Baking With Sweet Freedom

This week has been quite a tough one at work. On the weekend I was in the mood to bake some things to get me through the long hours ahead, and as I have given up refined sugar for lent, I needed a reliable sugar substitute to use. So, when browsing some of the blogs I follow, I was prompted by a few of the recipes on Gemsmaquillage to try out Sweet Freedom – an all natural sugar free syrup.

Sugar free syrups usually ring alarm bells in my head. I think of chemicals and weird things that aren't any better for me than actual sugar. But Sweet Freedom is made from 100% fruit, and I was pleased to see there were only three ingredients listed: apples, grapes & carob.

It tastes just like normal syrup, but with a fruity sweetness, and I like it. I made Joy the Baker's browned butter blueberry muffins and these 5 ingredient granola bars (replacing the sugar and honey with Sweet Freedom) and they both turned out really well.

The muffins were especially good. I really couldn't tell they had been made with a sugar substitute. They were just as soft, fluffy and flavoursome as regular muffins and I will definitely be making them again.

At £2.99 a bottle, Sweet Freedom isn't as cheap or long lasting as a bag of sugar, and I think I'll reserve it for a topping for my pancakes or porridge in future. However, considering it's all natural and impossible to taste the difference in baked goods, it's definitely a repurchase for me, and I'd recommend it to anyone trying to cut down on refined sugar who still wants a sweet treat with their morning (or afternoon) coffee. Have you tried Sweet Freedom before? What are your go to sugar substitutes in baking? You can find out more about Sweet Freedom here.

DIY Breakfast Condiments - Blueberry Syrup

Although currently unemployed, I still maintain that Saturdays warrant a lie-in and breakfast of something other than porridge and green tea. That stuff may make my insides happy but I need my sugar fix sometimes. (All the time).

I like my condiments. Is that what they're called? I think of ketchup and mayonnaise but what else would you class maple syrup as? Well, this is my 'DIY condiment': Blueberry syrup, and it goes exceptionally well with my favourite homemade pancakes.

I can't remember where this idea came from, but it happened in the summer of 2010 when I was free all summer before embarking on a Creative Writing degree. I decided to make pancakes for breakfast pretty much every day. That was a good summer, and this was some good blueberry syrup.

We had some yucky blueberries in the fridge. Sorry, Asda but they were really bad. Mushy and flavourless, they were chucked into a pan with some Canadian maple syrup my parents brought back from their trip to Montreal. My attempt to save these little purple souls resulted in a beautiful bubbling blueberry topping for my pancakes. This made for a great start to my Saturday. 

You can also make this on a Sunday. Or a Monday. Or any day of the week. Hey, just because summer is over, doesn't mean we can't still have pancakes and blueberry syrup every day :)

Recipe for Blueberry Syrup

Ingredients:

• 150g blueberries (fresh or frozen)
• 3 tbsp maple syrup or golden syrup

Wash the blueberries, put them in a small saucepan on a low heat and add the syrup.

Leave to cook for about 10-15 mins, stirring occasionally.

When it looks like this, turn off the heat and let it cool slightly before transferring to a jug.

Serve with pancakes, waffles, french toast - whatever you fancy.

 

Do you like the idea of blueberries in a syrup? The pancakes absorbed it all up and turned a lovely purple colour! If you try this recipe let me know in the comment box below or tweet me @hello_flower.