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I really enjoy reading the kitchn, but the Amana ad pop-up is a huge disappointment everytime I open the page.

I made the carrot cake from 101cookbooks last week:

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/carrot-cake-recipe.html

Deeelicious, sweetened with bananas and dates.

Health-conscious kids cookbooks are good sources of low-sugar treats w/zero artificial ingredients. My fave is Baby Bistro by Joohee Muromcew. The carrot cake is excellent, as is the low-sugar cream cheese icing. There's a simple chocolate cake and I think a couple others as well. These I haven't tried but based on the success of the carrot, I will.

My mother has type one diabetes, which is a very different disease from type 2, but I've been making low-sugar baked goods for her all my life and I've learned a few things. Here are two points, but do take me with a grain of salt, I readily admit that I don't know much about type 2 diabetes.
1)sugar that is not white granulated sugar is still sugar. that includes maple syrup, honey, agave nectar and molasses. some of those options metabolize differently than white sugar, and that may make more of a difference with type 2 than type 1, but I've found that a better option is to reduce the overall sugar content, not simply replace sugar with a different kind of sugar. same goes for fruit. fruit is sugar. it may be healthier to eat some raisins than a bit of white sugar (and metabolize slower), but it is still sugar. Most recipes, even baking recipes, you can get away with putting in a lot less sugar than they tell you. I usually decrease it by at least a third. If the proportions don't look right, add a little more of another dry ingredient or a little less of a wet ingredient.
2) don't use frosting. frostings are very high in sugar and fat and usually not much else. there are lots of other ways of decorating cakes. Unsweetened whipped cream, maybe flavored with cinnamon or almond extract or something, is good frosting alternative for layer cakes. whip it a little looser than you would if you were using it as a topping. even if you add a couple tablespoons of sugar it will have less sugar than frosting and be delicious. single layer cakes are easier. I like dust lighter colored cakes with unsweetened cocoa powder, make a stencil pattern and it will look really classy. i also make an upside down cake using sage leaves instead of syrupy fruit, grease and flour the pan well and put the leaves in a round spoke pattern. it looks beautiful.
happy birthday to your dad and good luck!

I am allergic to cane sugar and hate artificial sweeteners so modify recipes a lot that happen to work out for diabetics. I am also not a fan of things that are too sweet so reducing overall sweetener content is fine. For light-tasting cakes I modify a recipe to use agave nectar that is lower on the glycemic index. If I do frosting I'll just do whipping cream with a little agave nectar. You can consider doing a fresh fruit apple pie with no added sweetener.

This is admittedly a very silly idea, but you could always make him a savory cake: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/birthday-meatloaf-cake

Then, for dessert, maybe just cupcakes (I'll second the vote for 101 cookbook's carrot cake).

I agree with shlowzl, and as far as I know, ppl with Type 2 diabetes have to avoid sugar, the same as ppl with Type 1 diabetes.

You can substitute sugar (i.e., sugar, maple syrup, fruits) with things that have a low glycemic index like agave...but the most common option (and I know ppl don't want to hear this) is to use Splenda for baking.

Not that I know anything about the situation or diabetes or medicine in general, but: I think it's more important for his overall well-being that Amanda's dad approach food in a different way (i.e. not like a "single man who hates to cook"). So while the sugar content, natural or otherwise of whatever treats he consumes should be taken into account, it's probably more helpful in the long run- for anyone- to just incorporate more healthful ingredients in one's diet. I really think Sara Kate's Harvest Cake (and related post) really tries to get that point across.

That's also just my way of casting a vote for that cake. It's probably my favorite post and recipe on this website ever but I've yet to actually make it myself (because I idealize it too much maybe?).

I've attempted to use Splenda for baking and it never works alone. Sugar adds moistness to finished baked goods as well as absorbs moisture from the ingredients. You absolutely cannot make a cake from Splenda alone. Usually, I use a 50/50 blend of Splenda and sugar in cakes which have fruit or vegetables in them to produce decent texture and reduced sugar.

I have good success with a 50/50 Splenda/sugar blend in things like banana bread and pumpkin cake because the puree adds in moisture that is lost from reducing the sugar.

I think the best you can hope to do is find cakes with Splenda, applesauce, and dates and experiment with the recipes to see if you can find a decent texture. Every time I've tried Splenda alone in a relatively standard cake recipe, the result has been very rubbery.

Maple syrup and raisins are still very high in sugar content! Type 2 diabetes patients must stay off ALL sugar, preferably even cut down on "slow" sugar as in carbohydrates. I suggest switching over to a High Fat diet (Low Carb, High Fat etc) , it has helped my dad overcome his Type 2 risk to a point where he doesn't need to take the tablets anymore!

With frequent exercise (and that means every day) you can still eat some slow carbs, but we got the best results with completely staying off all sources of sugar (=carbohydrates). This includes artificial sweeteners and "sugar free" things. The "sugar free" substances often raise the bloodsugar (forcing insulin production) just as much as pure sugar.

The best you can do is to read up on Type 2 diabetes and I HIGHLY recommend an LCHF diet.

If you still want to make something sweet for dessert, I would recommend making your own chocolate mousse with a really rich, high cocoa contents chocolate (at least 70% cocoa), eggs and full cream (some real vanilla can be added - no essence/extract! (they're almost always infused with corn syrup or molasses) - if you don't like the bitterness of the chocolate).

I would caution against becoming the food police. It is highly unlikely that his birthday cake will "push him over the edge" into diabetes, and you can ultimately create more problems than you solve if allow food to become loaded up with sexy stigma. Learning to eat in a healthy, low sugar way is about a hell of a lot more than Splenda and low sugar birthday cakes. That being said, Deborah Madison has a recipe for corn polenta coffee cake with berries. It is relatively low sugar, easy and inexpensive to make with frozen berries, and totally yummers.

I'm sure your Dad's birthday has passed, but a good low-sugar cake solution for adults is to serve an excellent chocolate cake (not the fudgy flourless kind) with very lightly sweetened whipped cream. Add a tablespoon of rum while you are whipping for an extra layer of flavor.

But, also, cmcinnyc, thanks for the nice words about my book. I would love to thank you by donating a signed copy to the library or non-profit of your choice. Email me at joohee@muromcew.com.

Thanks, Joohee Muromcew, author of "The Baby Bistro Cookbook"