Baking Club

For More Flavorful Desserts, Forget This Ingredient

August  2, 2018

The words "naturally sweetened" or "low-sugar" can sometimes seem, well... a little less exciting. We might assume that by giving up some of the sugar, we're giving up some of the flavor, too—the decadent goodness that makes dessert, dessert. Not so, says Joanne Chang, owner of Flour Bakery and all-around dessert wizard. And despite having a self-proclaimed "insatiable sweet tooth," she's discovered that less sugar can often mean more flavor.

She poured those learnings into her cookbook, Baking with Less Sugar, which has over 60 dessert recipes using natural sweeteners and little-to-no white sugar. You'll find a wide range of sweet (but not too sweet) treats to please every palate—from brownies and banana bread to cakes, pies, and pots de créme.

This month, our Baking Club is ready to embrace Chang's less-sugary creations. Hop on over to get in on the action with our Club, you don't even need to wait to for a copy of the book to arrive, because we've got six of Chang's wholesome recipes to get you started:


rather go savory?

Have a favorite natural sweetener? Fill us in below.

See what other Food52 readers are saying.

I like esoteric facts about vegetables. Author of the IACP Award-nominated cookbook, Cooking with Scraps.

0 Comments