Upside Down Apple Cake

Apple Cake is a very healthy and delicious way to gobble up some dessert without much guilt. Everyone knows the nutritious value of Apples, but when you get bored eating apple slices for your snack time, try this beautiful, low-fat, low-sugar Upside Down Apple Cake. A generous serving of Caramelized apples flavored with apple cider form the base of the cake, and the actual cake topping is equally delicious and fragrant, touched with apple pie spice, non-fat buttermilk, margarine instead of butter, a bit of whole grain pastry flour, and substituting Splenda for Sugar, makes this a healthier version, without compromising at all on the taste factor.

[Recipe adapted from Woman's Day Magazine to make a healthier version; photo by Mark Thomas]

So the next time you are browsing around for a healthy dessert recipe, give this Apple Cake a fair chance. I promise you you will be pleasantly surprised. Please note that some people have their misgivings about using Splenda - if you are one of those, just go for ripe and sweet red apples and use brown sugar, but less in quantity so you can still get a cake sweet enough for dessert. You can even use some Maple Syrup or Honey as they are sweeter than sugar, but lower in calories.

This cake is actually quite dense enough, considering the use of low-fat substitutes. I think the Caramelized apples are the gem of the recipe though. As the cake bakes, the juices separated from the apples trickle in and make it nice and moist, just the way a cake should be!

Healthy Upside Down Apple Cake

Ingredients

Caramelized Apple Topping
1/2 cup splenda
1/4 cup apple cider or juice
1 Tbsp each lemon juice and light stick butter
4 medium Cortland or Fuji apples (1 1/2 lb), peeled, cored and each cut into 8 wedges

For The Cake
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) light butter, softened (or margarine)
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp apple pie spice powder (or all-spice)
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup whole grain pastry flour (or use regular wheat flour)
2/3 cup nonfat buttermilk

Method
Heat oven to 350ºF. You'll need a 9 x 2-in. round cake pan coated with nonstick spray.

Mix sugar and apple cider in a large nonstick skillet; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil mixture 4 minutes or until light honey color. Add lemon juice and butter; reduce heat to medium. When butter is melted, boil mixture 1 minute, until light golden. Add apples, flat sides down; cook 8 minutes, turning apples with a fork after 4 minutes, until lightly caramelized and crisp-tender when pierced with a skewer. Remove from heat and cool in skillet for 5 minutes.

Pour the apple mixture from skillet into prepared cake pan; use a fork to arrange in concentric circles. Beat butter, sugar, baking powder, vanilla, baking soda, apple pie spice and salt with a mixer in a medium bowl 2 minutes. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, until blended. Beat in flour and buttermilk alternately, in three additions, until batter is smooth. Pour batter over apples; spread to edge of pan. Bake 40 to 45 minutes, until a pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes. Invert onto a serving plate. Cool until cake is just warm, then serve. (This cake is also delicious at room temperature.)

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Low-Fat Strawberry Vanilla Cake

There's a story behind this delicious Low-fat Strawberry Cake! What happens when I have an urge to eat a cake but my weighing scale glares right back at me, reminding me of the zealous workout at the gym this morning which merely burned 300 calories?? I try to talk myself out of the urge, but the chef inside my head feels otherwise, and a new low-fat strawberry vanilla cake is born!! Generally, there's more to it than just this; a battle between my wits and desires often forces me to simply evade eating any desserts, but with my pantry loaded with fresh hand-picked strawberries that we got back from our strawberry-picking weekend, I somehow convinced myself to see that strawberries are really good for health, and so are baked goods! So it wouldn't be a sin to try a hand at this souffle-like vanilla cake that has strawberries in every bite, which is way more filling and delicious than a simple strawberry smoothie:). Flavored with a hint of cardamom & vanilla, and with half the calories than a regular cake, this strawberry dessert recipe is an out-and-out winner!

This recipe is totally an original one that I came up with to suffice my craving for a low-calorie, low-fat dessert. Hence I have substituted some key high-carb ingredients like all-purpose flour, butter and egg-yolk with healthier options like whole-grain and whole-wheat flour, low-fat, low-cholesterol olive oil and egg-white only, which has 40 different proteins and water, and minimal fat content. Also, I used only 1 cup brown sugar, which makes this a little less sweet cake, but combined with the strawberries, it is still rich and sweet enough, and considerably reduced in saturated fats and calories than its original counterpart. I was pleased that even without egg-yolks, the cake came out soft and spongy. So this is definitely a recipe I'm going to hold on to and splurge in with fruit variations for my diet-desserts! Off this goes to Equal Opportunity Kitchen for the Tried,Tested & True event, where they are asking for healthy and delicious recipes!

Ingredients
Make one 9x9 loaf or 6 mini-cakes

6-8 large strawberries - washed
1 cup whole-grain pastry flour
1 cup wheat flour (use all-purpose flour for a richer cake)
1 cup + 2 tbsp brown sugar (divided)
1/2 cup skimmed milk
1 tspn baking powder
1/2 tspn baking soda
1/2 tspn cardamom powder
1/2 tspn salt
1 large egg (whites only)
3 tbsp olive oil (or smart-balance light spread)
2 tspn vanilla extract
strawberries - sliced for garnish

Method
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat a 9" x 9" baking pan or 6 medium ramekins with cooking spray.

Slice the strawberries vertically to form thick slices(about 4-5 per berry). Reserve 6 slices for garnish, and sprinkle 2 tbsp brown sugar on the remaining ones. Toss in a bowl gingerly to evenly coat with the sugar. If your strawberries are really sweet, you can omit the sugar at this step.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, and salt.

In another medium bowl, whisk the sugar, egg-white, and oil until smooth. Beat well to make it fluffy and airy, about 1 min. This step is important as this will determine how much your cake rises. As we are using only one egg-white, beating it adequately is required for a spongier cake. Whisk in the milk and the vanilla essence to this.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry flour mixture and stir just until blended.

Now arrange 3 sugared strawberry slices on the base of the ramekins. Scrape into the prepared pan or the ramekins. Pour the batter over it, then again layer with another 3 strawberries and finish with the batter on the top, taking care not to fill more than 3/4th of each ramekin, allowing room to expand. If you are using a cake pan, just layer all the strawberry slices below then top with the batter.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes (about 25 mins if you are using the ramekins), until the cake is springy to touch, shrinks from the sides and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

By using whole-grain wheat and pastry flour, just 1 egg, and olive oil instead of butter, we can cut down significant amount of calories from this dessert, The whole-grains make it a filling treat, and the combined recipe makes it a low-fat cake which provides only the good carbs and fats to the body.

Strawberries when baked tend to lose their sweetness a little, hence rolling them in sugar at the beginning is recommended. Plus, the cardamom adds a wonderful aroma and a hint of flavor to the vanilla batter which beautifully compliments the strawberries. Its a great way to enjoy a guilt-free treat any time you want, without compromising on the taste!

For a lavish dessert, top it with some whipped cream, or dust it with some icing sugar. This also makes for beautiful individual desserts when entertaining. I really enjoyed my low-fat version of vanilla strawberry cake, and now have a delicious solution for dessert cravings that do not antagonize my weighing scale!

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Pear and Almond Yogurt Cake (Low-Fat Snack Cake)

How does a low-fat pear & yogurt cake sound for today? As we herald spring in California, seasonal fruits and vegetables can be seen in all their glory, and a trip to the farmer's market can turn out to be a visually delectable experience! This weekend I decided to bake a delicious and Healthy Pear Cake. Belonging to the apple family, pears are packed with a lot of health benefits. It has antioxidants that protects our body from free radicals, promote cardiovascular health, and are a good source of dietary fiber, vitamin C, copper, and vitamin K. And best of all, these fibrous fruits are a great way to naturally sweeten your cakes and muffins as well as provide them with shape and texture. I combined my pears with almonds and whole-wheat flour to make an almost fat-free and healthy yogurt cake/muffin that can be used as a snack any time of the day!

I did not use any butter in this recipe. The all-purpose flour was substituted by the whole-grain one; the recipe uses only 1 egg and some oil; the yogurt provides texture to the cake, but as there is no butter, this cake will not be as soft and moist as the others. If you are not looking for a healthy version, feel free to modify the ingredients to use 3/4 cup butter instead of yogurt and add 2 eggs instead of one with all-purpose flour.

Ingredients
1-3/4 cups whole-grain pastry flour
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup fat-free plain yogurt
1-1/2 tspn baking powder
1/2 tspn baking soda
3/4 tspn ground nutmeg (optional)
1/2 tspn salt
1 large egg
3 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tspn vanilla extract
2 ripe medium pears -peeled and cut into 1/2" chunks
2-3 tbsp slivered almonds

Method
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat a 9" x 9" baking pan with cooking spray. Instead, you can also use individual ramekins like I did.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar, egg, and oil until smooth. Whisk in the yogurt and the vanilla essence. Finally, stir in the cubed pears.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir just until blended. Scrape into the prepared pan or the ramekins. Sprinkle the slivered almonds on the top.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes (about 25 mins if you are using the ramekins), until the cake is springy to the touch, shrinks from the sides and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. This cake will not be too dark on the top, so if you like the color, change oven setiting to BROIL and bake for another 40 seconds, not more. Let cool for 20-30 minutes on a wire rack, then slice and serve!

Tip: Roasting the almonds a little can add more flavor to the cake. If your pears are not too sweet, increase the sugar in the recipe as this recipe tends to be a little less sweet compared to others.

This light and low-fat pear and almond cake can be relished for breakfast or snack any other time of the day without feeling guilty. The pears make it soft while the almonds add a crunch to each bite.

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