Have Your Cake and Eat it Too

3 tbsp vegetable oil or light olive oil

2 tbsp strong black coffee

1 egg white, beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas mark 3.

2 Spray a 20cm (8in) square cake tin with light cooking spray and line the base with non-stick baking parchment.

3 Place the flour, oatbran, cocoa, both sugars and the bicarbonate of soda in a medium-sized bowl and stir to mix well.

4 Now, combine the apple sauce, oil, coffee, beaten egg white and vanilla extract and stir to mix. Add the apple sauce mixture to the flour mixture and combine well.

5 Pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin and bake for about 25 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly touched and a wooden skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

TIP

This cake is delicious served with a squirt of Raspberry Coulis (#litres_trial_promo).

Almond & Hazelnut Gateau

I love making this nutty, butter-free gateau. It’s incredibly light and works fabulously with a thick layer of fat-free frosting on top. Hazelnuts and almonds are a great source of vitamin E, dietary fibre, heart-healthy B vitamins and ‘good fats’, and the eggs add the protein. This cake is best eaten on the day it is made.

SERVES 8

(LARGER SLICES ALLOWED, AS IS THIS IS A LOVELY LOW-FAT CAKE)

light cooking spray, for coating

4 medium eggs

100g (3½oz) caster sugar

5½ tbsp plain flour

50g (1¾oz) ground almonds

50g (1¾oz) ground hazelnuts

50g (1¾oz) flaked almonds

To decorate

frosting (#litres_trial_promo) of your choice

raspberries

plain dark chocolate scrapings

1 Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas mark 5.

2 Spray two 20cm (8in) sandwich tins with light cooking spray to make the cake easy to turn out.

3 Using a free-standing electric mixer, whisk the eggs and sugar together until the mixture is pale, fluffy and doubled in volume. Be patient, as this will take about 5 minutes.

4 Now, sift in the flour from a good height. Add the ground almonds and hazelnuts and fold in with a large, clean metal spoon using as few strokes as possible.

5 Tip the mixture gently into the prepared tins and sprinkle with the flaked almonds.

6 Bake for 12 minutes until well risen and springy to the touch. Allow to cool in the tins for 5 minutes, then turn out and cool on a wire rack.

7 Cover one cake with delicious low-fat frosting and maybe some raspberries. Place the second cake on top. Decorate with more low-fat frosting, raspberries and dark chocolate scrapings.

Chocolate Cake with Spicy Pears

This butter- and flour-free cake has a lovely light texture and great flavour. Make sure you use best quality plain dark chocolate, as this will contain less fat and sugar and gives a better flavour. Cook the pears a day ahead and chill in the refrigerator overnight. The cake is best eaten on the day it is baked.

SERVES 4

For the cake

low-fat spread, for greasing

110g (4oz) caster sugar, plus 1 tbsp for dusting

1 tbsp plain flour, for dusting

110g (4oz) bitter dark chocolate, chopped

4 eggs, separated

70g (2½oz) cornflour

icing sugar, sifted, for dusting

low-fat crème fraîche, to serve

For the spicy pears

85g (3oz) caster sugar

2 tbsp clear, runny honey

4 cloves

10 black peppercorns