When you can’t get away with serving fruit and girl scout cookies to guests for dessert one more time. When you wake up too late to make anything of quality for your kids before school. When no one is around and you crave another handful of chocolate eggs from your kid’s Easter basket that you’ve hidden from them for say five weeks all the while nibbling from it knowing those jeggings, you never should have owned in the first place, will be the centerpiece of your vacation wardrobe in a few days.
Eat this lemon olive oil cake. Low cal, high nutrition, satisfying, crunchtime defying, dessert to breakfast to snack is your solution. A little effort comes with a payoff. Read on to find out.
No matter the library of cookbooks that line my shelves from the Kellers, Gartens, and Waters of the world, I am drawn to the South Beach cookbook series for healthy inspiration. Olive oil replaces butter in this cake recipe. Much like pound cake which relies on vegetable oil, the cake is moist, but unlike pound cake, we’ve lowered the calories using low-fat buttermilk to limit the amount of oil used. Further, the sweet flavor is from Splenda which I realize is a non-starter for some, so we offer a natural sugar option. The calories will be higher, but you will have fewer processed ingredients.
The only real task in the recipe is egg management. You will work with the egg whites and egg yolks separately – like couples therapy when they each get their own therapist and then come together in the end to make a cake. The egg whites are beaten until they form fluffy peaks that will add lightness to the cake. The yolks, also beaten with the sugars, liquid ingredients, add moisture and sweetness. Together the egg parts come together, each adding their unique, but essential contribution to the cake. Should I continue with the metaphor?
The cake batter is baked in a springform pan for easy removal. I recommend serving it warm to accentuate the cake’s moisture and with a whipped topping. I am a sucker for the real deal – heavy whipping cream with a sprinkle of sugar. Put away the jeggings (or pull out the long shirts) and watch the video below while you eat your cake and have it too.
let them eat olive oil cake
1 1/2 c whole grain pastry flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
3 large eggs, spearted
1/2 c Splenda (if using real sugar, use 3/4 c to 1 cup, taste for sweetness)
1/2 c non-fat or low-fat buttermilk
1/2 c olive oil
2 t lemon extract (or add one more Tbsp lemon zest as a substitute)
1 T lemon zest
- Heat oven to 350°.
- Spray 8″ spring form pan with cooking spray.
- Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center.
- Separate eggs into two bowls. Beat egg whites on high for 3 minutes until they form stiff white peaks.
- Beat egg yolks, Splenda, buttermilk, oil, lemon extract, and lemon zest for one minute.
- Pour egg yolk mixture into well of flour and combine, mixing gently but until it is blended.
- Fold in gently the egg white mixture.
- Pour into spring form pan and bake for 25-28 minutes (mine required 28).
- Let cool for 5 minutes and then remove from the pan and let cool on a wire rack.
- Serve warm or cool.
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