Paula Deen's Lean: Grandgirl's Fresh Apple Cake from Georgia

Well folks, it is officially fall! This time of year is my favorite! The weather is just perfect, football is in full effect and all the leaves are starting to turn. But one of the best parts about this time of the year...the food! Nothing tops walking into the house and being greeted with the sweet smell of apple or pumpkin pie. Something about it just instantly puts me in such a great mood. To create this sweet smell in my kitchen, I chose to bake Paula Deen's Grandgirl's Fresh Apple Cake from Georgia.

GRANDGIRL'S FRESH APPLE CAKE FROM GEORGIA
Serves 16 to 20


INGREDIENTS

CAKE:
PAM Spray, for greasing the pan
2 cups SPLENDA
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups UNSWEETENED APPLE SAUCE
1/4 cup orange juice
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups peeled and finely chopped apples

TOP IT OFF:

Vanilla LIGHT ice cream or FROZEN YOGURT
SUGAR FREE caramel toppingDIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Generously grease a tube pan.

For the cake: in a large bowl, combine the SPLENDA, eggs, apple sauce, orange juice, flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and vanilla extract; and mix well. Fold apples into batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a tester comes out clean, about 1 1/2 hours.

When you are ready to serve, cut a slice and top with a scoop of LIGHT or FAT FREE vanilla ice cream. Then lightly drizzle caramel topping. Cake is best when served warm. If eating later, reheat a slice in the microwave for about 20 seconds before topping with ice cream and caramel.

THE OUTCOME:

Take away all the sugar and oil, and it is still a really tasty treat. The ice cream and caramel top it off perfectly. It makes a great dessert, but is also a good compliment to your morning coffee (without the ice cream...or with).

Just for fun, I figured the amount of fat I was saving just by substituting apple sauce for the vegetable oil. Get ready to be shocked!

For the entire recipe...

Veggie oil- 336 grams of fat/ 2,880 calories
Apple Sauce- 0 grams of fat/ 150 calories

When my sister, husband and I did the math on this, we could not believe it! A simple change like substituting apple sauce for oil had saved such a significant amount of fat and calories. Plus, it still tasted great! Try out this "sinless sweet" for yourself and let me know what you think. ENJOY!!