Better-for-You Poppy Seed Cake

I am not a sweet eater...except for this cake.

And maybe the occasional brownie. And homemade vanilla ice cream. Oh, and Krispy Kreme donuts. And my Grandma P's sugar cookies at Christmas time. Seriously, though, I go weeks and do not eat a single sweet thing other than some diet soda. Really.

Anyway, my mom had shoulder surgery this week. She can't raise her arm, use her hand, bathe herself, you know...big fat "ugh". My next sister is doing all the cooking for her and Dad, but I did deliver Mom's fave snack, strawberry Twizzlers, the other day. And today, I decided to kill three birds (blog post, birthday gift for my little brother, and tasty nosh for Mom and Dad) with one cake plate by baking my version of our family specialty. Suzi can grind away at the meals--I'll do exactly what I want, thank you! Twizzlers and cake it is!

The cake is actually from my Aunt Susie's Home Ec class back in the day. [Sister Suzi's namesake] It is also her favorite cake. But my dad fell in love with it when my mom made it for him. My mom does not bake much. She is an excellent cook and baker, but she gets NO joy from baking. Still, she always baked this cake for special occasions. My mom says Dad even baked a poppyseed cake for her--once. She wondered why it was so small, and then he admitted that he ate most of the batter before baking it. Apparently, I come by that trait honestly. I have never met anyone else who has tasted Solo Poppy Seed Cake, let alone makes it. Which is a shame because it. is. delicious.

So... we love this cake, but it is a cake, and therefore a fatty and sugary delight. My dad, who himself had a heart attack at age 50 (18 years ago) and has assiduously ignored heart-healthy admonitions ever since, vociferously derides any and all health-conscious alterations of "normal" food. But you know what I always say: what he doesn't know, he'll scarf down like the hog he is (same danged character trait. oink oink). After D's heart attack, I created this better-for-you version. Dad has been eating it for the past four years and he doesn't even know it!

Better-for-You Solo Poppy Seed Cake
Original Recipe The original version of this cake is still my favorite sweet food of all time. Either my mom or my mother-in-law makes it for my birthday every year. When I married, my mom gave me the mixing bowl she always used to mix it in when I was a little girl. Yes. It means that much to me. But I am proud of the version I have developed. It tastes like the original, but it is significantly de-fatted and de-cholesterol-ed.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 c AP (all purpose) flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 stick margarine
1/2 c (4 oz) unsweetened applesauce
1 1/2 c sugar
1 can Solo poppy seed filling
1 whole egg
1/2 c egg  whites or egg substitute from a carton
1 c fat-free sour cream or yogurt
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 c egg whites from a carton (this is not a misprint! you need these along with the others!)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

3. Using an electric mixer of some kind, beat margarine and sugar together.

4. Add apple sauce and mix.
You know those little single-serving packs of apple sauce at the grocery store? Yep. Half-cup. Perfect.

5. Add poppy filling and mix.
That's poppy filling above. Looks like sludge, but smells and tastes heavenly.

6. Add the single whole egg and mix well.

7. Add the 1/2 c of egg whites / egg substitute and mix well.

8. Add sour cream / yogurt and vanilla and mix at low speed just until incorporated.

9. Add sifted dry ingredients and mix.

10. In a separate bowl, beat 2/3 c egg whites to stiff peaks.
Do yourself a favor: if you have a stand mixer, use it. If you have an electric hand mixer, use it. Don't be a hero. Leave hand whisking to the Food Channel chefs unless you want your arm to fall off. Here's the deal with the egg whites: you've got to keep them pristine or they won't form stiff peaks. No fat may touch them, so you CANNOT use the same batter-covered beaters that you just used to make the rest of the batter. WASH THEM. Me? I have a KitchenAid stand mixer with two bowls, so I mix all the other ingredients with my paddle. Then, I load the bowl of egg whites and use the whisk attachment to work them up. I realize that not everyone has a stand mixer with two bowls, however, so you'll figure it out. Just make sure no fat gets in the egg whites or you won't get the lovely, airy mountain of eggy beauty that will add the much needed lightness to this rather densely-textured cake.

11. FOLD stiffly-beaten egg whites into cake batter carefully with a very light touch. You are finished when batter looks about like it did before you began folding except for the fact that you can still see flecks of beaten egg white floating in it.

12. Spray a fluted pan with Pam and flour it.

13. Pour in cake batter. Wiggle the pan and thump it gently on the counter to settle the batter evenly.

14. Bake at 350-degrees on the middle rack for ~ 55-60 minutes. The cake will have a dark brown crust and a tester will come out clean when it is fully baked.

15. Let the cake cool for a bit, maybe 10 minutes or so. Then, invert the cake pan on a plate and allow to cool completely before lifting cake pan off the cake.

16. Now, for the iffy part. Sometimes, this fails for me. Lift the cake pan off the cake. You may have to joggle it a bit to loosen the cake, but if you greased and floured as you should have done, your cake will release and you'll have a lovely, dark-brown wonder of a poppy seed cake! If you have the "fool-proof" method for getting a fluted cake to release, please share!
Oh, and I cannot look at this picture without having an almost irresistible urge to stick a plastic flower down in the middle, exclaiming, "Look! A BuuunnnDDt cake!" like Maria Portokalos in My Big Fat Greek Wedding!

17. Optional: Set a large paper doily on top of the cooled cake and sprinkle powdered sugar over it. Remove the doily and you'll have a pretty snowflake pattern of sugar on top. I never do this b/c there's usually someone standing at my shoulder with a cake knife as the fluted pan lifts off the cake. It's that good. BTW, I think the fact that this cake is NOT iced/frosted is one reason I love it so. I do NOT like cake frosting.

Not a sweet eater. Really.