When I was a chunky-monkey of a child, one of my favorite things to snack on was my grandmother`s pound cake. She`d slice it when it was still warm and top it with vanilla ice cream and fresh strawberries from my Pop`s garden! It was and still is the best pound cake I`ve ever had. But with almost twice the number of eggs as the recipe below and a heaping of shortening, it definitely doesn`t win any awards for the healthiest dessert ever. Though my adult metabolism is a lot more forgiving than my childhood one was, I still like to try and develop lighter versions of my favorites! In honor of my grandmother, a native to central North Carolina, I tried my best to find and develop a healthy version that could rival her pound cake. Though it doesn`t quite carry the comfort and nostalgia that hers did (and does), I think she`d be proud of this one if she tried it......
Lemon Pound Cake
1/2 c unsalted butter, softened
3/4 g white sugar
3 eggs
1/4 c unsweet applesauce
1 tsp lemon extract
1 tsp lemon zest
1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Begin adding eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add applesauce, flavoring, and zest.
In a separate bowl, combine flour with baking powder and salt.
Add flour mixture to egg batter and beat until just blended. (Do not over-beat!)
Pour batter in a greased standard-size loaf pan.
Bake in pre-heated oven for 45 minutes. Let cool and serve with fresh berries and frozen yogurt or light whipped cream!
Yield: 12 slices
Per slice....
Calories? 181
Total fat? 8.8 g
Protein? 2.8 g
Fiber? 0.4 g
Cholesterol? 66 mg
Carbohydrate? 23 g (1.5 carb servings)
Sodium? 66 mg
*Sources: recipe adapted from Makeover-Pound-Cake-Recipezaar
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