Sweet doesn't have to mean white sugar

A sweet tooth is a sweet tooth. Who says you need refined sugar? Some bakers prefer to experiment with the ever-increasing options, sweeteners such as agave, barley malt syrup, brown rice syrup, date sugar, fruit juice sweeteners, honey, maple syrup and sugar, molasses, sorghum and sucanat. Each offers its own slightly different twist -- and nuance -- to baked goods.

Alicia Berns, an avid and intrepid baker and New York City transplant to Minneapolis, understands how these sweet ingredients can make or break a cake. Long interested in sugar alternatives, she's been working with the wide range of naturally sweet options to the benefit of neighborhood kids, family and friends.

While her knowledge comes from years of experience baking (first with her Italian grandmother and extended family, and later for hordes of hungry friends), she researches relentlessly, ever curious about tasty options. In her recipes that follow, the alternative sweetener is more than merely a sugar substitute; it enhances flavor.

Here are some sweetener options, along with substitution guidelines from Berns.

Agave nectar: Extracted from the agave plant, this nectar is about 11/2 times sweeter than refined sugar, so you need to use less. Its taste resembles honey, though it's less viscous. The nectar comes in three grades: light, medium and amber, with the light having the most neutral taste. If substituting it for 1 cup of white sugar, use 2/3 cup of agave and reduce the other liquids in the recipe by 1/4 cup. The nectar is wonderful with chocolate, and brings out its floral notes.

Barley malt syrup: Thick, dark and bold-tasting, the syrup is made from sprouted barley. It's a good substitute for molasses (and is lovely when paired with it, as in the recipe here). It has a bitter back note that can be softened with a little honey, maple syrup or maple or date sugar. Barley malt syrup can be substituted 1:1 for sugar, but you will need to reduce the total amount of liquid in the recipe by 1/4 cup per cup of syrup.

Brown rice syrup: This is a thick, minimally refined sweetener, mild and creamy, made from rice starch. It can be used interchangeably with honey in cooking and baking.

Fruit juice sweeteners: Often made with apple or grape concentrates as a base, these have other juice concentrates added to adjust flavor. Substitute these for white sugar by reducing the liquid by a third.

Honey: It ranges in flavor and color depending on the plant from which the bees extracted the flower pollen. In baked goods, substitute a very scant cup of honey for sugar and decrease the liquid by 3 tablespoons; add 1/8 teaspoon baking soda and decrease the oven by 25 degrees. Honey is 20 to 60 times sweeter than sugar, so plan to use less. (Don't give honey to infants under 1 year of age.)

Maple syrup: One of our oldest sweeteners, this is distinctly mild and fragrant. In baked goods, substitute 3/4 cup maple syrup for 1 cup sugar, decrease the liquid by 3 tablespoons and add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda.

Maple sugar: This is what's left when all the liquid has been cooked out of the maple syrup. The wonderful earthy flavor imparts a light fragrance to baked foods. It is about twice as sweet as refined sugar, so use less.

Molasses: Made from the juice of sun-ripened sugar cane, molasses is the residue of the cane syrup after the crystals have been separated. It gives dark gingerbread its unique color and kick.

Sucanat: The trade name for this minimally refined, evaporated organic sugarcane juice stands for SUgar CAne NATural. It is granular and should be measured like sugar, but it has a distinctly molasses-like or dark brown sugar hint. It's not to be confused with turbinado sugar, which contains only a little of its molasses content. Sucanat retains its full molasses content and flavor.