Grandma's no-frills cake made clean.
If you’d like to have your cake and eat it, too, give Grandma’s Applesauce Spice Cake recipe a try. This moist, delicious cake is a hit with children and adults, even though it doesn’t have any refined ingredients. It also happens to be one of the best healthy cake recipes we have in our collection! We’ve taken a traditional recipe favorite and made some ingredient swaps to make a skinny version that tastes just as good as the original.
Desserts often cause a great deal of stress for those trying to maintain a healthy diet. These types of dishes are usually packed with refined sugar–it’s what makes them sweet!–as well as being loaded with unhealthy saturated fat. That makes dessert difficult to enjoy if you are concerned about your health or weight! Luckily, we’ve found a few solutions for enjoying dessert without sabotaging your health.
Making Healthy Ingredient Swaps
We made a few modifications to Grandma’s traditional Applesauce Spice Cake that make it healthy without skimping on any flavor. Our first step was to toss out the table salt, which is super highly-processed and usually has additives to prevent clumping. Instead, we recommend using kosher salt because it’s more pure (or, better yet, sea salt or pink Himalayan salt).
Next up, we ditched the white flour and refined sugar. Instead, we use coconut palm sugar and natural applesauce to provide the perfect amount of sweetness. And, using whole-wheat flour gives this cake a nice density while also giving you a heart-healthy serving of whole grains. We dare you to notice the difference!
Healthy Desserts Taste Delicious
So, you see, you don’t need to skip the dessert just because you’re on a diet or weight-loss plan! If you’re craving a sweet treat, the best option is to choose healthier ingredients when making your desserts. Instead of buying a package of cookies from the supermarket, invest in high-quality, healthy ingredients and whip up a batch of your favorite desserts in your own kitchen. That gives you complete control over what you are eating.
It’s also important to stick to your serving sizes when you’re making a healthy treat, too. Everything in moderation, as they say. One serving is all you need of this full-flavored Applesauce Spice Cake, and it keeps your dessert calorie count to right about 300 calories. Feel free to slice each serving in half if all you need is a tiny bite to curb your sweet tooth. We’d also recommend trying this cake as a 300 calorie breakfast. After all, who doesn’t love a little dessert for breakfast?
Grandma's Applesauce Spice Cake
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups flour I used King Arthur's White Whole Wheat
- 1 2/3 cups coconut palm sugar sucanat works well too
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1 sweet apple cored, peeled and chopped into 1/4 inch pieces (I used gala)
- 1 cup walnuts chopped, optional
- 1 cup raisins optional
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 1/2 cups applesauce natural, here's my recipe
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons oil I used unrefined coconut oil (melted and cooled slightly), canola oil will also work
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9" x 13" cake pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients, whisk well to combine. If using walnuts or raisins, add and toss in with dry ingredients. Set aside dry ingredients. Add the remaining ingredients in a medium bowl, whisk until combined.
- Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir with a large spoon to incorporate. Pour into cake pan and bake 45 - 50 (check after 45 minutes) minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- This cake is best when completely cooled and even better the next day.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Have you made this recipe?
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Soda? Do you mean baking soda?
Yes, baking soda.
Can you tell me if the Weight Watchers Points Plus include the optional ingredients?
Suzi, Yes it does.
I want to use raw cane sugar in this recipe how much would i substitute for the coconut palm sugar?
Sub 1:1 ratio.
Does the nutrition facts include the walnuts and raisins?
Audrey, Yes it does.
What if I sub truvia blend sugar?
You can just make sure you use the right measure.
Trying to get away from wheat any subs you could recommend for the flour?
You can make a gluten-free/ wheat free all purpose flour blend: https://skinnyms.com/going-gluten-free-tips-for-gr… – Scroll down the article and there are a couple of recipes. It's best to use a blend of flours to create a gluten free flour. Some brands such as Bobs Red Mill also sell a wheat free all-purpose flour.
You can make a gluten-free/ wheat free all purpose flour blend: https://skinnyms.com/going-gluten-free-tips-for-gr… – Scroll down the article and there are a couple of recipes. It's best to use a blend of flours to create a gluten free flour. Some brands such as Bobs Red Mill also sell a wheat free all-purpose flour.
You can make a gluten-free/ wheat free all purpose flour blend: https://skinnyms.com/going-gluten-free-tips-for-gr… – Scroll down the article and there are a couple of recipes. It's best to use a blend of flours to create a gluten free flour. Some brands such as Bobs Red Mill also sell a wheat free all-purpose flour.
You can make a gluten-free/ wheat free all purpose flour blend: https://skinnyms.com/going-gluten-free-tips-for-gr… – Scroll down the article and there are a couple of recipes. It's best to use a blend of flours to create a gluten free flour. Some brands such as Bobs Red Mill also sell a wheat free all-purpose flour.
Thanks I was not sure it would come out the same.
what is the serving size? Is the calories are per one serving?
1 medium sized slice.
I bet you could swap out the applesauce for pureed pumpkin for another lovely fall treat 🙂
Ooh, that sounds like a good idea!
I just made this awesome recipe using the gluten free version and OMG! It’s so good! Thank you so much for this recipe!
Colleen, YAH! It’s one of my all time favorites. My grandma would be happy that you enjoyed. Do you mind sharing specifics
for making it gluten-free?
Hey, whats “allspice” in germany??
Allspice is sometimes referred to as: Jamaica pepper, myrtle pepper, pimenta, Turkish yenibahar, or newspice
I used part applesauce and part pureed butternut squash (no oil), and toasted pumpkin seeds and slivered unsulfured dried apricots. Added 1/2 tsp grated ginger. Phenomenal. Thanks for the jumping off point!
I’ve found that applesauce can almost always be subbed for oil in baked goods. Extra moist!
Lydia, Oh wow, love your tip! Thanks so much. 🙂
Any modifications for high altitude 6000 feet
Diane, I did some research and found this:
Adjustment for 5000 feet:
Reduce baking powder: for each teaspoon, decrease 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon.
Reduce sugar: for each cup, decrease 0 to 2 tablespoons.
Increase liquid: for each cup, add 2 to 4 tablespoons.
Increase oven temperature by 25 degrees F.
what if you used splenda for the sugar and didn’t add raisons or nuts? What would the ww smart point value be?
Cindy, We don’t recommend any artificial sweeteners. Please use a ww calculator for the points using other sweeteners.
I am allergic to eggs. Can I use an egg substitute?
You can substitute 1/4 cup (more) of applesauce per egg.
Apparently Grandma does know best. This cake is amazing!
I serve this cake every Thanksgiving. My family always requests it.