Low-Fat Chocolate Cake

We all know that sometimes there are days when you just NEED a piece of chocolate cake to make everything better. Chocolate cake will listen to your problems. Chocolate cake will boost you morale. Chocolate cake will make everything better….

Until you realize that you just ate 1,800 calories in one sitting and the sugar is causing your anxiety to go through the roof!

So you decide to quit your relationship with chocolate cake cold turkey, but then the craving hits you really hard and you’re back to being two elbows deep in chocolatey goodness.

If only there was a way to make carrot sticks taste like chocolate cake… If I could figure that out I’d be the richest person in America!

But I can tell you about the next best thing – LOW FAT CHOCOLATE CAKE! Yes, just like the Lochness Monster and Bigfoot, it really does exist! In fact, it has less calories and fat than that granola bar hanging out in your lunch box.

And my favorite part about this cake is that it doesn’t have any weird ingredients, like purified cauliflower or avocado. I guarantee you already have all of these ingredients in your pantry right now!

So how does it work? Don’t worry, I’ll tell you! (I hope you’re not tired yet of me asking questions and answering them myself.) I made a very important ingredient swap to cut down on fat and calories.

I replaced the oil with yogurt!

Oil, whether it be vegetable oil or canola oil, is found in most every cake recipe. That’s because oil is what makes the cake moist. But it’s also the least healthy ingredient – 1 cup of vegetable oil contains 1,927 calories and 218 grams of fat. Wow! So by replacing the oil with yogurt you can save a LOT of fat and calories.

Yogurt works in the same way oil does – it helps moisten the cake. It’s important to note that if you make this substitution you should add a little fat in the recipe to help with consistency. That’s why there’s 1/4 cup of peanut butter in this cake.

In review, one piece of this cake has about 150 calories and 3 grams of fat. Compare that to Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Cake recipe, which has a whopping 490 calories and 14 grams of fat! That’s a HUGE difference!

So my friends, with this recipe you can have your cake and eat it too! (You knew I was going to make that joke somewhere in this post!)

Low-Fat Chocolate Cake

Yield: 10 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose or gluten-free flour (125 grams)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar (150.75 grams)
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)
• 6 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (45 grams)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup Greek yogurt (60 grams)
• 1/4 cup peanut butter or any nut butter or allergy-friendly alternative (67 grams)
• 3/4 cup milk (171 grams)
• 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

 Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease 9-inch round pan. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, optional chocolate chips, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
3. In a medium bowl, combine Greek yogurt and peanut butter; stir well. Whisk in milk and pure vanilla extract until smooth.
4. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Pour batter into greased pan.
5. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean when inserted.
6. Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove cake from pans and onto wire rack to finish cooling.
7. You can serve plain or sprinkle powdered sugar on top or add fat-free whipped topping to cake before eating.

Recipe adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie

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Snickerdoodle Blondies

Snickerdoodle Blondies

Yield: Makes about 24 blondies

Ingredients

• 2 and 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (291 grams)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup butter, softened to room temperature (1 and 1/2 stick)
• 1 and 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar  (310 grams)
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup white sugar (50 grams)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 9x9 or 11x7 inch-baking pan with aluminum foil. This will make it easier to cut the blondies when they’re done.
2. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. Using a mixer, beat the butter on high speed for at least one minute until creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
4. Add brown sugar and beat for another two minutes on high until creamy.
5. Beat in the eggs and vanilla on high speed.
6. On low speed, add in the dry ingredients until just combined.
7. With a large wooden spoon or rubber spatula, fold in the white chocolate chips.
8. Spoon half the batter into pan.
9. Combine the cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle on top of the bottom layer, saving 1 Tablespoon to sprinkle on top. 
10. Spread the remaining batter on top. Sprinkle the top with remaining cinnamon-sugar.
11. Bake for 28-30 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
12. Store bars in an airtight container at room temperature for about three days. The bars will also                                                                                                                             freeze well, up to 3 months. Simply thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving. Leftover bars can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator or at room temperature for up to 1 week.

 Recipe adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction.

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