Hey there, my apple-cake-lovers!
This healthy low-fat apple cake is for those who are reminded of their childhood when they smell baked apples and cinnamon.
Taste and Occasion
It is based on an age-old German recipe called "Apfelkuchen, sehr fein" which basically means "Apple Pie, Very Fine". This recipe from a tattered baking book has been part of my grandma's standard repertoire for decades. With a few adjustments, my "new" whole wheat apple cake was low in sugar, fat and calories.
This does not mean that I advocate baking all sorts of classics only "light" in the future. Everyone should do it the way they like it. And I just like variety - sometimes regular, rich cakes, sometimes somewhat lighter pastries, as with the classic Russian pluck cake and the healthy alternative.
Ingredients
For my healthy sunken apple pie, I went for an easy sponge, eggs, raw cane sugar or coconut blossom sugar and half-fat butter.
For the low-calorie apple cake, I used Arla Kærgården Balance, which combines delicious buttery flavor with a creamy, soft consistency perfect for sponge cake. And has significantly less fat. Although it is often advised against baking low-calorie cakes with half-fat, I have actually only had good experiences so far.
However, it strongly hits the specific recipe and especially the type of dough. Anyway, this low-fat apple pie with spelt flour turned out moist, fruity and really delicious, neither dry nor soggy.
How to make the Healthy Low-Fat Apple Cake
The preparation is very simple: First of all, grease a springform pan, dust it with flour and preheat your oven to 360°F/180°C degrees. For the topping, peel the apples, cut them in half or quarters depending on their size and score them several times on the curved side.
Now, wash the lemon hot, grate and squeeze it. Drizzle about 1 tablespoon of lemon juice on the apples. For the sponge mixture, beat fat and sugar with a mixer until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time and mix everything well.
For the next step, mix flour, baking powder, vanilla, cinnamon, salt and 1 teaspoon lemon zest. Add the mixture to the bowl alternately with the milk and mix all ingredients thoroughly but briskly. If the dough is still too firm, you can add another tablespoon of milk.
Pour the batter into the springform pan and smooth it out. Spread the apples over the cake and press them lightly into the batter.
Bake the cake for about 40 minutes and test with a wooden stick to see if it is baked through. Let the healthy apple cake cool and dust it with powdered sugar if you like. And it is ready to serve!
Top Tip
If you want to bake the healthy apple pie without sugar, you can also use alternative sweeteners like xylitol, erythritol (or the darker alternative to brown sugar), honey or rice syrup. With the latter, you'll need a little less liquid and will have to pay attention to the baking time and degree of browning.
Recipe Card
Healthy low-fat apple cake
Equipment
- springform pan (10 inches/26 cm)
Ingredients
For the dough
- 140 grams (0.6 cups) half-fat butter, e.g. Arla Kærgården Balance
- 100 grams (½ cups) raw cane sugar , alternatively coconut sugar or brown sugar
- 3 eggs, large
- 240 grams (2 cups) wholemeal spelt flour , or spelt / wheat with type 1050
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground vanilla
- 5 tablespoons milk
For the topping
- 4 apples, large, approx. 800 g
- 1 piece organic lemon , of which 1 tbsp. juice and 1 tsp. zest
- powdered sugar , for dusting
Instructions
- Grease a springform pan and dust with flour. Preheat the oven to 360°F/180°C degrees. For the topping, peel the apples, cut them in half or quarters depending on their size and score them several times on the curved side. Wash the lemon hot, grate and squeeze. Drizzle about 1 tablespoon of lemon juice on the apples.
- For the sponge mixture, beat the fat and sugar with a mixer until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time and mix well.
- Mix flour, baking powder, vanilla, cinnamon, salt and 1 teaspoon lemon zest. Add to the bowl alternately with the milk and mix all ingredients thoroughly but briskly. If the dough is still too firm, add another tablespoon of milk.
- Pour the batter into the springform pan and smooth it out. Spread the apples over the cake and press them lightly into the batter.
- Bake cake for about 40 minutes and test with a wooden stick to see if it is baked through. Let cool and dust with powdered sugar.
Ingredient substitutions
Variations
The low-fat sponge cake also tastes good with other fruit types - how about plums or cherries, for example?
Similar Recipes
Jan and our little lucky baker didn't notice at all during the test meal that something was "different" about the low-calorie apple pie recipe - and a little less white flour, sugar or fat doesn't hurt now and then, after all. Next time there's the wonderful apple sheet cake with cinnamon sugar or the apple pie with a cinnamon cream. So that the balance is right 😉
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