Skip to content

Top Navigation

Cooking Light Cooking Light
  • Recipes
  • Cooking 101
  • Eating Smart
  • Healthy Living
  • News

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Email Preferences

Manage Your Subscription

  • All Access Subscribers
  • Magazine Subscribers
  • Cooking Light Diet Subscribers
Login
Logout
SUBSCRIBE
Pin FB

Explore Cooking Light

Cooking Light Cooking Light
  • Explore

    Explore

    • 31-Day Healthy Meal Plan

      Our 31-day calendar of meals and tips shows you how to cook more and love it with fun, family-friendly meals that come together quickly and deliciously. Read More
    • Dinner Tonight: Quick and Healthy Menus in 45 Minutes (or Less)

      Hundreds of delicious recipes, paired with simple sides, that can be on your table in 45 minutes or less. Read More
    • Our Favorite Healthy Air Fryer Recipes

      Who ever said that chicken wings, doughnuts, and pizza couldn't be healthy? Read More
  • Recipes

    Recipes

    See All Recipes
    • Breakfast & Brunch
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Drinks
    • Recipe Makeovers
    • Quick & Healthy
    • Diabetic
    • Gluten-Free
    • Vegetarian
    • Cooking Light Live
  • Cooking 101

    Cooking 101

    See All Cooking 101
    • Essential Ingredients
    • Cooking Techniques
    • Meet the Chef
    • Cooking Resources
    • Budget Friendly
    • Smart Choices
  • Eating Smart
  • Healthy Living

    Healthy Living

    See All Healthy Living
    • Weight-Loss
    • Health
    • Fitness
    • Home
    • Travel
    • Nutrition 101
  • News

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Email Preferences

Manage Your Subscription

  • All Access Subscribers
  • Magazine Subscribers
  • Cooking Light Diet Subscribers
Login
Logout
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Home
  2. Eating Smart
  3. Recipe Makeover: Apple Cake

Recipe Makeover: Apple Cake

By Sidney Fry, MS, RD September 17, 2015
Skip gallery slides
Pin
Credit: Photo: Jennifer Causey
Meltingly tender, buttery-crisp whole-grain cake for under 300 calories.
Start Slideshow

1 of 5

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Whole-Grain Apple Cake With Yogurt Cream

Credit: Photo: Jennifer Causey
View Recipe: Whole-Grain Apple Cake With Yogurt Cream

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. 

1 of 5

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 5

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Slimming The Slice

Credit: Photo: Jennifer Causey

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

2 of 5

3 of 5

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Tip #1: Apples

Credit: Photo: Jennifer Causey

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.

3 of 5

Advertisement

4 of 5

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Tip #2: Canola Oil

Credit: Photo: Jennifer Causey

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.

4 of 5

5 of 5

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Tip #3: Frozen Butter

Credit: Photo: Jennifer Causey

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.

5 of 5

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Sidney Fry, MS, RD

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 5 Whole-Grain Apple Cake With Yogurt Cream
    2 of 5 Slimming The Slice
    3 of 5 Tip #1: Apples
    4 of 5 Tip #2: Canola Oil
    5 of 5 Tip #3: Frozen Butter

    Share & More

    Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message
    Cooking Light

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • Customer Service this link opens in a new tab
    • Advertise
    • Content Licensing
    • Accolades this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    MeredithCooking Light is part of the Allrecipes Food Group. © Copyright 2023 Meredith Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Cooking Light may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright Cooking Light. All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.cookinglight.com

    View image

    Recipe Makeover: Apple Cake
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.