Recipes: Low-fat chocolate layer cake

LOw-Fat Chocolate LAYER cake

Serves 16.

For sweeties riding the low-fat train, create a low-fat layer cake made with egg whites, fat-free sour cream and cocoa powder (the least-fatty fraction of the cacao bean) and frosted with Seven Minute Frosting (which is fat-free until we add a little more cocoa powder). Adapted slightly from "1,001 Low-Fat Desserts," by Sue Spitler.

• 1 c. hot water

•²/₃c. unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1³/₄c. sugar

• 5 tbsp. butter, fully softened

• 2 tsp. vanilla

• 3 egg whites

•¹/₂c. fat-free sour cream

• 1³/₄c. cake flour

• 1 tsp. baking powder

•¹/₂tsp. baking soda

•¹/₂tsp. salt

Seven-Minute Frosting:

• 2 egg whites

• 1¹/₂c. sugar

• 5 tbsp. cold water

•¹/₄tsp. cream of tartar

• 1¹/₂tsp. light corn syrup

• 1 tsp. vanilla

•¹/₃c. unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans. In a medium bowl combine hot water and the²/₃cup of unsweetened cocoa powder, stirring to dissolve the cocoa. Set aside.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the sugar and butter until the mixture is fluffy. Beat in the vanilla, then the 3 egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each. Add the sour cream and beat at high speed for 1 minute.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add half this dry mixture to the batter and beat at low speed to combine; beat in half the cocoa mixture, scraping the bowl. Repeat. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (or with a few crumbs -- better too moist than too dry). Cool 10 minutes, remove from pans, cool completely.

Prepare the frosting: Bring an inch of water to a rapid boil in the bottom of a double boiler. Meanwhile, in the top of the double boiler, combine the 2 egg whites, the 1½ cups of sugar, cold water, cream of tartar and corn syrup. Beat until well blended.

Place the egg-white mixture over the boiling water and beat at high speed for 7 minutes, until the mixture holds stiff peaks. Remove the frosting from the heat and add and gently but thoroughly fold in the vanilla and the¹/₃cup of unsweetened cocoa powder. (You'll lose some volume but there will be plenty.) Fill and frost cake. Lick beaters. Yum.

Nutrition information per serving:

Calories 270 Fat 4 g Sodium 200 mg Saturated fat 3 g

Carbohydrates 57 g Cholesterol 10 mg

Calcium 38 mg Protein 4 g

Dietary fiber 2 g

Diabetic exchanges per serving: 4 other carb, 1 fat.

Low-Carb chocolate cake

Serves 16.

For valentines who are more taken with the low-carb approach, it would be nice to offer a two-layer chocolate cake that's really low in carbs, but the need for flour pretty well wipes that out. So here's a version of my favorite 1-inch-high, fudgy flourless chocolate cake, carbs reduced even further by substituting a noncaloric sweetener for almost half of the sugar. It's a very deep chocolate dessert, not for the faint of heart. Note: It isn't cake-like. It's a fudgy lump of goo. And wonderful.

•³/₄lb. (3 sticks) butter

• 7 (1-oz.) squares unsweetened chocolate

• 1 c. minus 2 tbsp. sugar

•³/₄c. measure-for- measure Splenda

• 1 c. milk

• 7 egg yolks

• Heavy cream, whipped, for topping, optional but recommended

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter over low heat and set it aside. Cut a round of waxed paper or parchment paper to fit the bottom of an 8- or 9-inch springform pan. Grease or oil the sides of the pan and one side of the paper. Put the paper, oiled side up, in the pan.

In a saucepan over very low heat, heat the chocolate, sugar, Splenda and milk, stirring constantly, until the chocolate is melted. Pour the mixture into the large bowl of an electric mixer.

With the mixer running at low speed, add about a seventh of the melted butter (a shy¹/₄cup) and beat at low speed only until it is fully absorbed. Then add an egg yolk and beat, at low speed, just until the mixture has fully absorbed it. Continue to alternate additions of butter and egg yolks until all are fully incorporated. Pour the mixture into the pan, set the pan on a cookie sheet and put the whole thing in the oven, on the middle rack.

Bake for 25 minutes. It will be soupy in the middle and will look like a mistake. Unless you forgot to turn the oven on, it is done. It will not have risen enough to notice. Allow it to cool on a rack, then refrigerate it at least a few hours, until it is firm.

Flip the lever on the side of the pan halfway open -- enough to release the tension holding the side shut, but not enough to pry it open. Run a sharp knife completely around the side of the pan, so it is free of the cake, then flip the lever on the side the rest of the way, so the side is loose. Lift out the cake, cover with a flat serving plate and invert. Wait a few minutes for the cake to warm a bit, then carefully pry up the bottom of the pan and peel away the waxed paper.

Decorate, if you like, with whipped cream. (I like to make a lattice pattern that lets the dark, dark chocolate show through.) Refrigerate, but allow to warm an hour or so before serving. Wow.

Nutrition information per serving (without whipping cream):

Calories 289 Fat 26 g Sodium 135 mg Saturated fat 16 g

Carbohydrates 16 g Cholesterol 137 mg

Calcium 45 mg Protein 3 g

Dietary fiber 2 g

Diabetic exchanges per serving: 1 bread/starch, 5 fat.

CHOCOLATE LAYER Cake MADE WITH WHOLE-GRAIN FLOUR

Serves 16.

Sweeties taking the latest big advice from the U.S. Department of Agriculture should appreciate this chocolate layer cake in which more than half the flour is whole-wheat pastry flour. The recipe is adapted slightly from "King Arthur Flour Whole-Grain Baking." Any excess earnestness is overcome with my current favorite frosting, the lovely (but high-fat) Quickie Buttercream Frosting. Note: Find whole-wheat pastry flour at co-ops and upscale supermarkets.

•³/₄c. (1¹/₂sticks) butter, softened

• 1 c. packed brown sugar

•³/₄c. granulated sugar

• 1¹/₂c. whole-wheat pastry flour (not regular whole-wheat flour)

• 1 c. all-purpose flour

• 1 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1¹/₂tsp. baking soda

• 4 eggs

• 2 tsp. vanilla

• 1 c. plain low-fat or whole-milk yogurt

•³/₄c. water

Quickie Buttercream Frosting:

• 1 (7- to 7¹/₂-oz.) jar marshmallow creme, such as Marshmallow Fluff

•³/₄c. (1¹/₂sticks) butter, fully softened

• 1 tsp. vanilla

• 6 oz. good-quality semisweet chocolate

•¹/₂c. heavy cream

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans or line with parchment paper.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the³/₄cup of butter and both sugars until the mixture is light and fluffy. Sift together the whole-wheat pastry flour, all-purpose flour, cocoa powder and baking soda and set aside.

Add eggs to the butter mixture one at a time, beating well and scraping down the bowl after each. Add the vanilla and beat in. Add half the flour mixture and mix until well combined. Add the yogurt and water and mix again. Add the remaining flour mixture and combine well, scraping down the bowl sides and bottom. Pour into the prepared pans.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (or with a few crumbs -- better too moist than too dry). Cool 15 minutes, remove from pans and cool completely.

Prepare frosting: Remove lid and seal from marshmallow creme and soften in microwave oven about 30 seconds. Creme will puff out of the jar. Scrape the creme into the large bowl of an electric mixer. Briefly whip it at high speed until it is smooth and uniform (volume will decrease).

Cut the softened butter into 1-tablespoon portions and add two at a time, scraping the bowl and whipping the mixture at medium speed after each addition, until smooth. Beat in the vanilla.

In a small saucepan over low heat, or in the microwave, melt the chocolate, stirring frequently. Allow to cool slightly, then beat into the buttercream mixture, scraping bowl sides and bottom. In the small mixer bowl (no need to clean beaters) whip the cream until it holds stiff peaks, then fold it into the buttercream.

Fill and frost cake. Refrigerate, but allow to warm an hour or so before serving.

Nutrition information per serving:

Calories 464 Fat 25 g Sodium 288 mg

Carbohydrates 58 g Saturated fat 15 g Calcium 72 mg

Protein 7 g Cholesterol 110 mg Dietary fiber 4 g

Diabetic exchanges per serving: 2 bread/starch, 2 other carb, 5 fat.

NO-HOLDS-BARRED CHOCOLATE LAYER CAKE

Serves 16.

For that lucky valentine who is in perfect health -- and who doesn't feel that enjoying a very occasional high-carb, high-fat, all-purpose-flour, ganache-covered chocolate layer cake requires a note from his or her cardiologist -- we offer exactly that. The cake recipe, adapted slightly from "Williams-Sonoma Cakes," is similar to the whole-grain cake, but it isn't low in anything you mightbe urged to cut down on. The ganache is even more so. Once a year, why the heck not? The raspberries are an optional bone tossed to the antioxidants-from-fruit crowd.

• 4 (1-oz.) squares unsweetened chocolate

• 2¹/₄c. cake flour

• 1 tsp. baking soda

• 1 c. (2 sticks) butter, softened

• 1 c. packed brown sugar

•³/₄c. granulated sugar

• 4 eggs

• 2 tsp. vanilla

• 1 c. buttermilk

Ganache Frosting:

• 2 c. heavy cream

• 5 tbsp. butter

• 16 oz. (1 12-oz. pkg. plus²/₃c.) semisweet chocolate chips

• Raspberries, optional, for garnish

• Powdered sugar, optional

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans or line with parchment paper. Melt the chocolate in a saucepan over very low heat or in the microwave. Set aside. Sift together the flour and baking soda. Set aside.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the 2 sticks of butter and both sugars until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add eggs to the butter mixture one at a time, beating well and scraping down the bowl after each. Add the vanilla and beat in. Beat in the melted chocolate, scraping down the bowl, until the mixture is uniform.

Add the dry ingredients in 3 batches alternating with the buttermilk (beginning and ending with the dry ingredients), and mixing each addition until fully incorporated. Pour into the prepared pans, but don't overfill -- if it looks like too much batter, it might be.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (or with a few crumbs -- better too moist than too dry). Cool 15 minutes, remove from pans and cool completely.

Prepare the ganache: Combine the cream and the 5 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan over medium heat and bring just to the boil, stirring occasionally to melt the butter. Remove from heat. Stir in the chocolate chips until they are largely melted. Pour and scrape into the large bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on low speed until the mixture is smooth and uniform. Chill in the mixer bowl, along with the beaters, an hour or so, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is cool and resembles thick cream.

Whip the chilled ganache until it is as stiff as whipped cream. Fill and frost the cake, piping a rim of ganache flourishes around the top if you like. And/or garnish with a pile of raspberries and dust with powdered sugar. Refrigerate, but allow to warm an hour or so before serving. Holy buckets!

Nutrition information per serving:

Calories 577 Fat 38 g Sodium 238 mg

Carbohydrates 60 g Saturated fat 23 g Calcium 80 mg

Protein 7 g Cholesterol 127 mg Dietary fiber 3 g

Diabetic exchanges per serving: 2 bread/starch, 2 other carb, 7½ fat.