Having more fun with making lower fat cakes – and as always, keeping the cake size small (think a ‘snack cake’). This recipe has no added fat nor any eggs or dairy. It is vegan though it doesn’t taste vegan! The cake comes out very moist – so moist you won’t believe there is no fat in it 🙂 And that of course is what the goal is in baking! Trick those taste buds!
– Photo by Kirk Kirkconnell –
Low Fat Spice Cake
Ingredients:
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp baking soda
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground allspice
½ tsp ground clove
½ tsp kosher salt
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup water
Directions:
Heat oven to 350*. Spray a 8×8″ glass baking pan with pan spray.
Stir together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, spices and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
In a large glass bowl whisk together the sugar, applesauce, lemon juice and vanilla.
Add the flour mixture to sugar mixture, a third at a time, alternating with a third of the water.
Whisk until thoroughly blended.
Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Let cool before serving.
Makes 9 servings.
– I ran the calorie count on the cake and the approximate count is 1,520 calories for the cake, or about 169 calories per serving.
Please provide a recipe for chocolate vegan cake which likewise uses applesauce instead of oil. Or, rather, two recipes — one that uses cocoa (not dutch-processed I assume, because not acidic enough), and one that uses baking chocolate. Thanks.
How about also giving the flour measurement in weight (how many grams, or even ounces, if you want) instead of volume (how many cups)? First of all, ‘1 cup’ is different amounts in different places in the world (237 ml, 240 ml, 250 ml …). Second — sifted, unsifted, poured, accidentally slightly packed — these all end up in different amounts of flour. It might not be the Americo-Canadian way of doing things, but flour measurement by weight is really safer.
While measuring flour is popular in Europe – I will be honest: we like our measuring cups here in the States. It is quite standard to use all purpose flour scooped up and leveled off for baking. That is the standard unless sifting is mentioned. Reason why? All purpose flour is pre-sifted for us by the manufacturer.
I don’t use a scale for weighing unless I use British recipes – it is not something I have the desire or time to change in the recipes I use and post – hate to say it, but it is the same reason Americans don’t actively use the Metric system….converting recipes is doable but a pain in the butt to do!
Sarah,
Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I’ve made it many times as both a cake and as cupcakes. Your recipe has been a jumping off point for me. I use it as a basis for many other kinds of cakes/cupcakes. Thank you again so much.
Caroline
P.S. I recommend your recipe whenever I get a chance. 🙂 Thanks again.