The trouble with lowfat baked treats is that they usually taste it.
No amount of apple sauce, prune puree or other fat substitute can replicate the magic butter and cream impart on sweet treats.
And that’s the problem with most efforts to trim the fat – they eliminate the ingredients that make these foods treats in the first place.
Baking truly satisfying lowfat desserts means opting for recipes that didn’t rely on fat – or at least not much of it – to begin with.
That’s why my family always favored angel food cake as our treat of choice. As desserts go, angel food cake is practically health food. With no fat or cholesterol and just over 100 calories per serving, you really can indulge.
If plain angel food cake doesn’t do it for you, consider dressing it up with a drizzle of icing. It adds calories, but no fat.
This angel food cake recipe from Nick Malgieri and David Joachim’s “Perfect Light Desserts” (William Morrow, 2006, $29.95), a collection of light desserts that are made with real sugar and fat.
If you buy egg whites by the carton, be certain to get those intended for use in angel food cakes. Because of the way they are processed, most egg whites will not whip.
Orange Angel Food Cake
From Nick Malgieri and David Joachim’s “Perfect Light Desserts,” William Morrow, 2006, $29.95. Start to finish 2 1/2 hours, 30 minutes active. Makes one 10-inch tube cake, about 16 servings.
Ingrediens
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups egg whites (from about 12 large eggs)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
(strained of any pulp)
1 1/2 teaspoons orange extract
1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
EQUIPMENT:
Parchment or wax paper
10-inch two-piece tube pan (not greased)
1 empty, narrow-necked wine bottle or similar bottle
Directions
Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat oven to 325 F.
Set aside 3/4 cup sugar. Sift remaining sugar together with the flour onto a piece of parchment or wax paper. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the egg whites, salt and lemon juice. Using the mixer’s whisk attachment, whip at medium speed until the eggs are white, opaque and begin to hold their shape.
Increase the mixer speed to medium-
high and whip in the reserved 3/4 cup sugar a couple tablespoons at a time. Whip until the egg whites hold a soft, glossy peak. Add the orange extract and zest and whip another few seconds.
A third at a time, sift the flour and sugar mixture over the whipped egg whites, then use a large rubber spatula to carefully fold it in.
Scrape the batter into the ungreased pan, rotating the pan to fill it evenly. Gently plunge the rubber spatula into the batter at 2-inch intervals with an up-and-down motion to release any large air bubbles.
Use the spatula to smooth the top of the batter.
Bake the cake 45 to 55 minutes, or until well browned, well risen and firm to the touch. Invert the central tube of the pan onto the neck of the bottle so the cake hangs upside down and let the cake cool completely, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Use a long, thin knife to loosen the cake from the sides of the pan, scraping the knife against the side of the pan, not the cake.
Remove the cake from the pan by pulling the central tube. Run the knife between the cake and bottom of the pan, then use the knife to loosen the cake from the tube. Invert the cake onto a platter and gently pull the pan base and tube away from the cake.
Nutrition information per serving: 116 cal., 0g total fat, 0mg chol., 78mg sodium, 4g pro., 25g carbo., 0g dietary fiber
