fructose free (except in fruit)

The time came for me to give up sugar. It had been delayed by a pregnancy and then adjusting to life with a baby and then holiday season, but after a week long camp where sugary food was on offer five times a day, it was time to cut down. Then the headaches started and I realised it really was a problem for me.

My goal in quitting sugar was really to break the addiction. I didn't like the lack of self control I exhibited when chocolate was nearby and wanted to beat the desire within me. I haven't been hugely strict. At parties or at someone's house I'll have a taste of whatever they've made. Giving up baking made leaving sugar behind hard, but I have (only a month or so into my journey) begun experimenting with stevia, dextrose and rice malt syrup. So far nothing I have produced has been as alluring as Martha Stewart's Ultimate Brownies, but that's the point, right? (my one attempt at fructose free brownies is in the cupboard, about to find its way to the bin...)

I'm having a Tupperware Party on Thursday and I'm planning the dessert menu. As well as fruit and cheese, I'm going to try Banoffee Pie using the caramel sauce recipe from David Gillespie's Sweet Poison Cookbook, whipped cream, bananas and a fructose-free version of Momofuku Milk Bar's crack pie base.

First, make the oat cookie:

oat cookie recipe

makes 1 tray-sized cookie
115g butter, melted
1/3 cup rice malt syrup
3 tbs dextrose powder
1 egg
8g (1/2 cup) flour
120g (1 1/2 cups) rolled oats
0.5g (1/8 tsp) baking powder
0.25g (pinch) baking soda
2g (1/2 tsp) salt

1. heat the oven to 170°C.
2. combine the butter, syrup and dextrose in a bowl. Add the egg and stir well (this can be done with an electric mixer if that is easier for you!)
3. add the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir until all remnants of dry ingredients have been incorporated. the dough will be a slightly fluffy, fatty mixture in comparison to your average cookie dough. scrape down the sides of the bowl.
4. spray a quarter sheet pan and line with parchment, or just line the pan with a silpat. plop the cookie dough in the center of the pan and, with a spatula, spread it out until it is 1/4 inch thick. the dough won’t end up covering the entire pan; this is ok.
5. bake for 15 minutes, or until it resembles an oatmeal cookie-caramelized on top and puffed slightly but set firmly. cool completely before using. wrapped well in plastic, the oat cookie will keep fresh in the fridge for up to 1 week.

And to make the base using the cookie:

15 g (1 tbs) rice malt syrup
1 g (1/4 tsp) salt
55 g (4 tbs) butter, melted, or as needed


1. heat the oven to 170°C.
2. put the oat cookie, syrup, and salt in a food processor and pulse it on and off until the cookie is broken down into a wet sand. (if you don’t have a food processor, you can fake it till you make it and crumble the oat cookie diligently with your hands.)
3. Add the butter, and knead the butter and ground cookie mixture until moist enough to form into a ball. if it is not moist enough to do so, melt an additional 14 to 25 g (1 to 1½ tablespoons) butter and knead it in.
4. divide the oat crust evenly between 2 (10-inch) pie tins. using your fingers and the palms of your hands, press the oat cookie crust firmly into each pie tin, making sure the bottom and sides of the tin are evenly covered. bake for 10-15 minutes, until shells begin to brown.

then make it into banoffee:
Cover cooled base with a thin layer of caramel sauce. Whip cream and fold 2 sliced bananas through it. Dollop on top of pie. Top with remainder of sliced banana. Drizzle liberally with caramel sauce.