Sugarless, Gluten-free, Lactose-free Swiss Roll

My friend from teenage years messaged me yesterday and told me that she had been diagnosed with diabetics two years ago. And she is two years my junior. I start to then recall how it is like to be a diabetic. I saw my father, who was diagnosed with diabetes, inject himself in the stomach with insulin every meal. I saw how painful his death was, as he lost his sight, his organs failed, and he was disorientated. He was only 58 and was determined to live, but as he lain in his sick bed, I saw how he literally rotted away.

My maternal grandmother died when I was two. I hardly remember her. My mother told me she too died of complications from diabetes. My paternal grandmother sat on a wheelchair for four years, and eventually succumbed to complication from diabetes as well.

The lifestyle of a diabetic patient and other I call ‘lifestyle’ patient is different from us who don’t need to abstain from food for protecting ourselves. I have heard of people just hoping to taste a slice of bread again, or to be able to eat a bowl of rice. Another celiac friend traveled to Hong Kong and found no restaurant with GF marked on them. She asked me why people aren’t afraid of cross-contamination. Can you imagine how it is like.

So, I decided to firstly, cut down sugar for my family. Type 2 diabetes is on the rise. People are consuming just too much sugar, and too much food. Everything we eat outside the house contains large amount of sugar, carbo and oil. Large amount. They need to make their food delicious so that we would patronize them.

Secondly, I hope for more people to bake such things for friends, family members and relatives who cannot otherwise enjoy baked goods. It is hard to get a gluten-free or sugar-free sponge cake, swiss roll or pandan cake. Even if you can get it, it costs a lot. For those of us who can purchase freely from shops, it may not mean much. But those who cannot, it means a lot.

So do someone a little big surprise today, if you can bake. Make a cake they can enjoy and reminisce the good old times when they were like you and me. Be a blessing. 🙂

The Ingredients

It is a bit tricky to replace sugar in baked goods or leave it out altogether. Sugar has an important function of providing moisture, as well as lifting a sponge cake. So by removing sugar altogether, the challenge in making a stable meringue is doubled. But I realized you can do so. The meringue I managed to make is no less stable than a usual one, and it is also easy to fold them into the smoothie.

For the flours, I have taken into consideration the dietary needs of celiacs and diabetics. Basically wheat is a nono. For diabetics, I am recommending a mix of tapioca starch and cornstarch. Both will make the cake super soft, but dry. For those avoiding gluten, you can use rice flour for a more stable cake.

Since the flours will take away the moisture, I focused on making the texture soft and fluffy. So yeah, this cake is super moist. If you use a good stevia with no bitter taste, nobody can really tell it is a sugarless and gluten-less one.

As for the filing, if you are lactose intolerant, choose the butter cream, but if you are severely lactose intolerant, pick something like a suitable peanut butter.

This cake is very nice even for those who need not abstain. But abstinence, when done not out of desperation, is always good.