Your Low-Calorie Cake Recipes:
People often ask me “can I eat dessert on a diet?” The answer is yes, in moderation of course. Although limiting added sugar intake to no more than 12 teaspoons per day is one of the goals of 2015 dietary guidelines, you may want to include some small treats in your diet because weight loss success is difficult when you feel too deprived. Eating only low calorie food day after day not only gets boring, restricting your calories too much actually makes your body burn fewer calories and may defeat your weight loss efforts. So, in essence, you can have your cake and eat it too…in small portions of course!
Even clean eating, a concept Fitness Magazine describes like this, “At its simplest, clean eating is about eating whole foods, or ‘real’ foods – those that are un-or minimally processed, refined, and handled, making them as close to their natural form as possible,” allows for some sweet treats. Clean eaters should opt for less processed sweeteners like honey, or naturally sweetened fruit desserts rather than highly processed, prepackaged treats.
To lower the fat and calorie count of your favorite baked goods, including cake recipes, you can simply replace most of the oil, or other fat such as butter, with unsweetened applesauce. The consistency of the product is usually best when you use about half applesauce and half oil or butter. Using all applesauce can make a very dense product, but sometimes that works too. I’ve also found that you can often reduce the sugar content by 1/3 in most baked goods without anyone even knowing.
Pinterest.com is one of my favorite places to find new recipes. Pinterest provides lots of great ideas for low-calorie cakes and low-fat desserts. I’ve featured two recipes below from chocolatecoveredkatie.com, including a low-calorie banana cake recipe made in a mug. These healthier cake recipes can be made gluten-free or even sugar free. Check out her blog for some great low-calorie frosting recipes, too. Katie’s philosophy is that you should eat dessert everyday, and no wonder her recipes are low-calorie AND great tasting too!
So, with your own personal dietary goals in mind, check out the delicious, low-calorie cake recipes below. To find more great recipe ideas, check out Pinterest.com or Cookinglight.com, another one of my favorite sites.
2-Ingredient Pineapple Angel Cake
– 1 box angel food cake mix
– 1 can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple in juice
Preheat oven to 350º F. In a large bowl, combine ingredients and stir well. You will notice the mixture becomes airy and slightly bubbly. Pour the mixture into a 9 x 13-inch cake pan. I used a glass one and have not tried a metal one. Do not oil the pan. Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown and cracked on top. Cool and cut into 12 pieces.
Each piece provides approximately: 150 calories, 0 g fat, 3 g protein, 35 g carbs, 0 g fiber, 320 mg sodium
Healthy Carrot Cupcakes
– 1 1/2 cups spelt, white, or Bob’s gluten-free flour
– 1/2 tsp. baking soda
– 3/4 tsp. salt
– 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
– 1/3 cup sugar, xylitol, or evaporated cane juice
– 1/16 tsp. uncut stevia OR 2 Tbsp. more sugar
– 1/2 cup raisins, if desired
– 1/2 cup applesauce
– 1/3 cup melted coconut or vegetable oil (Replace with more applesauce, if desired)
– 2 tsp. white or apple cider vinegar
– 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
– 1 packed cup shredded carrot
Preheat oven to 350º F. Place 9 cupcake liners in a muffin tin. Combine all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, set aside. In a large measuring cup, combine all liquid ingredients (including carrot). Mix wet ingredients into dry, and immediately portion into the baking cups and place in the oven. Bake 19 minutes. Allow the healthy carrot cake cupcakes to cool before removing from the tray.
Each cupcake provides: 142 calories, 7 g fat, 2.9 g protein, 18.2 g carbohydrate
Banana Mug Cake for One
– 3 Tbsp. spelt, white, or oat flour
– 1/4 tsp. baking powder
– 1/16 tsp. salt
– Pinch of stevia, or 2 tsp. sugar
– 1 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. water
– 1 Tbsp. overripe mashed banana
– 1/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract
For streusel topping: combine: 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon, 2 tsp. brown sugar, xylitol or sucanat, 2 tsp. overripe mashed banana, tiny pinch salt, 1 tsp. buttery spread, butter OR 1 tsp. more mashed banana, optional crumbled pecans or walnuts.
Grease a small mug or 1-cup dish; set aside. In a small bowl, combine dry ingredients, then add liquid ingredients and stir. Pour into the prepared dish; spoon streusel evenly on top. Bake at 350°F for 14 minutes, or cook a minute or two at a time in the microwave. Cake is done when a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. If you don’t want to eat the cake directly from the mug or dish, allow it to cool completely. Then run around the sides with a knife and it should pop right out!
When made with oat flour, each piece provides: 93 calories, 0.5 g fat, 3.3 g protein, 20.6 g carbohydrate, 150 mg sodium
*Nutrition analyses are provided by chocolatecoveredkatie.com and were not independently verified.
