How to Use Trehalose in Pastry, Confectionery and Meringue

TREHA® trehalose is particularly useful in pastry and confectionery because it allows you to control sweetness, texture and stability separately.

At about 40% as sweet as ordinary sugar, TREHA® can replace part of the sucrose while retaining useful sugar solids in the recipe.[1]

Depending on the application, TREHA® can help with:

• meringue stability
• crispness
• humidity resistance
• reduced stickiness and weeping
• pastry-layer definition
• ganache handling
• clearer chocolate and fruit flavours
• colour and aroma retention
• storage stability.[1]

The right amount varies enormously by recipe.

In puff pastry, only a small functional addition may be required. In dry meringue or icing, TREHA® can make up most of the sugar system.

The important question is therefore not “How much sugar should I always replace?”

It is:

What do you want TREHA® to do in the recipe?

TREHA® Ratios at a Glance

These are starting points rather than maximum levels.[1]

For a broader overview across baking and other foods, see How Much Trehalose Should I Use? →.

1. Italian Meringue

Italian meringue is one of the best places to experiment with TREHA®.

A useful starting point is:

30–50% of the sugar replaced with TREHA®.[1]

For example, if your normal recipe contains 200g sugar:

30% replacement:

140g sucrose + 60g TREHA®

50% replacement:

100g sucrose + 100g TREHA®.

A professional Sosa formulation uses equal quantities of sucrose and trehalose in an Italian lemon meringue.[2]

Why use it?

TREHA® can help you create a meringue that is:

• less sweet
• stable
• finely aerated
• elastic
• resistant to weeping.

Research on egg-white systems also supports the ability of trehalose-containing formulations to produce stable foams.[3]

What to compare

Run your normal recipe alongside a TREHA® version and compare:

• peak volume
• bubble size
• gloss
• stability after piping
• weeping
• sweetness.

If you mainly want less sweetness while retaining structure, 40–50% is a particularly useful range to explore.

2. Chiffon and Soufflé Meringue

Where meringue provides structural lift in chiffon cake or soufflé, start with:

30–40% of the meringue sugar replaced with TREHA®.[1]

This is useful where you want to maintain a light aerated structure without making the finished product excessively sweet.

It works particularly well with:

• citrus
• chocolate
• coffee
• vanilla
• nut flavours.

If you are working specifically with chiffon cake, the wider cake formulation may need a different total replacement percentage, so treat the meringue component separately from the rest of the batter.

3. Chocolate Meringue

Chocolate and cocoa can make egg-white foams more difficult to stabilise because of their fat content.

TREHA® is useful here because it can support foam stability without requiring the same level of sweetness as sucrose.[4]

A sensible first trial is:

30–40% replacement of the meringue sugar.

Possible applications include:

• chocolate soufflé
• cocoa meringue
• dacquoise
• chocolate sponge
• nut-based aerated cakes.

Keep the rest of the formulation unchanged initially so you can judge the effect of TREHA® alone.

4. Dry Meringue

Dry meringue is one of the applications where TREHA® can be used at much higher levels.

Start around:

70–80% of the sugar system.

Professional NAGASE formulations use approximately 83–90% TREHA® in some dried-meringue applications.[1]

This can be useful where you want:

• very low sweetness
• crisp texture
• resistance to humidity
• good storage stability
• stronger fruit or aromatic flavours.

For example, if the sugar system totals 200g:

75% TREHA® would give:

50g sucrose + 150g TREHA®.

This is one area where it is reasonable to move well beyond the usual 20–30% substitution used in cakes and biscuits.

5. Puff Pastry

Puff pastry uses TREHA® differently.

There may be little conventional sugar to replace.

Instead, add TREHA® at around:

2% of the détrempe weight, excluding the roll-in butter.[1]

For example:

1kg base dough → around 20g TREHA®.

How to use it

Add TREHA® during mixing of the base dough.

What it can help with

NAGASE associates TREHA® with:

• finer pastry layers
• crispness
• humidity resistance
• reduced fat migration.[1,4]

This is particularly useful for pastry that will be:

• filled
• assembled ahead of service
• refrigerated
• displayed for several hours.

Applications include:

• mille-feuille
• palmiers
• vol-au-vents
• pastry cases
• laminated dessert components.

Judge the pastry not only immediately after baking, but several hours after filling or storage.

6. Choux Pastry

For choux:

start with TREHA® at around 2–3% of the total formulation.[1]

For example:

1kg total mixture → 20–30g TREHA®.

How to use it

Add the TREHA® with the liquid phase so that it dissolves completely before the eggs are incorporated.

What to look for

Compare:

• shell regularity
• internal cavity
• shell texture
• moisture after filling
• quality after refrigeration.

TREHA® is particularly useful in:

• éclairs
• profiteroles
• Paris-Brest
• filled choux buns.

For filled choux, assess the product after several hours rather than immediately after baking.

7. Cookies and Biscuits

For ordinary cookies:

start around 30% sugar replacement.[1]

For sablé:

20–30%.

For galette:

20–40%.

Example: a cookie recipe containing 200g sugar.

At 30% replacement:

140g sucrose + 60g TREHA®.

Trehalose-containing cookies have shown improved ability to remain in a crisp glassy state under challenging moisture conditions.[5]

A separate experimental study also found good cookie characteristics at higher levels of trehalose substitution, indicating that you can move beyond 30% once you understand the effect in your recipe.[6]

What to compare

Look at:

• crispness
• spread
• colour
• sweetness
• humidity resistance
• texture after 24–72 hours.

For very crisp biscuits, move upwards gradually from 30%.

8. Financiers

For financiers:

start with 15–20% sugar replacement.[1]

This works well because financiers already contain significant butter and nut flavour.

TREHA® can help reduce sweetness so that:

• browned butter
• almond
• hazelnut
• vanilla

become more prominent.

For a recipe containing 200g sugar:

20% replacement gives:

160g sucrose + 40g TREHA®.

Keep the remainder of the formulation unchanged for the first trial.

9. Madeleines

For madeleines:

start around 20–40% sugar replacement.[1]

A conservative first test is 25%.

Example:

200g sugar becomes:

150g sucrose + 50g TREHA®.

Compare:

• moisture
• crumb softness
• flavour
• colour
• quality the following day.

TREHA® is particularly useful when you want citrus, vanilla, butter or honey notes to remain more prominent.

10. Ganache

Ganache is one of the most useful applications for TREHA®.

Chocolate already contains sugar, so adding more sucrose, glucose or invert sugar for texture and shelf behaviour can quickly make a filling too sweet.

Start with:

around 20% TREHA® within the sugar component.[1]

Professional NAGASE formulations combine TREHA® with invert sugar rather than relying on one sugar alone.[7]

Why use it?

TREHA® can help create ganache that is:

• less sweet
• more chocolate-forward
• smooth
• easy to handle
• stable in shape
• less prone to shrinkage during storage.[7]

How to trial it

Do not replace 20% of the chocolate.

Replace part of the added sugar system.

Then compare:

• sweetness
• firmness
• cutting quality
• piping behaviour
• contraction after storage
• chocolate flavour.

This is particularly useful in:

• moulded chocolates
• truffles
• pralines
• tart fillings
• layered desserts.

11. Truffles

For truffle fillings:

start with 20–30% sugar replacement.

NAGASE gives a broader working range of approximately 20–50%.[1]

Move higher if:

• the chocolate itself is already sweet
• you want a stronger cocoa character
• the filling is becoming cloying.

A darker chocolate formulation may tolerate substantially more TREHA® than a milk-chocolate filling.

12. Pâte de Fruit

Pâte de fruit is one of the strongest fruit applications.

Start around:

50% of the sugar system replaced with TREHA®.[1]

Example:

500g total sugar system →

250g conventional sugar + 250g TREHA®.

Why use it?

TREHA® can help with:

• lower sweetness
• reduced weeping
• colour retention
• clearer fruit flavour.

Trehalose has also been studied for its ability to help retain volatile fruit aroma compounds during processing.[9]

This is especially useful with strong fruit flavours such as:

• raspberry
• blackcurrant
• strawberry
• apricot
• passion fruit
• cherry
• citrus.

A fruit confection should taste primarily of fruit, not just sugar.

13. Marshmallow and Guimauve

For marshmallow:

start with 20–30% sugar replacement.[1]

Example:

300g conventional sugar →

210–240g sucrose + 60–90g TREHA®.

TREHA® can help produce:

• lower sweetness
• cleaner bite
• less surface stickiness
• softer texture.

This is especially useful in flavoured marshmallows where a large sugar load can mask:

• fruit
• vanilla
• chocolate
• spices
• coffee.

14. Soft Caramel

For soft caramel:

start with 20–35% sucrose replacement.[1]

TREHA® can help with:

• controlled sweetness
• reduced stickiness
• reduced weeping
• clearer dairy flavour
• lighter colour development.

Use it particularly where you want:

• milk caramel
• butter caramel
• caramel centres
• caramel creams
• lighter-coloured confectionery.

If deep caramel flavour and dark colour are central to the recipe, keep a greater proportion of conventional sugar.

15. Nougat

For conventional nougat:

start around 10–30% sugar replacement.[1]

Once the formulation is stable, substantially higher levels can be explored.

Some specialist applications can use TREHA® at around 60% of the sugar system.[1]

TREHA® can help with:

• reduced sweetness
• cleaner bite
• less tooth-stick
• shape stability
• clearer nut and honey flavours.

Because nougat recipes vary so widely, start conservatively and adjust one batch at a time.

16. Florentines

Florentines can tolerate surprisingly high levels of TREHA®.

Professional guidance allows levels approaching:

70% of the sugar component.[1]

For a first test, begin lower — around 40–50% — and then increase if required.

TREHA® can help with:

• crispness
• humidity resistance
• reduced tooth-stick
• lower sweetness
• clearer nut flavour.

This is particularly useful where you want brittle rather than chewy Florentines.

17. Crème Pâtissière

For pastry cream:

start around 40% sugar replacement.[1]

Example:

100g sugar becomes:

60g sucrose + 40g TREHA®.

This can help reduce sweetness while allowing:

• milk
• egg
• vanilla
• fruit

to come through more clearly.

It may also help reduce water release and maintain a smooth cream.[1]

Applications include:

• éclairs
• fruit tarts
• mille-feuille
• Danish pastry
• choux fillings
• plated desserts.

18. Chantilly Cream

A useful NAGASE formulation uses:

6% sucrose + 6% TREHA® relative to cream weight.[1]

For 500g cream:

30g sucrose + 30g TREHA®.

This gives a moderate total sweetness while retaining sufficient sugar solids.

It is particularly useful where you want the flavour of:

• cream
• vanilla
• coffee
• fruit

to remain prominent.

19. Buttercream

For buttercream:

start around 20% sugar replacement.[1]

This is a particularly easy way to reduce the sweetness of conventional buttercream without simply removing sugar solids.

It works well with:

• chocolate
• coffee
• pistachio
• hazelnut
• fruit
• vanilla.

If the buttercream is still too sweet, increase TREHA® gradually in subsequent batches.

20. Glazes and Icings

TREHA® can be used at very high levels in certain glaze systems.

NAGASE guidance includes water-icing formulations containing approximately:

80–85% TREHA® within the sugar system.[1]

This is a specialist application.

The goal is often not simply to reduce sweetness, but to improve:

• glaze stability
• resistance to weeping
• coating quality
• appearance during storage.[1,4]

This can be useful for:

• doughnuts
• iced pastries
• glazed buns
• bakery products held on display.

For an existing glaze, move upwards gradually rather than jumping immediately to 80%.

21. Fruit Fillings and Creams

TREHA® can be particularly useful in fruit-based pastry because it combines lower sweetness with evidence for aroma retention.

Research in fruit systems has found that trehalose can help retain important volatile aroma compounds during processing.[9]

Research in strawberry cream fillings has also reported increased levels of characteristic fruit aroma compounds when trehalose was incorporated.[10]

Possible applications include:

• fruit creams
• mousses
• pâte de fruit
• fruit glazes
• tart fillings
• meringues
• frozen desserts.

Where fruit flavour is the priority, trial a greater proportion of TREHA® than you would in a neutral vanilla formulation.

TREHA® and Browning

TREHA® usually produces less colour development than many conventional sugar systems.

That can be useful when you want:

• pale pastry
• light sponge
• white chocolate products
• delicate biscuits
• clean fruit colours
• milk-forward confectionery.

If deep browning or caramelisation is important, retain more conventional sugar.

This means TREHA® can be used to control colour as well as sweetness.

Ten Useful Starting Ratios

If you want the shortest possible practical reference, start here:

How to Run a Good Trial

For professional pastry work, change one variable at a time.

Make:

1. your normal formulation
2. the same formulation with TREHA®.

Keep the processing method identical.

Then compare:

• sweetness
• texture
• volume
• crispness
• colour
• moisture
• stickiness
• stability
• flavour intensity
• quality after storage.

If the product will normally be:

• refrigerated
• frozen
• displayed
• filled several hours before service

test it under those conditions.

Do not judge the result only immediately after production.

Many of TREHA®'s most useful effects become apparent during storage.

When Should You Use More TREHA®?

Increase the proportion when you want:

• lower sweetness
• stronger fruit flavour
• stronger chocolate flavour
• greater crispness
• more humidity resistance
• reduced stickiness
• less weeping
• a lighter-coloured product.

Increase in controlled steps rather than making very large jumps.

When Should You Use Less?

Reduce TREHA® if:

• sweetness becomes too low
• browning is insufficient
• the texture becomes too brittle
• crystallisation changes undesirably
• the formulation loses the character you want.

TREHA® is a formulation tool.

The aim is not to maximise its quantity, but to use enough to produce the desired result.

Buy TREHA® for Pastry and Confectionery

Trehalose UK supplies genuine Japanese TREHA® manufactured by Nagase Viita Co., Ltd., formerly Hayashibara.

For home pastry work, chocolate and recipe development:

TREHA® Trehalose 1kg →

For regular users and professional pastry kitchens:

TREHA® Trehalose 2.5kg →

For bakeries, chocolatiers and commercial confectionery:

TREHA® Trehalose 20kg →

For commercial requirements of 200kg or more:

Bulk TREHA® Supply — 200kg to 1 Tonne+ →

For product-development or commercial enquiries:

Contact Trehalose UK →

sales@trehalose.co.uk

Further Reading

How Much Trehalose Should I Use? →

How to Use Trehalose in Baking →

How to Use Trehalose in Bread →

How to Use Trehalose in Ice Cream, Gelato and Sorbet →

Trehalose vs Sugar: What's the Difference? →

Trehalose for Food →

References & Further Reading

[1] Nagase Viita Co., Ltd. “TREHA® Recommended Usage Levels: Confectionery and Desserts.” Manufacturer guidance covering meringues, biscuits, puff pastry, choux, ganache, caramel, nougat, pâte de fruit, creams, glazes and other pastry applications.

NAGASE TREHA® food applications →

[2] Sosa Ingredients. “Italian Lemon Meringue.” Professional formulation using equal quantities of sucrose and trehalose.

Sosa Ingredients →

[3] Experimental research examining carbohydrate effects on egg-white foaming and foam stability, including trehalose-containing systems.

Search the egg-white foam literature →

[4] Nagase Food Ingredients. Professional bakery guidance covering meringue, puff pastry, glazes, laminated dough and other TREHA® applications.

NAGASE TREHA® bakery information →

[5] Food Chemistry research examining the physical state and softening behaviour of sucrose- and trehalose-containing cookies and their retention of a crisp glassy structure.

Search the cookie research →

[6] 2025 experimental research examining different levels of sucrose replacement with trehalose in cake and cookies, including favourable cookie characteristics at higher substitution levels.

Search the trehalose cake and cookie research →

[7] Nagase Food Ingredients. “Ganache.” Professional dark-chocolate ganache formulation using TREHA® for sweetness control, workability and storage behaviour.

NAGASE TREHA® recipes →

[8] 2021. LWT – Food Science and Technology. Research comparing alternative sugars in dark compound chocolate, including trehalose and its effects on rheology, sensory quality and storage.

Search the chocolate study →

[9] Research in fruit systems examining trehalose and retention of volatile aroma compounds during processing and storage.

Search the fruit-aroma literature →

[10] Research examining trehalose in strawberry cream fillings and its effect on characteristic fruit aroma compounds.

Search the strawberry filling research →