Sponge Cake for your Diet

The temperature is heating up in California and ladies are getting bikini ready for the summer. If you are putting yourself on a diet you may be inclined to not eat desert after your meal. But there are options with lower calories than regular sweets. For example, I made a sponge cake using no oil or butter. Doesn't that sound healthy already?

This sponge cake uses boiling water to replace the butter or oil in a traditional recipe. Since you are leaving the butter or oil out, you may feel less guilty dressing it up with strawberries and whip cream. :)

Sponge Cake with no Oil or Butter
recipe adapted from Joy of Cooking
1 cup sifted cake flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup boiling water
1 tsp grated lemon or orange zest
1 tbs fresh lemon or orange juice
1 tsp vanilla
3 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift together cake flour, baking powder and salt, set aside.

Beat egg yolks at medium speed until thickened. Gradually beat in sugar, then beat 3 minutes longer. Beat in water, orange or lemon zest, orange or lemon juice and vanilla extract.

At low speed gradually beat in the sifted ingredients.

Using clean beaters in a medium bowl, beat egg whites adding cream of tartar until soft but not dry.

Fold one quarter of the whites into the batter, then fold in the remaining whites.

Scrape the batter into the pan and spread evenly. Bake until the top springs back when lightly pressed and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes.

I cut small round cakes, top them with strawberry slides, whipped cream and top with another cake.