Berries are my favorite fruit, whether eaten alone or baked into pies and cobblers. I’ve recently backed some berry recipes using stevia instead of sugar.
I’m not suggesting that stevia is perfect as a sweetener, and there is a lot of controversy about it, especially, the processed stevia. However, for someone who cannot have any sugar and doesn’t want to consumer aspertame, stevia is a better choice. Here is a well-researched article discussing stevia and its safety.
In these recipes, you can substitute equal amounts of sugar, but always taste test for your own sweetness preference.
I bake with berries all year long because berry pies, tarts, cobblers are my favorite dessert, and discovered recently that frozen berries work just as well as fresh. I’ll admit that it takes a little playing around to get the amount right. Not enough and berries won’t be sweet; too much and there will be an after taste.
One way to boost the sweetness is to marinate the berries for several hours to overnight in the stevia. You have to taste them and adjust for your preference and keep in mind that berries lose sweetness when they bake. One way I got around this was to add in a few raw strawberries to the mix. They naturally sweeten things up.
Blackberries are more of a challenge, as they aren’t that sweet to start with and they usually need a lot of sugar, so I tend to add in about 25% more stevia.
I’ve only put pie crust toppers on these to keep the carbs low. This gives you a nice piece of pie in a jar for at most 150 calories. This means you can have dessert just about every night of the week!
If you don’t want to make jar recipes, you can do this. Just double the recipe. How pretty is this, and the pie crust was sensational. Some days it just turns out more perfect than other days. Use a half recipe of my perfect pie crust found here, with a video tutorial. If you want to make this healthier, try my spelt pie crust, also with a video tutorial. It’s nutty and I actually prefer it with berries.
So tell me, have you tried to bake with stevia before? Do you have dessert recipes with stevia? I’d love to hear about them.
- 6 wide mouth half pint jars or 6 ramekins
- 1 12 ounce bag frozen berries (or fresh)
- handful strawberries (optional)
- ¼ cup stevia in the raw
- ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon tapioca or cornstarch (optional)
- ¼ recipe pie crust (skip the sugar)
- Marinate berries for at least one hour in stevia and cinnamon.
- Roll out pie crust, cut out to your liking and refrigerate.
- Before baking add in tapioca for thickening
- You could put a bottom crust in, but I recommend not doing that. Fill berries in jars leaving one inch at least at the top.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees.
- 2 (12 ounce bags) frozen blackberries or 1 pints blackberries
- ½ cup strawberries (for natural sweetness, optional)
- ½ cup raw stevia
- zest and juice of ½ lemon
- dash cinnamon
- dash nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons tapioca (for thickening)
- ½ pie crust recipes (skipping sugar)
- Put all ingredients into a bowl (except pie dough) and marinate in refrigerator overnight. Taste for sweetness. Make adjustments, and keep in mind that blackberries lose their sweetness while cooking.
- Put into pie pan or baking dish that holds the fruit.
- Roll out Pie Crust. Cut 2 inch strips and form a lattice.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
Just so you know stevia in the raw isn’t actually good. It’s made by the same company that makes sweet n low so it’s got a lot more chemicals than you think. Try better stevia. It only has a couple ingredients. Pretty close to puse.
I love the tip about letting the frozen berries sit with the stevia so you can taste the sweetness level! I’m definitely going to try that.
Thanks Nikki. It’s all trial and error with stevia.
What pretty berry desserts made with stevia. I have used it a bit, but just in tea and coffee, not to really cook with. I am happy to see berry cobblers like desserts on this bitterly cold morning in Nashville. You stay warm and cozy.
thanks Teresa. I’m warm and cozy and enjoying the sunshiney days.