why do i say this is dubious?
well, i have never taken baked goods to this level of
“non-fat” before. all the fat in this recipe
is contained within the egg yolk.
and i guess you could remove that too, and use egg whites.
i have to admit, i was very very doubtful at first.
i thought this recipe would turn out dry,
and crumbly,
and just awful.
so of course i had to try it.
here’s the recipe. Tell me your first reaction to the ingredients list.
makes 12 servings
adapted from La Fuji Mama‘s guest post at bell’alimento
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup water
2 large eggs1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for metal or glass pans (325 degrees Fahrenheit for dark or coated pans). Grease the sides and bottom of an 8×8-inch baking pan. Flour lightly.
2. In a mixing bowl, blend together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, vanilla extract, and salt. Add the water and eggs and beat at low speed until everything is moistened (about 30 seconds). Then beat the batter at medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake immediately.
3. Bake for 33 to 36 minutes (add 3-5 minutes to the bake time for a dark or coated pan). The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack (to let air circulate below the pan) for 15 minutes. Cool completely before serving.
dubious? yesno?
water?! in a cake? no butter?!
HORROR OF HOLY HORRORS!
how is this cake supposed to rise? be fluffy? cakey? soft?
i think the proportionally-larger amount of baking powder
and whisking with an electric hand-mixer on high for 30 seconds
had to do with it.
anyway. curious to see the results?
sorry. these aren’t exact results.
but i couldn’t resist taking an ultra-close-up of the cake.
look at the bubbles!
i want this for my desktop background.
sure, it might look like holey desert.
or porey nose.
or brown pumice stone.
but it’s cake, and i know it, and that’s all that matters.
anyway.
cake!
it was very mild in flavour. i only used brown sugar,
not dark brown sugar, so the flavour was not as intense.
and of course as always, i skimped on the sugar.
i cut it up…
and realised that i don’t think cake is meant to be square.
and that i take really bad photos sometimes.
(this really does look like a block of burnt pumice.)
really bad photos that photoshop will never be able to fix.
i wanted to post this photo, dammit! so i will!
the quaint tea-time photo with the slightly-frilly dish.
and the fork. so you can imagine me picking up the fork and eat it.
i used my hands, actually. they’re a very “everyday”cake.
but…
sometimes i take good photos too.
even so, none of them make it through without being photoshopped.
there, i said it. i photoshopped ALL the photos on this blog.
colour balance, and brightening. i can never seem to get enough light.
i ate one of the less-fluffy pieces.
it was rather crunchy and over-browned on just the top,
as often happens when you only have the top flame working.
are you tired of me complaining about my oven yet?
here is one of the fluffier pieces.
they were good.
my relatives devoured them.
i’m so glad to be having relatives over that actually like to eat sweets.
(but i really, really dislike the comments they make:
“Oh wow, you’ve gotten a lot fatter!”
man. stop. please. i know i’ve gained a lot of weight, you don’t need to say it.
you don’t need to assume that if a food is vegetarian, i will like it.
I. EAT. MEAT. get it into your head!
i never disliked meat. i was just scared of it, okay?
okay. rant over. sorry for my impolitidity.)
anyway. this makes a great, light snack cake.
it doesn’t come together as fast as i would like…
well, the mixing’s really fast, but oven time is a bit long.
but what can you expect?
maybe by then you’ll be practicing intuitive eating
and deciding that you don’t need dessert after all since you’re full.
but eat it anyway.
hush, child. i’ll eat whatever the hell i want to.
**
What do you usually think of “skinnied-up” or “diet-friendly” baked goods? I actually think that most of the time they’re a waste of ingredients and time. They don’t usually measure up to the real thing (USE REAL BUTTER!) and, well, if you want to watch your waistline then just eat less. Eat just ONE piece! Sorry. That probably doesn’t mean much, coming from me, the binger.
I can’t see any of the pictures! :[
but hrmm.. I’d ilke to try to veganize this (by subbing ground flaxseed + warm water for eggs– flax eggs).
because I’m mostly vegan, I am pro not using butter and eggs… but instead, I use olive oil, coconut butter, vegan butter, and the like! XD oil is still necessary in many recipes!
non-fat is lame to me. I think the point is that one CAN eat more healthily, even healthy treats. I baked a delicious vegan bread recently with no sugar. of course, I used maple syrup & honey instead XD yummy!!
to skimp on those ingredients just to lose weight seems to defeat the purpose of eating a yummy dessert anyway! &hearts
also…
about your relatives, (seems like a natural consequence of being chinese, really D:)
screw them! don’t listen to them.
it’s hard at first but after a while, you’ll find that you won’t even be bothered by what they say.
last summer, when I was in shanghai going to eat chenghuangmiao xiaolongbao, the lady I was with (my parent’s friend’s wife) remarked how fat I was, and asked me if I liked to eat dumplings. when I said yes, she said “no wonder you’re so fat.”
the best response is just to say nothing. they’re not worth it anyway.
Hmm, it’d be interesting to see this veganised! I’m a selfish person and believe that butter is vital for deliciousness, so… :P That bread sounds amazing! I love the flavour of honey and finally got myself some recently. :)
And thank you for addressing the Chinese relative insensitivity issue… they’re gone now but I guess a lot of us in more Asian countries feel the pain more. I wonder why?
Wei-Wei
I can’t see the pictures :(
They sound delicious though! I bet I would like them. But i would use half whole wheat flour.
And non fat anything sucks. It isn’t satisfying or filling –> no go.
Oh, you can’t see the pictures either? Strange… it seems to be only you and Sui. Maybe they only became valid or something a while after I published. Try looking again! :)
I would throw some bran in there. That’s how I make my whole wheat flour ;)
Wei-Wei
I can’t see your photos either :(
And I totally get what you mean by your relatives criticizing you. I think it’s a Chinese/Asian thing; the Chinese side of my family does that all the time, and always to my face!
Hmm, try refreshing the page! You should be able to see them now :)
Wei-Wei
Yes! They do indeed look like an “everyday cake.” You know, just light enough that you can satisfy your sweet tooth without going overboard on calories. Your photos are gorgeous by the way! I especially like the one with the uncut cake on the left, and the plate, fork, knife on the right. Very professional looking ;-)
Hahaha thank you! That photo was totally ruined by the spatula :P but still, I was going for the tea-time setting look, so… :D They are a very good everyday cake. comes together in 45 minutes ;)
Wei-Wei
The cake looks delightful! I think both simple and extravagant cakes are good, depending on what my mood is. And I agree that it’s much better to eat the “real” version in moderation rather than eating a crapload of low-fat sweets to compensate (anything should be in moderation!), but sometimes there isn’t THAT much of a difference between the two and either will satisfy my sweet tooth.
I also really, really dislike when Asian parents and relatives make insensitive comments. :|
I like your moderation motto! (Wahey, alliteration!) The real version is always SO much better. And studies have shown that when you tell someone that something is “healthier” or “lower in fat” etc etc, they’ll eat more of it and consume more calories than they think because they think that automatically makes that stuff void. But in the end, you’re just eating a lot of nasty, chemical-filled, sweets that probably contained the same, if not more, amount of calories, defeating the whole purpose. But I guess you knew that ;)
Wei-Wei
Hmm, interesting. The ingredient list certainly struck me as “lacking.” But apparently not if it was so enjoyed by all! Do you recommend it? With any modifications for the future?
If you do make it, don’t skimp on the sugar like I did! It was a little too unsweet, even for me. Modifications… well, I think that if I used honey instead of the sugar it would come out moister (sorry to anybody who hates that word!) and honey-flavoured, too. So I guess I’d do that, and I’d bake it in a smaller pan. It came out quite thinly :S
Wei-Wei
Definitely an interesting ingredient list!
I actually have made some low-fat things (banana bread, muffins, etc.) that don’t taste low-fat at all! When you are trying to lose weight you lean lots of tricks to substitute fat with out losing flavor or that moist feeling!
Also, your photos look awesome! :)
Elli
I do agree, low-fat banana bread tastes awesome! And I’ve seen a lot of people use applesauce instead of butter… I don’t quite agree with that, partly because butter makes things delicious and partly because I don’t know where to find applesauce! I guess when you’re losing weight some sacrifices do have to be made… but not with banana bread ;)
Wei-Wei
First off, your relatives are insanely insensitive . . . how dare they. Secondly, water isn’t weird, really! My FAVORITE gingerbread recipe (BlueKitchen.com) calls for water, and so did some brownies one time. Finally, there are lots of good, healthy baked goods recipes. It depends on the type of dessert.
Ah, I guess the best thing to do with them is just to ignore them. But they’ve left now, so… I guess nothing to worry about for a while? :P I think it’s still so strange! Doesn’t water just evaporate in the oven, though? And wouldn’t it just make the whole thing spread and dry out as the water evaporates? I’m going to take a look at that recipe… and hopefully make it too ;) And I do agree, it depends on the dessert! Like angel cake would be a lot healthier than other things :)
Wei-Wei
This looks delicious!! I’ll admit, I skinny up my recipes most of the time unless I’m at home where there’s other people to share or I’m baking for someone else. Otherwise I’m the only one eating it so I can’t have a dozen full fat cookies calling my name 24/7 ;)
I know, if I was making it for myself I’d skinny up a little. But I usually bake for other people and end up eating a lot of it anyway :P
Wei-Wei
When Whit and I both started to gain a little bit more weight this year, our relatives would say things like oh I can see you are starting to get your womanely figure now. Sometimes people just do not realize that what they say, we translate differently.
When I first looked at this ingredient list, I was a little skeptical, but it looks like it turned our GREAT! I usually sub egg whites or apple sauce for oil when I am baking, and sometimes I will substitute agave nectar of maple syrup for the sugar because you can use less of that as what you would sugar. I have never really noticed a difference when I have subsituted these things though :) One of the best books that substitutes ingredients is Eat, Drink, Be Vegan. They have some awesome dessert recipes that never fail!
-Court
I know, sometimes what they say, we perceive differently, and not always in a positive way :S But womanly figures aren’t bad, I guess? :P
Thanks for the recommendation! There are a lot of substitutions that I wouldn’t be able to do (egg whites, applesauce…) due to cost concerns, but these are great tips. Thanks for sharing :)
Wei-Wei
I think this cake sounds really good! I’m not against non-fat baked goods; sometimes you are going to binge, no matter what, so you might as well have something with fewer calories around in your time of need!
I’m not completely against them either :P So keeping something “healthier” yet still somewhat satisfying is good too. Thanks for commenting! I’m a huge huge fan of your blog :D
Wei-Wei
Hey, at least you got on the machines at the gym and gave it a go! That’s kudo-worthy in and of itself!
Thanks Faith! I’ve been hankering to go the gym forever now :P Too bad it’s so expensive (75RMB, more than USD1 for EACH visit! D:)
Wei-Wei
Wei-Wei