Recipe Makeover: Apple Cake

Apple cake has delicious versatility: It's a fall family favorite that not only satisfies that between-the-meal and post-dinner sweet spot but also works wonders in the wee hours of the morning with a warm cup of coffee. 

Instead of butter in the batter, we swap it out for canola oil—a healthier fat. Whole-wheat pastry flour replaces refined, adding a lovely nuttiness that perfectly complements the warm cinnamon and touch of ginger spice. Fresh apple lends moisture and natural sweetness while adding very few calories. We finish with a dollop of fluffy yogurt whipped cream to help balance the tart-sweet, apple-filled treat; this little trick saves 2.3g sat fat per slice over heavy whipped cream. It's the best of every world—moist cake, crunchy streusel, and cool-creamy topping for less than 300 calories per slice. This apple a day is A-OK.'

Classic
451 calories per slice
22 grams fat
13.3 grams sat fat

Makeover
229 calories per slice
13.5 grams fat
3.3 grams sat fat

Fresh fruit lends moisture and natural sweetness. We use a box grater to shred the raw apple, which melts into the baking batter. This fruity trick allows us to cut sugar by more than half to save 49 calories per slice.

We use canola oil in place of butter in the cake batter, saving 4.3g sat fat per slice. The oil's delicate texture adds a light, fluffy crumb to the cake, while the neutral flavor helps carry the warm spices and natural sweetness of the apples.

To get away with using less butter, we first freeze it, then grate it to stretch every morsel. Doing so allows us to reduce the amount of butter in the topping by two-thirds to save 1.3g sat fat per slice.