Healthy(ish?) Birthday Cake??

I have had some amazing chocolate cake that's made with sour cream, and you could do low-fat sour cream.

Although it uses a boxed cake, I found this recipe doing a google search, from http://bloomeveryday.wordpress.com/2011/09/15/outrageous-low-calorie-chocolate-cake/

Outrageous Low Calorie Chocolate Cake

September 15, 2011 at 5:00 pm · Filed under BE Cooking, Recipes and tagged: baking, cake, chocolate, chocolate cake, cooking, dessert, healthy cake, healthy living, low calorie, recipes, sweet

Can a girl have a decadent chocolate cake, that doesn’t take any time to prepare, and is low in calories; the trifecta that seemed to elude us all. But alas, I have found the holy chocolate, low-calorie grail. Yes, and it doesn’t taste like “healthy” chocolate cake. Coming in under 200 calories a slice (16 slices per cake), you can get your chocolate fix and keep your waistline. I never thought this day would come.

Ingredients
1 (18.25 ounce) package devil’s food cake mix
1 (6.5 cup) package sugar-free instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup fat free sour cream
1 cup natural (no sugar added) applesauce
2 whole eggs + 2 egg whites
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups milk chocolate chips (can’t skimp on this part)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. In a large bowl, mix together the cake, pudding mix, sour cream, applesauce, beaten eggs and water. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour batter into a well-greased 12 cup Bundt pan.

3. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes. Check after 45 minutes or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cake thoroughly in pan at least before inverting onto a plate. If desired, dust the cake with powdered sugar and serve with strawberries.

4. I love to eat this cake warm! Cut a slice and microwave for 20 seconds. The chocolate chips will melt, and it will taste like molten lava chocolate cake. Enjoy!

I taste tested this on my family, and they all wanted the recipe. Give it a try — your taste buds and waistline will thank you.

Good luck!

this Sunshine Cake with the Frosting is what I always make for my family's birthdays.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/supertracylynn

You can do the diet soda cake recipe as well. Doesn't get easier... Take 1 box of cake mix and combine with 1 can of diet soda.. That's it.. No eggs or oil, just those 2 ingredients. Plus there's a ton of combos you can do, though I don't know how much the flavor comes out.. For example, you could try a white cake with orange soda for a creamsicle, though I'm sure it'll come out orangey..

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Great ideas - thanks!

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I'm a low-carb baker, so i know a thing or two about knocking out sugar.

I've been baking low carb goodies for years, and what I've found that works best is simply supplementing an existing recipe.

Pillsbury makes sugar free cake mix. Instead of oil, I use light sour cream in the mixture. I also only use 2 eggs, plus water.

Because I am low carb, I often use only half the box, then supplement a cup and a half of low-carb baking mix (although I'm sure you could supplement heart-smart Bisquick if you aren't watching carbs), some natural no-cal (or low-cal) sweetener and a little extra flavoring (vanilla, cocoa powder, extracts, etc.)

I can usually come up with a really, REALLY good product that has only a few net carbs. If you need a good sugar free frosting recipe, feel free to send me a message, too. I have several, including one swiss buttercream that is absolutely divine and indistinguishable from the full sugar stuff.


These are some sugar free, lower carb red velvet cupcakes that I made:



Good luck!

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For healthy desserts, I've been going crazy for everything I'm finding at www.chocolatecoveredkatie.com. Some of her recipes are a little bizarre, but I am obsessed with her cookie dough dip! Maybe you can find something on there you can use? Good luck!

Chocolate Cake (from Cook Yourself Thin)

Serves 6
Calories per serving: 315

Nonstick baking spray with flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 large egg
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup heavy cream

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 6-inch round cake pan (2 inches deep) with baking spray.

2. Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on low speed until well combined, about 1 minute. With mixer running on medium speed, add warm water and beat until well blended. Add buttermilk, egg, oil and vanilla, and beat on medium for 5 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally.

3. Pour batter into the prepared pan, and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then unmold and cool completely on the rack.

4. When ready to serve, place the bittersweet chocolate in a small bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan set over medium heat until bubbles form around the edge. Immediately pour over chocolate. Let sit for 1 minute, then stir until smooth and well blended. Pour over cooled cake and spread to evenly coat top. (Chocolate sauce will drip down the sides.) Let set, about 10 minutes, and serve.


Chocolate and Raspberry Roulade with Raspberry Sauce (Cook Yourself Thin)
Serves 9
Calories per serving, roulade: 190
Calories per serving, raspberry sauce: 26

For the roulade
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting the pan
4 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted, plus more for serving
3/4 cup peeled and finely grated carrots
3/4 cup self-rising flour, sifted

For the filling
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup raspberries

For the raspberry sauce
1 1/2 cups raspberries
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup water

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cut a piece of parchment paper to the size of 9-x-13-inch jelly roll pan and dust with some sifted confectioners’ sugar. Set aside.

3. Take 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar and add to a bowl with egg whites, along with the salt. Using a handheld or standing mixer, whip the egg whites, gradually adding the sugar and salt until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes. Take care not to overmix, as the egg whites will become grainy. Set aside.

4. Add the remaining granulated sugar to the egg yolks and whisk about 3 minutes, until mixture is pale and fluffy and holds a ribbon trail when you lift the blades. Add the sifted cocoa powder to the yolk/sugar mixture one tablespoon at a time, whisking it until fully incorporated before adding the next. Once all the cocoa powder is well-combined, add the grated carrots and mix well to incorporate.

5. Using a rubber spatula, fold the egg white mixture, one-third at a time, into the yolk mixture, taking care not to deflate the mix. Add the sifted flour into the mixture as you add the last third of the egg whites. Fold as before until all the elements are well-combined with no pockets of flour left.

6. Pour the batter into the center of the jelly roll pan and tilt it to spread the batter evenly all over the pan, making sure it goes all the way into the corners. Do not pat or knock on the pan, as this will deflate the batter. Bake for 10 minutes.

7. While the cake is baking, make the filling. Using a handheld or standing mixer, beat the heavy cream for about 30 seconds. Add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla extract, and continue to beat until you get stiff peaks. Once ready, refrigerate until needed.

8. To assemble the cake, lay a clean kitchen towel on a flat, even surface and place a piece of parchment paper the size of the cake on top of the towel. Once the cake is cooked, working quickly, remove it from the oven and run a paring knife along the edges of the jelly roll pan to help unmold the cake. Take the cake from the edges and flip it onto the parchment paper set on top of the kitchen towel. Peel off the parchment paper.

9. Starting at one end of the towel, roll the cake into a cigar shape, rolling it tightly into a classic jelly roll shape. Continue rolling until the cake is rolled and tucked inside the kitchen towel. Let it stand for 15 to 20 minutes to cool and semi-set in a snail shape while you make the raspberry sauce.

10. To make the raspberry sauce: Add the raspberries, confectioners’ sugar and water to a nonstick saute pan, and cook over medium heat until the raspberries begin to break down and become liquid. Let simmer for about 5 minutes, then strain through a sieve into a small saucepan and reduce until thick and syrupy.

11. Once the cake has cooled, unroll it from the kitchen towel and remove the parchment paper. Spread the whipped cream evenly over the interior of the cake and sprinkle the raspberries. Roll the roulade snugly once again, making sure to tuck in the raspberries as you go along. It may seem like not all of them will fit, but continue to tuck the fruits in generously as you go and they will. Place the roulade on a tray or platter and sprinkle some confectioners’ sugar over it. Refrigerate until ready to serve, at least 30 minutes.

12. To serve, cut the roll into nine slices and serve with some raspberry sauce.

I've made this before and it's good.

Sunshine Cake
16 servings, 3 Weight Watcher points per serving

1 box yellow cake mix
1/4 cup applesauce
4 eggs
11 oz mandarin oranges (with juice)

frosting
8 oz light cool whip
3.4 oz instant vanilla pudding
15 oz crushed pineapple (with juice)

Stir first 4 ingredients, Beat 2 minutes
Pour in a sprayed 15x9 pan
Bake @ 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes then cool
mix frosting ingredients and pour on top
keep refrigerated

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You can also sub applesauce for oil