Oatmeal applesauce cake

OATMEAL APPLESAUCE CAKE ~ LOW-FAT AND MOIST 

Here's a quick, low-fat and relatively healthy way to have your cake and eat it too.

I adapted the recipe from a magazine called Diabetic Living, so of course, there's less sugar in it. Most of the natural sweetness comes in the form of unsweetened applesauce, which is a cinch to make at home.

The cake also has a lot of good stuff – whole wheat flour, rolled oats and dried fruit, and spices like cinnamon and nutmeg.

The original recipe was made with a bigger quantity of ingredients for more servings, but I cut it down to about two-thirds. It was made with egg replacer (the equivalent of one whole egg), but I used a yolk for the batter. Using the egg white in the batter would have reduced the fat, but I find it tends to make a drier cake as well. And we don't want that, do we?

Since I didn't want to waste the white, I made a meringue-like topping. This adds more crunch but the egg white can be omitted. Just sprinkle the rolled oats and brown sugar on and press into the batter lightly.

Oatmeal Applesauce Cake

Based on a recipe in Diabetic Living magazine, winter 2004

Makes a 20cm square cake

⅔ cup plain flour

⅔ cup whole wheat flour

½ cup rolled oats

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp baking soda

⅛ tsp salt

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

½ cup packed brown sugar

¼ cup butter, softened

1 egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup unsweetened applesauce (preferably homemade; see note)

½ cup dried fruit bits (cranberries, orange peel, crystallised ginger)

Topping

1 egg white

⅓ cup rolled oats

1½ tbsp packed brown sugar

Preheat oven to 180°C. Lightly grease a 20cm square tin; set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together the two flours, rolled oats, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and nutmeg.

In a mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar and butter and beat until mixed.Beat in egg yolk and vanilla. Alternately add flour mixture and applesauce, beating after each addition, just until combined. Stir in fruit bits. Spread batter into the prepared pan.

For the topping, whisk the egg white until stiff but not dry. Combine the rolled oats and brown sugar and fold into the egg white. Spread mixture onto batter.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack before cutting into bars to serve.

Note: To make applesauce, peel and chop up 2 cooking apples. Place in a saucepan with 2 tbsp water, cover and cook over high heat until the liquid comes to the boil. Turn down the heat to medium low, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until apple is soft and can be mashed easily. Uncover and continue cooking until liquid has evaporated. Cool and store chilled in an air-tight  container.

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