mixture you have well. Let the sweetness blend with the ingredients, fats and liquids in your recipe before you put it inside a refrigerator or an oven.
Reduce the Oven Temperature by 25°
When you have agave in your recipe your cooking will be a bit faster. Bread will turn brown faster than they do usually with sugars. Therefore, if you keep the temperature low you will have a safe hand at cooking. You may use foils if you want to keep the baked item from browning.
Parchment Paper Can Be Of Great Help
Admitting the fact that agave is a bit sticky, one may use a parchment paper. This will help the cooking goods to release easily. Excess stickiness, if any, will vanish after a few minutes it is exposed to air. So, when your baking is complete before packing or serving let the item breathe without the parchment paper.
Sugar Is Best For Cakes and Cookies
Sugar can be replaced with agave in most of the cases but for baking a cake or a cookie we, however, do not completely rely on agave. We take the best part of it in preference to sugar, that is, we partially substitute. This makes sure that their taste is not altered. Therefore, agave in this case is often in the following ratio-
1)½ of sugar for cakes
2)1/3 of the sugar for cookies
3)For brownies, the ratio is again half-half
4)For fruit bars two-thirds of the sugar
Do you have any other ideas regarding how can you substitute agave for sugar in baking? Share your story and let us know!
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