Healthy Snack Recipe: Applesauce Cake

Dairy free, egg free low fat applesauce spice cake recipe

Yummy moist applesauce cake, low fat, low sodium, and no refined sugar for your snacking pleasure. Make it all or half whole grain, or gluten free.

This delicious healthy snack recipe is a adaptation of an applesauce cake recipe in the 'Pritikin 28 Day Diet Book', shared by Carolyn Boyce, and devoured enthusiastically by us.

Total prep & cook time: 20 min + 1 hr baking

Yield: 12 Servings

Nutrition Data, 53g Serving: 67 cal, 13g carb, 1g fat, 129mg sodium, 1g fiber, 1g protein, low Cholesterol, good source Phosphorus & Manganese. Estimated gycemic load 6

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups whole wheat or whole spelt flour
• OR: 3/4 cup whole wheat or spelt + 1 cup white flour
• OR: 1 1/2 cups gluten free flour mix
• 1/3 cup quick oats
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Optional: 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 Tbsp ground flax seed, beaten with 2 Tbsp water, let sit for 5 minutes
• 2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup frozen apple juice concentrate, agave nectar or brown rice syrup
• 2 Tbsp sunflower seed oil or other neutral cooking oil
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Optional: 1/2 cup raisins
• Optional: powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Lightly oil a 9 x 13 inch cake pan with vegetable oil
3. Combine the flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder and spices in a large mixing bowl. Stir in optional walnuts if using.
4. Combine the wet ingredients, including oil and flax seed mixture, and the optional raisins if using
5. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until combined
6. The mixture should be about the same consistency as muffin batter
7. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula dipped in water
8. Place on a rack in the middle of the oven, and bake for 50 minutes
9. Remove cake from oven and cover with aluminum foil for 10 minutes before removing from pan
10. Optional: allow to cool for 1/2 hour, and dust lightly with powdered sugar

Recipe Tips:

The big variable in this recipe is the amount of moisture in the applesauce. The only way to tell is if you mix the cake and the batter is quite runny, when it should be thick like muffin batter. In that case, add another 2 - 4 Tbsp flour, or 2 -4 more Tbsp of quick oats.

If the batter seems quite stiff, add 2 - 4 Tbsp water.

The frozen apple juice concentrate adds a lot of sweetness, but agave syrup or brown rice syrup would also work. If you prefer to use stevia, add 1/4 cup more applesauce in place of the apple juice concentrate.

For a nice variation, add 1/2 cup raisins or chopped walnuts. The cake won't be as low in fat and calories, but it'll be more nutritious.