Sugarless Cupcakes

Most sugar free jams are going to have AS or sugar alcohols in them... If they don't have either, they are sweetened with fruit juice, which is still sugar.

Honestly I can understand people being concerned about using AS with kids, and I am not sure what I would do in the same situation.  However, I know I would be angry as a mother if someone gave my kid a cake, said it was sugar-free, but instead have it sweetened with refined fructose.

I dunno, maybe Mrs R has the answer.  Or a cake with sugar, but maybe slightly less.  Or less cake and more sliced fruit on top. Edit: Or maybe the WWII cake would work.

What about stevia (if you can get it there)?  Just a thought.    It calls for very little since it's super sweet, so you wouldn't need NEARLY as much as you would for sugar.

If you decide to try it, I found this recipe online for chocolate cake:
3/4 cup margarine
1/4 tsp stevia powder
2 1/2 tsp egg replacer
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup instant dry milk
1/3 cup cocoa
1/4 cup boiling water
1 cup water, room temperature

How to Prepare:
Cream margarine and stevia. Add egg substitute and vanilla, mix for 1 minute. In a separate bowl, dissolve cocoa in boiling water. Add flour, baking powder, dry milk and cocoa mixture to batter. Slowly ad in room temperature water and beat until smooth. Pour into 9" greased square pan, bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Place on wire rack to cool.

I thought you couldn't get stevia here. But maybe it is the same as it was in the US, you have to call a food additive instead of a sweetener. 

You can order it from online suppliers, but I think they have to call it a supplement. It can be a PITA to order it, so I didn't mention it.  You won't find it in your H&B or HFS. It's not as restricted in the US any more.  Things like Truvia and PureVia are sweeteners with stevia as the main source of the sweetness. Truvia also uses a sugar alcohol.  [EDIT: If you can get your hands on some Truvia, although it has a sugar alcohol in it, the one they use is erythritol, which is the one that causes the least problems with gastro-intestinal side effects.  It's also used with sweetening chocolate for people avoiding sugar, and is meant to complement the taste really well]

If you can get stevia, I'd still use some other sugar as well (unless you get something like Truvia).  Some people find stevia has a really bad after taste, but that can be minimized a bit by using another sweetener or sugar.  Some people don't detect it, but it could still ruin the taste of a cake for others.

If you are concerned about AS, stevia is still an AS and there has been some concerns over the years about its safety.  I think it is a safe bet to use with kids, not because it's natural, but because I think its ban has largely been political (but I also think some of the problems with some of the other--not all--AS has been political with the sugar and corn lobbies being behind the smear campaigns).  It's probably a better bet than some of the sugar alcohols if you're avoiding GI side effects with little kids.

FYI: the WW2 recipe is nice. Not as sweet as a sponge cake but not as unsweet as a scone. Sort of in the middle. Lovely, really spongy and light. I'm going to do another batch with more dried fruit and lemon juice and see if it gets even better. I'm really pleased with them, going to do those for the girls nursery.