Desserts, Sweets, Baked Goods for Diabetics

yvegeny · October 29, 2004

I need some diabetic recipes that have been tried and turned out successfully. A lady has requested something she can serve at a large birthday party for those guests who cannot have sugar. I would appreciate any suggestions, as I have never made a diabetic recipe before. Thanks!

Holly Moore · October 29, 2004

Let me add on a message to all you great restaurant bakers out there.

Type II diabetes is catching on. More and more restaurant-goers are diabetics looking for allowable desserts. You'd think some clever bakers would catch on and offer one or two diabetic-safe desserts - all the drama and glamor of their regular offerings, but no sugar and ideally no white flour.

Or, your restaurants can't keep on losing desert sales to those who are natural dessert eaters but have had to give them up. And you're probably not just losing those desert sales. It's my experience that fellow diners, out of empathy for the diabetics amongst them, also pass on desert.

duckduck · October 29, 2004

My father was diabetic and the most common thing I made was apple pie. Instead of sugar I would use about 2/3 of a cup of apple juice concentrate. I got to where that was the way I prefered it. It's great with a little half & half poured over it.

Gifted Gourmet · October 29, 2004

Type II diabetes is catching on.
Or, your restaurants can't keep on losing desert sales to those who are natural dessert eaters but have had to give them up.
←

I don't know that it is so much a matter of "catching on" so much as it is a result of what has changed in our diets and our lack of physical exercise. Both have led to this sad denouement actually... how much can one ask of a pancreas which has to produce more and more insulin each time yet another Coke is drunk? I think we must have "pooped pancreases" ... and then the media has brought home the message even more strongly .. so our collective knowledge is greater now ...

Diabetic dessert recipes are available all over the Net and a quick Google will confirm this ...

yvegeny · October 29, 2004

I have found several recipes online through google, I am simply looking for something that has already been tried successfully, as I do not have much time for experimenting. The party is only in a week, and I want to make sure that it is something good. If I have to though, I will try some of the recipes I have found on my own.

Holly Moore · October 29, 2004

Type II diabetes is catching on.
Or, your restaurants can't keep on losing desert sales to those who are natural dessert eaters but have had to give them up.
←
I don't know that it is so much a matter of "catching on" so much as it is a result of what has changed in our diets and our lack of physical exercise. Both have led to this sad denouement actually... how much can one ask of a pancreas which has to produce more and more insulin each time yet another Coke is drunk? I think we must have "pooped pancreases" ... and then the media has brought home the message even more strongly .. so our collective knowledge is greater now ...
Diabetic dessert recipes are available all over the Net and a quick Google will confirm this ...
←

"Catching on" was just my quirky, apolitic way of putting it.

Yes, diabetes acceptable dessert recipes are indeed all over the internet - but try finding diabetic worthy desserts in a restaurant. The same restaurants that offer vegetarian entrees, adjust salt levels at request, and notify customers of peanut content give not a whit for those with diabetes. Diabetes is probably a much more common occurance than any of the above, and those with Type II diabetes at least, are probably past regular dessert consumers who would greatfully gobble up an attractively presented, rich, full of flavor sugar free, white flour free dessert.

Yes, a cheese tray or some fruit could pass as a diabetic dessert, but when everyone else is gulping down cakes and tortes and cobblers and hot fudge sundaes, fruit or cheese just don't quite cut it.

kimmyb72 · October 29, 2004

on the food network there is a show low carb and lovin it. the chef did a dessert show. he replaces sugar with splenda. http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_ll/ep...7_31766,00.html

i never tried to make any of the desserts but they looked really good. check it out.

ladyyoung98 · October 29, 2004

being a diabetic myself...and knowing others who have similar dietary limitations...i can most definitley vouch for the fact that splend is a wonderful sugar substitute and can be used for baking..i know as ive done it several times and while im not into desert very much anyway..i dont miss it if i cant have it..i also have asister and a mother and an uncle who r all diabetic and who have discovered the joys of splenda baking..and of course there is another sugar substitue out there that is equally as good for baking..but as i dontuse it..cant remember the name of it but it was brought to my attention very recently....i am sure someon else knows what it is im talking about so i will defer to the better memory.....lol

ruthcooks · October 29, 2004

I'm blue in the face from telling people that sugar is not forbidden to diabetics anymore. Each individual has his own body reaction to the glycemic index of foods. The time of day, what you ate for breakfast or lunch, whether you're on insulin and/or drugs, what your morning blood sugar reading was--all of these effect whether it's OK or not OK to have dessert at any particular meal.

It takes years of experimentation and journaling and just plain paying attention to learn what works for you. My blood sugar would go sky high if I ate cold cereal for breakfast, but on a "good day" has little or no reaction to a piece of candy or a donut in late afternoon. Potatoes are always, always a trigger. Ice cream is supposed to be a good dessert for diabetics, but not for me.

We're looking at carbs, here, so if you're going to outlaw sugar you might as well outlaw flour also. But if it's a celebration you might just want to throw out all the rules and have that rich chocolate torte.

Mostly, though, I find that I now prefer desserts which are low in sugar such as custards and puddings. The rich stuff is too sweet and cloying anymore. Here are some of my favorite "lower glycemic" desserts.

Pumpkin Custard: make pumpkin pie filling with Whey-Low Gold in place of sugar. Add a little brandy or other liquor, and serve with whipped cream sweetened with a little bit of real sugar and some more of the same liquor. To make this fancier, bake in individual ramekins and garnish with a pastry twist or rosette from a sheet or half sheet of filo. Or a pumpkin shaped pastry dec.

Raspberry Tart: uses the dreaded Jell-O, raspberry no sugar type, frozen raspberries and 1/4 cup of real sugar, top with whipped cream. Whip the raspberries into the Jell-O with a fork so they break up. If pie pastry seems like too many carbs, use filo and bake individual tart shells. Do not fill until just before serving or pastry will be soggy. I know, you all hate Jell-O, but people LOVE this.

Fresh Fruit with Lemon Sauce and Caramel Crumbs: I usually make this with mostly real sugar, but control by using more fruit and less sauce and crumbs. (Exceptional...will post recipe if someone wants it.)

And for the restaurant people...listing the carb count is much more helpful information than saying "sugar free" or "low sugar" or "diabetic", even if you say it's an estimated carb count. Personally, I run like the wind to avoid any dessert labeled "diabetic"--usually a synonym for yucky.

merstar · October 29, 2004

Don't have any T&T, but you can check the Splenda website -lots of recipes, many by known chefs, such as Gale Gand, etc. Here's the link:

http://www.splenda.com/page.jhtml?id=splen...pes/library.inc

Also, here's one recipe from their site which sounds good and looks pretty foolproof:

"Flourless" Chocolate Hazelnut Torte with Frangelico

docsconz · October 29, 2004

It is a myth that diabetics can't have sugar. What is true is that having simple sugars by themselves will cause swift and high blood glucose spikes. This can be tempered by having sugary things along with fats, proteins and fiber. With these the absorption of sugars is delayed resulting in lower peaks. For this reason alone I like the growing popularity of savory desserts. For type I diabetics who have a strong understanding of the disease, adjustments can be made to manage blood sugar with insulin dosages to compensate for the occasional splurge. For type II's who aren't on insulin, sensible eating patterns are more important than what is specifically eaten.

That being said, things that reduce the number of calories without effecting texture of flavor are most likely a good thing. Then again, no one really knows the long-term health effects (if any) of things like Splenda and its ilk.

One problem for restaurants (at least higher end oriented restaurants) is that a perception of catering to health is not necessarily good for their health as currently, I believe, people, including myself, eschew standard nutritional wisdom for the pleasures of the table. Anything that appears to cut corners in this regard is suspect (rightly or wrongly) when it comes to those pleasures. This may and probably will change with time as these attitudes tend to cycle. Another aspect is that with ever-changing "recommendations" vis-a-vis nutrition, the whole science is suspect. My personal philosophy, which I learned from my parents, is anything in moderation.

As far as the question of the increasing incidence of diabetes in our population, I don't think there is any simple answer. It is clearly a complex and multifactorial issue. It used to be that one could accurately predict who was likely to have adult-onset DM by their age, family history, body habitus and activity level. That is no longer the case as more and more of those with the disease defy conventional wisdom. People with Type II disease are now younger, thinner and fitter. Does nutrition play a role? Probably. Carbonated beverages have, I believe, been implicated, but it is difficult to be certain of that as well. The science here so far as I know remains quite muddy. What is clear, though is that this is becoming a huge problem with major public health and economic ramifications.

docsconz · October 29, 2004

I'm blue in the face from telling people that sugar is not forbidden to diabetics anymore. Each individual has his own body reaction to the glycemic index of foods. The time of day, what you ate for breakfast or lunch, whether you're on insulin and/or drugs, what your morning blood sugar reading was--all of these effect whether it's OK or not OK to have dessert at any particular meal.
It takes years of experimentation and journaling and just plain paying attention to learn what works for you. My blood sugar would go sky high if I ate cold cereal for breakfast, but on a "good day" has little or no reaction to a piece of candy or a donut in late afternoon. Potatoes are always, always a trigger. Ice cream is supposed to be a good dessert for diabetics, but not for me.
We're looking at carbs, here, so if you're going to outlaw sugar you might as well outlaw flour also. But if it's a celebration you might just want to throw out all the rules and have that rich chocolate torte.
Mostly, though, I find that I now prefer desserts which are low in sugar such as custards and puddings. The rich stuff is too sweet and cloying anymore. Here are some of my favorite "lower glycemic" desserts.
Pumpkin Custard: make pumpkin pie filling with Whey-Low Gold in place of sugar. Add a little brandy or other liquor, and serve with whipped cream sweetened with a little bit of real sugar and some more of the same liquor. To make this fancier, bake in individual ramekins and garnish with a pastry twist or rosette from a sheet or half sheet of filo. Or a pumpkin shaped pastry dec.
Raspberry Tart: uses the dreaded Jell-O, raspberry no sugar type, frozen raspberries and 1/4 cup of real sugar, top with whipped cream. Whip the raspberries into the Jell-O with a fork so they break up. If pie pastry seems like too many carbs, use filo and bake individual tart shells. Do not fill until just before serving or pastry will be soggy. I know, you all hate Jell-O, but people LOVE this.
Fresh Fruit with Lemon Sauce and Caramel Crumbs: I usually make this with mostly real sugar, but control by using more fruit and less sauce and crumbs. (Exceptional...will post recipe if someone wants it.)
And for the restaurant people...listing the carb count is much more helpful information than saying "sugar free" or "low sugar" or "diabetic", even if you say it's an estimated carb count. Personally, I run like the wind to avoid any dessert labeled "diabetic"--usually a synonym for yucky.
←

It took me awhile to compose my post so I missed yours until just now. I fully agree with what you are saying here. The glycemic index is important for controlling blood sugars. It also appears, however, that different things affect different people differently so it is important for each person to find what works best for him or herself.

**andiesenji** · October 30, 2004

I make a bread pudding with a low carb bread and Splenda instead of sugar. No one can tell the difference.

I serve it barely warmed but with a warm sweetened cream slightly whipped with Splenda and cinnamon.

Holly Moore · October 30, 2004

I have been diagnosed Type II diabetes for maybe three years. I understand the glycemic index. It is also my understanding that the glycemic index is a measure of how quickly foods convert to sugar and more specifically how fast the body absorbs the sugar in food.

I have also found that when I follow a glycemic based diet such as Sugar Busters I lose weight and I can control my diabetes without meds. When I go off it, I need the meds.

I have been told that spikes in blood sugar are bad - that they contribute to the long term possible problems associated with diabetes. By measuring my blood sugar I know for me, at least, that the fastest way to spike it is to consume a dessert high in sugar.

Therefore my conclusion has been that while moderation of sugar intake is ok, minimization is better. My experience has been that minimization is tough and I fall off the sugar wagon too often. My experience is also that restaurants and especially restaurant dessert menus don't make it easy to stay away from high sugar foods. Moderation usually isn't an option. It's high sugar or nothing. And in higher cuisine restaurants where a dessert may be an assortment of dessert elements, the high sugar comes in waves.

I accept that people don't like to be reminded of dietary limitations, especially in an upscale restaurant. But just as a quality restaurant usually offers a vegetarian entree option there is no reason that a pastry chef, especially one with the skill levels found in a fine restaurant, can't offer one low glycemic index dessert - perhaps one built on ground nuts, 75% chocolate and Ben and Jerry's lo carb ice cream. Or something built on whole grain whole wheat flour. Or something that uses Splendra as a base, though it seems more of a challenge to create very low sugar spectacular desserts with only natural ingredients.

Common pastry chef wisdom may be that diners want sugary desserts. But I suspect there are plenty of diabetics out there who are either forced on guilt trips by ordering a typical dessert or who forgo desserts, bringing down a restaurant's average check. All it takes to evolve that common wisdom are a few talented pastry chefs with the guts and the imagination to conjure up some restaurant quality, low sugar, low glycemic index desserts that stand as equals to their regular desserts.

Please!

Wendy DeBord · October 30, 2004

First, as to having diabetic desserts on menus, I'd like to, I have no objections to it at all. I have a customer that requests diabetic desserts and I always go out of my way for them.

The problem is that the topic is complicated so much that I'm really not sure what I can or can not make. I've purchased and looked thru many diabetic specific baking books and sites on line and the more I read the more confused I become. One book will let you use sugar, the next one doesn't, the next one looks like anything goes but dairy, the next one looks like it's carb free you want, the next one's counting calories............it's all too confusing.

I can't get a solid grip on EXACTLY what I can do. If the medical powers that be could just agree and narrow things down then spell them out I think many of us would be happy to please this customer base. If you could just say "change out the sugar for splenda" I'd have a ton of ideas.

I made a chocolate cake from a diabetic dessert book I bought.......it came out ok. BUT then I tried to use the recipe they give you for frosting and that was impossible. It was whipped egg whites with nothing to stablize them, it was a joke. I searched and searched and never did find any frosting recipe suitable to use as frosting. I also made a panna cotta (I forget what the dairy was) I think it used lite cream........That was fine, but I wanted to serve it with fruit as an embellishment and the book I think said something about not using fresh fruits either.

If you all could just simplify the issues and agree on a couple major points we could probably make some decent desserts.

Which of these things can you have? I need a list of ingredients.

Sugar or splenda

Flour or nut flours

heavy cream, buttermilk, whole fat milk, butter.........what dairy can diabetics have?

And what about chocolate? The semi sweets and bittersweets don't have alot of sugar............can chocolate be used? Yes or no?

docsconz · October 30, 2004

I have also found that when I follow a glycemic based diet such as Sugar Busters I lose weight and I can control my diabetes without meds. When I go off it, I need the meds.
I have been told that spikes in blood sugar are bad - that they contribute to the long term possible problems associated with diabetes. By measuring my blood sugar I know for me, at least, that the fastest way to spike it is to consume a dessert high in sugar.
←

Holly, I am certainly not about to dispute what you are saying here about how desserts effect your sugar, as I said earlier, everyone is a bit different. But I am curious. When you have these sugary desserts what are you having them on top of? You certainly know food, but in my five year experience I found that I can eat almost anything without too much of an effect, if I eat it in the "proper" context, i.e. on top of protein, fat and fiber and so long as I take my medicine. Of course, that doesn't mean no effect :wink: but I follow my HgA1C's and so far they are pretty good. Unfortunately for me, too, when it comes to food, I don't have great willpower. Rather than avoid things, I just try to eat (or drink) them in that proper context. as far as the medicine is concrned, that has been a plus, not only for helping to control my blood glucose, but with triglycerides as well. My lipid profiles are now bette than they ever were before I was diagnosed.

Therefore my conclusion has been that while moderation of sugar intake is ok, minimization is better. My experience has been that minimization is tough and I fall off the sugar wagon too often. My experience is also that restaurants and especially restaurant dessert menus don't make it easy to stay away from high sugar foods. Moderation usually isn't an option. It's high sugar or nothing. And in higher cuisine restaurants where a dessert may be an assortment of dessert elements, the high sugar comes in waves.

I can't really argue with this, especially if it doesn't work for you otherwise. My point about today's Diabetes meds is that they really are good drugs. I suppose you are better off if you can maintain your blood sugar in such a way that you can avoid them, but each person must decide what he or she is willing (and able) to do to reach that end and if it is really worth it.

I accept that people don't like to be reminded of dietary limitations, especially in an upscale restaurant. But just as a quality restaurant usually offers a vegetarian entree option there is no reason that a pastry chef, especially one with the skill levels found in a fine restaurant, can't offer one low glycemic index dessert - perhaps one built on ground nuts, 75% chocolate and Ben and Jerry's lo carb ice cream. Or something built on whole grain whole wheat flour. Or something that uses Splendra as a base, though it seems more of a challenge to create very low sugar spectacular desserts with only natural ingredients.

This is a worthy goal. Personally, I think most desserts and dessert recipes in this country are way too sweet for my taste anyway so replacing sugar with Splenda is not the answer for me. I would be happy just with a reduction in the amount of sweeteners used.

Common pastry chef wisdom may be that diners want sugary desserts. But I suspect there are plenty of diabetics out there who are either forced on guilt trips by ordering a typical dessert or who forgo desserts, bringing down a restaurant's average check. All it takes to evolve that common wisdom are a few talented pastry chefs with the guts and the imagination to conjure up some restaurant quality, low sugar, low glycemic index desserts that stand as equals to their regular desserts.
Please!

Fortunately, I believe we are starting to see more of this, especially in more sophisticated restaurants in which flavor, texture and presentation are more important than gloppy sweetness.

**andiesenji** · October 30, 2004

There is a new Splenda product that is 1/2 sugar, 1/2 Splenda and it works great in egg whites.

rlibkind · October 30, 2004

I second and third what ruthcooks and docsconz say about the sugar myth. A diabetic can have foods with sugar in them, but does have to figure that sugar into his or her daily carbohydrate allotment.

And Holly is right on target complaining about restaurant desserts that are all high-sugar and high-fat, with nothing on the menu more moderate.

For the original poster, one of the easier and more satisfying desserts you can prepare at home is a simple angel food cake, adorned with some fruit and a dollop (not a big one) of whipped cream. You can even make a sauce of the fruit with a little bit of sugar or a sugar substitute like Splenda. Your choice of frozen berries works great for this.

The suggestion of a more savory dessert works, too. Perhaps a small but nice selection of two or three cheeses, with a few walnuts, a nice piece of fruit and a couple of whole grain high quality crackers -- hey, there are some great apples out there right now!

Keep in mind, some fruits are much more sugar-intensive than others. A four-ounce apple has a more moderate impact on blood glucose levels in most people than four ounces of table grapes. And raisins and dried fruits are off the charts unless eaten in very small quantities. Fresh or frozen whole berries are a great alternative; serving sizes (about 15 grams carbohydrate) can be about 3/4-cup for blueberries and raspberries to 1-1/4 cup for strawberries (remember, that's whole berries loosely packed, not chopped or cut up).

docsconz · October 30, 2004

First, as to having diabetic desserts on menus, I'd like to, I have no objections to it at all. I have a customer that requests diabetic desserts and I always go out of my way for them.
The problem is that the topic is complicated so much that I'm really not sure what I can or can not make. I've purchased and looked thru many diabetic specific baking books and sites on line and the more I read the more confused I become. One book will let you use sugar, the next one doesn't, the next one looks like anything goes but dairy, the next one looks like it's carb free you want, the next one's counting calories............it's all too confusing.
I can't get a solid grip on EXACTLY what I can do. If the medical powers that be could just agree and narrow things down then spell them out I think many of us would be happy to please this customer base. If you could just say "change out the sugar for splenda" I'd have a ton of ideas.
I made a chocolate cake from a diabetic dessert book I bought.......it came out ok. BUT then I tried to use the recipe they give you for frosting and that was impossible. It was whipped egg whites with nothing to stablize them, it was a joke. I searched and searched and never did find any frosting recipe suitable to use as frosting. I also made a panna cotta (I forget what the dairy was) I think it used lite cream........That was fine, but I wanted to serve it with fruit as an embellishment and the book I think said something about not using fresh fruits either.
If you all could just simplify the issues and agree on a couple major points we could probably make some decent desserts.
Which of these things can you have? I need a list of ingredients.
Sugar or splenda
Flour or nut flours
heavy cream, buttermilk, whole fat milk, butter.........what dairy can diabetics have?
And what about chocolate? The semi sweets and bittersweets don't have alot of sugar............can chocolate be used? Yes or no?
←

I think you hit the nail on the head. There is no clear single right answer for all people, although this is not for lack of trying to find one. To complicate matters further, for every ingredient that might be good for one aspect of health, it may have potentially adverse effects in other areas. For example nuts and green, leafy vegetables are generally thought (today) to be healthy, but for some people they can be major factors in the production of oh so painful kidney stones. We read a lot about the beneficial effects of wine, but then too much is no good either. Even vitamins like vitamin E are not without potential adverse effects. It is an extremely complex problem. Unfortunately, I don't see any definitive answers anytime in the near future with the possible exceptions of gene therapies or improved pharmacology. I have no confidence that the science of human nutrition will find universally applicable answers. That doesn't mean that people won't try to market things to assuage people's fears and in some cases they may even work!

Holly Moore · October 30, 2004

If you all could just simplify the issues and agree on a couple major points we could probably make some decent desserts.
Which of these things can you have? I need a list of ingredients.
Sugar or splenda
Flour or nut flours
heavy cream, buttermilk, whole fat milk, butter.........what dairy can diabetics have?
And what about chocolate? The semi sweets and bittersweets don't have alot of sugar............can chocolate be used? Yes or no?
←

Though neither doctor nor dietician, I am pretty well versed in the Sugar Busters diet which is based on the glycemic index and which has a good track record in lowering blood sugar to safe levels without meds.

Based on Sugar Busters - Nuts are fine, so is whole grain, whole wheat flour. So are most fruits with the exception of bananas and pineapple. So is 70% or higher cocoa content chocolate. So is brown rice which might make an interesting dessert base. As could, perhaps, whole wheat pasta. All the dairy products you mention are ok. Not sure about nut flours. Splenda is fine. So are eggs.

The Sugar Busters book lists a recipe for chocolate mousse from New Orlean's Windsor Court Hotel - using high cocoa chocolate, separated eggs, heavy cream and coffee.

I had enough luck with Sugar Busters that I haven't learned the Exchange System recommended for people with diabetes. Maybe someone familiar with it can add or subtract from the above.

scott123 · October 30, 2004

I second and third what ruthcooks and docsconz say about the sugar myth. A diabetic can have foods with sugar in them, but does have to figure that sugar into his or her daily carbohydrate allotment.
And Holly is right on target complaining about restaurant desserts that are all high-sugar and high-fat, with nothing on the menu more moderate.
For the original poster, one of the easier and more satisfying desserts you can prepare at home is a simple angel food cake, adorned with some fruit and a dollop (not a big one) of whipped cream. You can even make a sauce of the fruit with a little bit of sugar or a sugar substitute like Splenda. Your choice of frozen berries works great for this.
←

Are you really 'thirding' what docsconz says about the sugar myth? From what I hear him say, sugar is okay but only within the context of a mitigating protein, fat or fiber rich environment. The angel food cake you mention is none of the above.

scott123 · October 30, 2004

Yvegeny, from the responses to this thread, it sounds like there are a few different nutritional approaches to diabetes. I personally know quite a few people that have had success treating diabetes by following low carb ways of eating. I'm sure, though, that other approaches to diabetes work wonderfully as well. Regardless of the diverse opinions on diabetes and sugar intake, it sounds like your sugar free dessert parameters are pretty well set, not by you, but by someone else.

With that in mind, here is my recommendation for a simple tried and true, crowd pleasing dessert:

Sugar free cheesecake.

Cheesecake is one of the few desserts where the textural impact of the lost sugar is not as glaringly evident. I have a handful of widely popular splenda based recipes if you're interested.

And, when the topic of alternative sweeteners and diabetes arises, whey low is usually mentioned, because of its superior baking qualities. I am a very staunch critic of fructose and fructose based products being marketed to diabetics, who, I feel, are at the highest risk for health problems linked to their consumption.

rlibkind · October 31, 2004

Are you really 'thirding' what docsconz says about the sugar myth? From what I hear him say, sugar is okay but only within the context of a mitigating protein, fat or fiber rich environment. The angel food cake you mention is none of the above.
←

In general, yes, I'm "thirding" docsconz's basic point about the sugar myth, i.e, diabetics can incorporate sugar into their diet when consumed sensibly. However, I don't fully subscribe to the view that you should make a point of consuming it with fats and fibers, though that's fine. Fats and fiber certainly do influence the speed with which carbohydrates raise blood glucose levels, however.

Basically, it's total carbohydrates consumed that influence blood glucose. (Yes, there are other factors, like exercise. But for the purpose of this discussion we'll stick to food ingredients.) So you can certainly eat foods that contain sugars, you just have to incorporate the total carbohydrate count into your daily allotment.

Whole grains (which contain fiber) are converted more gradually than refined grains, so where possible they are preferred.

The influence of fat on blood glucose is interesting. It's my understanding that fat acts much the same way that alcohol does. A little bit has minimal impact, but larger quantities of either fat or alcohol (let's say the equivalent of two glasses of wine or more) tend, in many people, to immediately depress blood glucose levels because they interfere with the production of glucagon by the liver. What also tends to happen is that blood glucose levels rise inordinantly a few hours after consuming less than modest portions of fat and alcohol. These actions are of greatest concern for those who take insulin and/or oral medications which increase the efficiency of natural insulin.

Moderation is what's important. When it comes to sugar and other carbohydrates, sheer quantity has a greater influence than the particular qualities of the carbohydrate.

As to angel food cake, you're absolutely right: it has sugar, but little in the way of fiber and virtually no fat. But it's still a pretty good dessert choice for a diabetic when consumed in modest portions, even with a slighty sweetened berry topping. And if you want to add fat, hey, that's what the dollop of whipped cream is for!

Wendy DeBord · October 31, 2004

Can I stear this conversation more into baked goods/pastry so we can look to this thread and find some references for actual desserts?

Lets for a moment forget about how the person is managing their diet. I'd like to know specificly some frosting type recipes that I could use to finish a diabetic cake and still be able to label it as 'diabetic'. I hope it's safe to assume that most of you would agree that traditional frosting recipes making a frosting with large proportions of butter, sugar, xxxsugar or making whipped cream with heavy cream all are too much for a diabetic catagorized cake. What can a pastry chef use? Do any of you have frosting recipes that are diabetic you'd be willing to share?

Holly Moore · October 31, 2004

Can I stear this conversation more into baked goods/pastry so we can look to this thread and find some references for actual desserts?
Lets for a moment forget about how the person is managing their diet. I'd like to know specificly some frosting type recipes that I could use to finish a diabetic cake and still be able to label it as 'diabetic'. I hope it's safe to assume that most of you would agree that traditional frosting recipes making a frosting with large proportions of butter, sugar, xxxsugar or making whipped cream with heavy cream all are too much for a diabetic catagorized cake. What can a pastry chef use? Do any of you have frosting recipes that are diabetic you'd be willing to share?
←

With the same disclaimers I stated earlier, whipped heavy cream is fine if no sugar. Also a cream cheese base icing. My understanding is that the problem with Splenda is that it doesn't provide foundation - but is fine for sweeting, so you could probably add Splenda to either heavy cream or cream cheese.

Pure peanut butter is also ok, so a variation of that might make an interesting frosting ie cream cheese and peanut butter?

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