When I was home a week ago, my mom hosted her friends for a ‘Sip and See’. Sip (on wine, water, etc) and See/meet little Hailey.
My mom makes hosting look effortless and had some pretty delicious treats out, too. It should have been deemed a Sip, Savor and See 😉 One little gem my mom put out was this delicious apple cake.
These tasted like little bites of heaven and I immediately had to have the recipe. Not surprisingly, it was made up of all things delicious- sugar, oil, flour, etc. This lit up a brilliant challenge for me… could I take this recipe and health-i-fy it? I’m pleased to announce the answer is YES.
Lightened-Up Vegan Apple Pecan Cake
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup NuNaturals Stevia baking blend (you could also sub for splenda baking blend or 1 more cup of real sugar)
- 1/4 cup oil
- 1 cup applesauce
- 3 flax eggs (3 Tbsp flax seed meal and 6 Tbsp water- mixed and set aside for 10 minutes to allow to gel)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3 cups chopped (honeycrisp!) apples (2 medium apples should do it)
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 3/4 tsp cinnamon
For the glaze…
- 1 Tbsp vegan butter (melted)
- 1 cup confectioners sugar
- 1 1/2 Tbsp vanilla almond milk
Beat together sugar, baking blend, oil and applesauce. Add flax eggs in slowly, beating well.
Mix flours, salt, baking soda and cinnamon together is a bowl and slowly add to mixing bowl, allowing the batter to mix thoroughly.
Stir apples and pecans into batter.
Pour (scrape) mixture into a greased and floured casserole dish.
Bake at 325 degrees for about 55 minutes (until toothpick comes out clean).
While cake is still warm, mix glaze ingredients and drizzle over cake.
Allow cake to cool, then slice into 15 pieces (3 rows, 5 columns). Enjoy!
These came out delicious, but was it lighter than the original recipe? You bet!
Original (1 serving- if divided into 15 pieces, with glaze)
Calories 509.51
Carbs 69.81
Fat 25.31
Protein 4.59
Lightened-Up Vegan Edition (1 serving- if divided into 15 pieces, with glaze)
Calories 335.43
Carbs 63.56
Fat 10.21
Protein 3.38
That saves you 174 calories and 15 g fat!
And it’s so yummy 🙂
Yes, this could be dessert, but it would also be great served with hot coffee on a cool Thanksgiving morning.
What recipe would you want to see lightened up?
Jane Preston says
Brittany,
I was one of the fortunate who was there for the Sip and See! Those were delicious! I wish I had known the nutritional info before I ate so many! 🙂 I came home and experimented, too. Instead of the vegetable oil, I used applesauce. I also used Raw Sugar, instead of white, granulated sugar and used 1/2 all purpose and 1/2 almond meal. It was amazing!
Can’t wait to try your version!
This is one of the best desserts I’ve ever had and highly recommend making it!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your precious family!
xooxox
Brittany says
I think my mom had her cake cut into smaller pieces than 1/15th of the total cake, so I’m sure you didn’t have as much as you thought!
I love the idea of using almond meal- how was the texture with the almond meal? I want to try it out 🙂
Jamie @ FoodinRealLife says
That looks so good- I would be afraid I’d eat the whole pan. I can always eat so much more of desserts like that versus chocolatey things. Just like yours, my mom seems to make entertaining seem so easy! I like it, but I don’t think i make it seem easy. I’m always a nervous wreck!
Jen says
Omg, these look amazing! Bookmarking now, and possibly making this afternoon. I love lightening up recipes, but sometimes they don’t come out nearly as good. So glad this one was a success though! 🙂
Brittany says
I know you went into labor and everything, but I hope you refrained from going to the hospital until this cake was coming out of the oven. 😉 SO HAPPY FOR YOU!
Jane Preston says
Brittany, the texture was great…but very moist. I substituted the same amount of apple sauce in lieu of the vegetable oil and might try it with little less apple sauce tomorrow when I make them. Also, my apples were chopped in smaller pieces and I might make them a little bit larger like yours. I did use the extra large Eggland’s best eggs in my recipe.
I’m making this for Thanksgiving and serving it warm with a scoop of vanilla frozen yogurt. Yum!
Brooklyn @ Veggie Table says
Delicious!!!! Looks like the perfect fall recipe! Any dessert that is light and tasty (especially around the holidays) is a must try in my book! Thanks for sharing!!!
Tanya @ Vegan Faith says
These look delicious! And vegan! I like to think you did that just for me 🙂 Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Brittany says
How did you know? JUST for you, Tanya!
Tiff @ Love Sweat and Beers says
I really want to try that. I had my first taste (by taste, I mean two pieces) of apple cake at work last week. I hadn’t had it before, and it was delicious! I’m sure it’s one of those things that would lighten up pretty well.
Kelli H (Made in Sonoma) says
Who doesn’t love a lightened up dessert?! Looks tasty!
Maria says
Sip and See: what a great idea! Southern women are true geniuses when it comes to hosting parties.
What I love about this recipe is that I normally have all these ingredients on hand…okay, so that might be the dangerous thing about the recipe, but so convenient!
Brittany says
I thought it was the cutest idea when I heard it- Sip ‘n See!
Roz@weightingfor50 says
Love the term “sip and see”. The apple squares look great, but not as great as your gorgeous little girl! Bet there was a whole lotta oohing and aahing at her cuteness. Hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!
Brittany says
Aw, thanks so much, Roz! 🙂 Happy Thanksgiving to you!
Sophie @ LoveLiveAndLearn says
Mmm that looks so good!
I wanted to make an apple and walnut cake when I was back home but never had the time but I might make this next time instead 🙂
I love that it’s healthy too so you can enjoy it in more than one way!
Sarah says
My son wants pecans in his birthday cupcakes and we eat a plant-based diet, how would this recipe be successfully altered to bake in a muffin or cupcake tin?
Brittany Dixon says
I’ve never made it in cupcake form, but I would scoop it 3/4 full into a greased muffin tin and slightly decrease the cook time, watching as it goes and using a toothpick to check. Please let me know how it turns out. Thanks!