So to prepare a cake mix (devil's food) you normally add eggs and 1/2 cup of vegetable oil. {Not vinegar! As a friend and I found out after mistaking vegetable oil for vinegar when we made our first batch of cupcakes in junior high.}Anyways...
1/2 cup of oil = 1040 calories and 112 grams of fat!
3 eggs = 225 calories and 15 grams of fat.
So when you make a devil's food cake you are voluntarily adding 1265 calories and 127 grams of fat!!!!
For this cake I substituted all of that for a 15 oz can of pumpkin (140 calories and 1.75 grams of fat). Making each serving 182 calories 3 g fat instead of 290 calories 15 g fat (icing not included).
The chocolate glaze drizzle was made as follows:
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate
2 Tablespoons butter
1 Tablespoon light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
melt everything over the stove on low heat until smooth
Dump it on the cake and smooth the top until it drizzles over the edges.
It's so simple and so gorgeous! Now the real question: "How does it taste?" Well I have to say that it does change the texture of the cake. It makes it a little more dense and brownie-like. But you can't really taste the pumpkin unless you know to look for it. It has a pumpkin aroma while the cake is still warm. Serve it room temp and you've got a dessert that's great and won't make you feel guilty about having a second piece after your guests leave. I want feedback! You try it and decide for yourself. Would you replace your run of the mill cake mix recipe with the healthier pumpkin alternative?
P.S. Talk about food storage. It's easier to store cans of pumpkin than eggs. :-) You're welcome!
Beautiful job Melissa! I'll have to try it out! How did those vinegar cupcakes turn out? hahah :)
ReplyDeleteNasty vinegar cupcakes. lol They pretty much tasted like vinegar! So disappointing. It wasn't my fault though, I was at a friend's house and I just assumed her oil looked different than my oil. She's the one that mistook the V on the vinegar for Vegetable oil. We're both much better cooks now!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite chocolate cake recipe is from Betty Crocker, called Chocolate Snack Cake. Flour, sugar, cocoa powder, water, vinegar (but not much!) and baking soda. 230 calories, 8g fat and surprisingly moist! Not to trump yours, I think the pumpkin would definitely add some nutritional value you can't get anywhere else, and I bet it's really moist and yummy too! I just never have cake mix on hand when I want to make cake and never want to go to the store (so yeah, I'm lazy!!) I've also heard of substituting applesauce in some recipes (more like the spice cake varieties, though) I haven't really looked into it, just know it can be done!
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