[takethecake]

A friend of mine will *hopefully* be undergoing a double lung transplant for cystic fibrosis this year. Post-op, he will have a limited diet. Part of this is due to immunosuppresants. The other part is due to the steroids he'll be taking, which can cause diabetes.

He hopes to have a get-together once he feels up to it after the surgery, and I want to bake him a cake. Before I did research on transplant surgery, I thought I'd just bake a regular white cake with pink coloring, frost it and lay pink fondant and design it to look like a pair of lungs. However, due to the steroid induced diabetes, I have nixed the fondant for a sugar-free frosting recipe and would like to find a good sugar-free or low sugar white cake recipe. I would prefer to use Splenda or Stevia.

I have read negative things about agave nectar for diabetics, so that is out.

I do have a WONDERFUL recipe for vegan cake, replacing maple syrup (which comes in sugar-free) for sugar. Would this work for a diabetic/someone watching their blood sugar?

I have never baked with artificial sweeteners, so any and all guidance is appreciated!

[Mezzaluna]

I'll be eager to read the suggestions. Sugar being a "wet" ingredient, therefore providing moisture, I wonder how to get around that.

Did I read here somewhere that someone made sugar-free fondant??? Or was I dreaming?

[Ishbel]

Frankly, if it would injure his health to take sugars onboard, why put chemical derivatives in its place?

I am diabetic. I don't eat cake. Mind you, I haven't eaten cake since WAAAAAY before I was diabetic!

[takethecake]

If there were a sugar-free option, such as using Splenda or Truvia (stevia) which are "more natural" than Equal or Sweet n Low, I'd like to use that for the cake. I have found some sugar-free options for icing, but if there's a sugar-free fondant that would rock! But since fondant is just confectioner's sugar, glycerin and corn syrup (plus other stuff I can't remember), I don't think it's possible Maybe that could be my new pet project!

I think for one slice of cake, one time, he'll be okay with Splenda or Truvia. However, using the real stuff might cause some immediate problems for the steroid induced diabetes.

Thanks for your input!