The words “cake” and “healthy” don’t really seem to go together.
We don’t think of cake as healthy. Part of our understanding of cake is that it is slightly sinful for us to eat. It’s a bit decadent, indulgent. We enjoy the flavor and the richness of it, knowing that we cannot indulge often because of the possible negative effects.
If we do hear of a healthy cake, we’re likely to write it off as something that will taste bad, even without trying it first.
Being ‘healthy’ almost ruins a cake, in a way. A healthy cake sounds like something that is a ripoff, a half-dessert half-health food hybrid that just isn’t quite as satisfying.
Since we are unlikely to get over the hurdle of public opinion regarding health foods, instead we’ll try to make cake ‘healthier’ or ‘less unhealthy’ rather than ‘healthy’. Perhaps there will still be room for the expectation of deliciousness.
Most cakes are actually two recipes, combined. First there is the cake, consisting largely of butter, flour, sugar and eggs. The second component is the frosting, generally made from sugar and butter.
If we consider each ingredient in turn, we can often think of a healthier alternative that might be feasible. Often the substitutions won’t harm the texture or flavor either – vegan and health food restaurants these days bake cakes that are rich and decadent and would fool the most discriminating palate.
It’s a matter of taking a few of the least healthy ingredients, and substituting appropriate healthier items. Any recipe for cake can become a ‘healthy cake’ recipe with this technique. Use your favorite cake recipe, and decide ingredient by ingredient where you can make changes.
Whenever you are experimenting though you’ll want to try out your new version before serving it to guests. Cake recipes can be fussy things. Try it at home with just your family, to make sure that your latest substitution experiment doesn’t ruin a cake for an important occasion.
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