Rich, Chewy Low-Fat Spice Cake Will Keep

This recipe for old-Fashioned buttermilk spice cake with maple glaze is an heirloom from the early days of American cooking.

The cake has been adapted to be low in fat, but the original spicy flavor is still intact. It’s loaded with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and other spices - including a discreet pinch of hot red pepper - so this dark, moist cake develops flavor as it keeps. A sweet maple-flavored glaze complements the spicy cake.

The cake is low in fat because it is made with just one-quarter cup of oil. The glaze contains a mere tablespoon of butter. Yet, the cake is rich and slightly chewy because it contains a trio of ingredients that provide flavor as well as moisture: molasses, buttermilk and liquid egg substitutes.

If you don’t have egg substitutes, you can use two egg whites and one whole egg instead. You can also vary the flavoring used in the glaze; almond extract, or rum or lemon flavorings, would also pair well with the cake.

Stored in the refrigerator and carefully covered, Old-Fashioned Buttermilk Spice Cake will stay fresh for up to two weeks.

Old-Fashioned Buttermilk Spice Cake With Maple Glaze

1/4 cup canola oil

1 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitutes

1 teaspoon vanilla

2-1/2 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon allspice or cloves

1/8 teaspoon ground hot red pepper

1/4 cup molasses

1-1/4 cups buttermilk

Maple glaze (recipe follows)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat a 13- by 9- by 2-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and dust lightly with flour. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the canola oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg substitutes and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until the sugar dissolves.

In a separate bowl, combine the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, ginger, nutmeg, allspice or cloves, and red pepper.

In a measuring cup, stir together the molasses and buttermilk. Add half the dry ingredients to the sugar and egg mixture, alternately with half the buttermilk and molasses. Beat on low speed for 1 minute. Add the remaining dry ingredients and remaining buttermilk mixture and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, or until the flour is combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the cake is firm on top. Place on a wire rack to cool completely. When cool top with powdered sugar or maple glaze.

Yield: 16 servings.

Nutrition information per serving (without glaze): 191 calories, 3.8 grams fat (18 percent fat calories), 3 grams protein, 37 grams carbohydrate, 1 milligram cholesterol, 223 milligrams sodium.

Nutrition information per serving (with glaze): 258 calories, 4.5 grams fat (16 percent fat calories), 3 grams protein, 52 grams carbohydrate, 3 milligrams cholesterol, 232 milligrams sodium.

Maple Glaze

1 tablespoon butter or margarine, softened

1 teaspoon maple extract

2-1/4 cups powdered sugar

3 tablespoons skim milk

In a medium-size mixing bowl, beat the butter or margarine on low speed. Beat in the maple extract, then gradually beat in the powdered sugar. Add the skim milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until a thick glaze is formed. Pour the glaze over the cake and spread evenly with a spatula. Allow the glaze to dry before cutting cake.

Yield: 16 servings.

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