For diabetics looking to fix their diets, cakes are often one of the first dessert items to go. Everything from the sponge and fruit-filled fillings to the colourful coats of frosting are loaded with carbohydrates and sugar – both no-nos for people with diabetes.
However, with the rise of diabetes-friendly cakes, that doesn’t mean diabetics with a sweet tooth are doomed to a cake-free existence for the rest of their days.
First, let’s break down what diabetes actually entails. It is a condition that causes your body to either stops responding to insulin, or doesn’t produce enough from your pancreas, leading to a build-up of glucose in your bloodstream.
Over time, high blood sugar causes problems like heart disease, nerve problems and eye issues, which is why people with diabetes need to monitor the amount of sugar and carbohydrates (which break down into glucose after digestion) they consume.
In particular, they watch out for processed food, candy and fruits which are low in fibre and high on the glycemic index (GI), a rating system that identifies foods based on how quickly the sugars within them can be absorbed into the bloodstream, leading to a spike in blood sugar.
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Nevertheless, with some 400,000 people in Singapore currently living with diabetes, it’s only expected that some would rise to the challenge of creating diabetes-friendly cakes for inclusive family celebrations (or the pleasure of guilt-free snacking).
As an added bonus, many of these low-sugar, low-carbohydrate cakes are suitable for those on the ketogenic diet too! Read on for a list of inclusive bakeries worth keeping on your radar.
1. Delcie's Desserts and Cakes
Delcie’s Desserts and Cakes is one of Singapore’s longest-standing health-focused bakeries. The humble Whampoa store was born in 2008 when its advertising director-turned-baker Delcie Lam decided to explore recipes that would better suit the diet of her then-cancer-stricken mother.
As it happened, her experiments with keto, vegan and diabetes-friendly cakes came at a fortuitous time, as she caught an early wave of health-conscious diners looking for inclusive desserts. Her bestsellers are all diabetic-friendly, including the Red Forest Cake, Mango Passionfruit Cake and Mud Fudge (a dairy-free chocolate cake) Her cakes start from $88 for all).
Delcie’s Desserts and Cakes
Location : Blk 34 Whampoa West, #01-83, Singapore 330034
Opening Hours: Tue - Sun, 11am – 8pm
Tel: +65 6282 2951
Website: https://delcies.com/
2. Kekito Bakery
As its name suggests, the five-year-old Kekito Bakery focuses on sugarless and flourless bakes for the keto crowd – meaning that its Japanese-inspired cakes, egg tarts and bread are friendly for those with diabetes as well.
In the cake department, there’s everything from the classics-turned-healthful like the Signature Yuzu Japanese Cheesecake (from $36) and Ichigo Strawberry Cotton Shortcake (from $65) to localised flavours in the form of a Pandan Coconut Ondeh Cake (from $65).
Collection is straightforward enough, as you can head to either their Everton Park flagship or their newly opened Tai Seng store.
Kekito Bakery
Location: Blk 3 Everton Park, #01-73, Singapore 080003
Opening Hours: Tue – Fri, 10am – 5pm; Sat & Sun, 10am – 3pm
Tel: +65 8774 7237
Website: https://kekitobakery.com/
3. Locaba Low-Carb Bakery Singapore
Locaba – as in Low Carb Bakery – is yet another establishment catering to the growing market of people looking for healthy food options. It eschews the chemicals and flavour enhancers that often make their way into commercially baked goods, opting instead for pricier, natural ingredients to flavour their bakes.
Adherents of the paleo, vegan and keto diet will have no problem finding familiar treats that suit their requirements – think Vegan Tiramisu (from $78), Chocolate Cheesecake (from $75) and Vegan Valrhona Chocolate Cake (from $78).
You can pick up your diabetic-friendly bakes from Erwin’s Gastrobar in the heart of town.
Locaba Low-Carb Bakery Singapore
Location: Erwin’s Gastrobar, 8A Marina Boulevard, #01-01, Ground Plaza, Singapore 018984
Opening Hours: Mon – Fri, 2pm – 5pm
Tel: +65 8876 5127
Website: https://locaba.sg/
4. The Clean Addicts
Bakes centred around healthy, whole foods are the name of the game for The Clean Addicts, an online-only bakery led by Andrea Lee, a certified nutrition coach (with Precision Nutrition) with kitchen time in vegan culinary schools like the Matthew Kenney Culinary Academy and Sayuri Healing Foods.
The plant- and fruit-forward slant of her diabetic-friendly cakes are pretty apparent with the raw produce (and a healthy heap of edible flowers) adorning bakes like the Vegan Cocoa Wholefoods Fudge Cake and Vegan Matcha & Sesame Fudge Cake (both from $69.80).
Her bakes are available for delivery or self-collection (see details below).
The Clean Addicts
Location: The Promenade @ Pelikat, 183 Jalan Pelikat, Singapore 537643
Opening Hours: Contact shop for self-collection details
Tel: +65 9635 3003
Website: https://thecleanaddicts.com/
5. Ange Bakes Keto Bakery
Ange Bakes is a partnership between two self-professed keto lovers looking to fill their “dessert stomach” – which everyone can agree feels like an altogether separate entity from our, er, main stomach – with low-carb bakes.
The home-based bakery recently upgraded to a full-fledged store in Bedok North, where it continues to sling popular low-sugar nosh like their Keto All Chocolate Cake ($68) and Keto Chocolate Swiss Roll ($24).
If you’re looking for a chance of pace from all the cakes, Ange Bakes also sells savoury items like a Ugly Keto Curry Puff ($25 for six) and Keto Korean Garlic Cream Cheese Burger Bun ($13.50).
Ange Bakes Keto Bakery
Location: JTC Bedok Food City, 1550 Bedok North, Avenue 4, #04-18, Singapore 489950
Opening Hours: Contact shop for self-collection details
Tel: +65 8488 0891
Website: https://www.angebakesketo.com/
6. Edith Patisserie
While most of the bakeries we’ve mentioned thus far bake low-carb, low-sugar options into their ethos, how about diabetic-friendly cakes from a bakery designed for the mass market?
Enter Edith Patisserie, a bustling operation that grew from an online-only store into a brand with three outlets and a central kitchen.
They have two sugar-free options listed on their site for now, including a Keto Raspberries & Cream Cake (from $69.30) and a Keto Chocolate Fudge Cake (from $69.80).
Edith Patisserie
Location: 275 Outram Rd, #01-00, Singapore 169064
Opening Hours: Daily, 10am – 7pm
Tel: +65 6443 7150
Website: https://www.edithpatisserie.com/
