Yes, there is such a thing as healthy cake.

Enjoy cooking and eating sweet stuff but watching your weight and/or saturated fat levels? Try these 3 recipes.

COFFEE CAKE (low saturated fat, very tasty).

225g self raising flour (use half wholemeal and half white flour)
225g sugar
225ml sunflower oil
2 medium eggs, separated
2 tsp baking powder
2 heaped tsps instant coffee mixed with 2 tsps boiling water
75ml milk

Icing/filling – mascarpone cheese sweetened with a little icing sugar and flavoured with lemon zest and coffee diluted as above. Could use water icing on top.

Method

Preheat oven to 180C/gas 4. Grease and line 2 round 8in/20cm cake tins.

Sift the flour and baking powder, add sugar, beat in oil, egg yolks coffee and milk. Whisk the egg whites until stiff then fold these in. Divide mixture between tins and bake for 20 – 25 mins. Cool in tins for a few minutes and then on cake rack. Sandwich together and decorate top as like.


This recipe could be changed to make a chocolate cake.


Fruit Muffins (no saturated fat, 162 calories).

225g self raising flour (wholemeal good)
2 tsp baking powder
25g brown sugar
100g no need to soak dried apricots, finely chopped
1 medium banana mashed with 1 tblsp orange juice
300ml skimmed milk
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp orange rind
3 tblsp corn/sunflower oil
2 tblsp rolled oats

Method

Preheat oven to 190c/gas 6. Line muffin tin with 10 cases.

Sift flour and baking powder. Add sugar and apricots. Add orange rind, egg, milk and oil and beat well. Divide the thick batter between the 10 cases. Sprinkle the tops with the oats. Bake for 25 – 30 mins, test with a skewer. Cool on wire rack. Can split and eat with honey or fruit spread but good on their own.


Yogurt Cake Serve chilled or warm as a soft cake or as a dessert with fruits. Serves 8. Low fat

Ingredients

3 large eggs, separated
70g caster sugar
2 vanilla pods, split in half lengthways or Select vanilla extract (syrup)
350g yogurt (mixture of Greek no fat and plain low fat is best)
Finely grated zest of one lemon and ½ an orange.
Juice of 1 lemon
20g plain flour
30g shelled unsalted pistachio nuts, roughly chopped.

Method.

Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4.

Need a 25cm round or square cake tin with a solid bottom, line if not non-stick.

In a large bowl beat the egg yolks with the sugar until thick and pale. Add vanilla seeds/syrup. Add the yogurt, lemon, orange zest, lemon juice and flour, mix well. In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gently fold into the other bowl. Pour the mixture into the baking tin and place in a ¤bain-marie. Cook for about 20 mins. and then remove and add the chopped pistachios. Cook for another 15 mins. until set and light brown.

It is lovely; try not to eat too much in one go if watching your weight. Approx 125 kcals. a slice.

Not a traditional cake as one of the basic ingredients is missing!

¤ A Bain-marie is a hot water bath. Place your cake tin inside a bigger one/use roasting tin and fill with hot water until it is half way up the cake tin.