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This Christmas Cake is confused: it doesn’t know if it’s supposed to be dessert or breakfast.
I’ve eaten it as both, and it fits either bill very well! A uniqueassortment of holiday flavors, this Christmas cake combines cranberry (one of my favorite flavors!), ginger, rum (extract, don’t worry!), apple, and hints of lemon, cinnamon, and cloves. Made with oat flour and oat fiber, two inexpensive flours, this cake is budget friendly.
You can make a cream cheese drizzle to top this cake if you like. I included a simple recipe for such a drizzlein the printablerecipe below; as long as you stick within the cake serving size, the fat from the reduced fat cream cheese in the drizzle will be well within THM:E guidelines.
You can also mix some low fat Greek yogurt, sweetener, and nutmeg as a protein-rich topping if you’re eating this cake for breakfast.
I know this is called Christmas Cake and today is the first of January (woot! Isn’t this a great way to start the new year?), but I have goo-gobs of holiday recipes piling up over here from cookbook experimentation and it would be a shame notto post some of my favorites just because it is culturally unacceptable to eat Christmas-y things after December 25th. Right? Right.
When I tested this cake for the first time, I was going for gingerbread. Then I decided to add some other flavors. The first try came out super soggy, so I salvaged it by slicing it and toasting it in the oven, then again in the toaster if I wantedthe leftovershot. After the major fail, I was going to put this idea on the back burner for the present, but my dad (whois rather suspicious ofa lot of my “healthy” concoctions, especially the sweet ones)tasted it and proclaimed that he thought the flavors would go over well. When he advised me not to drop the idea, I was so pleasantly shocked that I decided he must be right. I’m glad I persevered and made another attempt because it turned out great and I LOVE the flavors!
I prefer this cake warm, and it’s great sliced in half and toasted. Trim Healthy Mamas, top it with a teaspoon of butter if you like. Yum!
What does this look like to you – dessert or breakfast?
You can find this recipe in my cookbook, Necessary Food.
Christmas Cake
Author:
Briana Thomas
Serves: 9x13 inch pan
THM:E, low fat, no sugar added, gluten/nut free
Ingredients
- 1½ cups oat flour (use gluten free if necessary)
- ¾ cup oat fiber (use gluten free if necessary)
- 2½ tsp. baking powder
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1½ tsp. ginger
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. xanthan gum
- Rounded ¼ tsp. cloves
- ¼ tsp. THM Pure Stevia Extract Powder, or more, to taste
- ¾ cup egg whites
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ½ cup low fat Greek yogurt
- 2 tsp. lemon juice
- 1½ tsp. molasses
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ½ tsp. Watkin's rum extract
- 1 medium apple, grated (it's not necessary to peel it)
- ½ cup fresh or frozen cranberries
Instructions
- Whiz all the dry ingredients together in a food processor (I use our Ninja food processor attachment). Add the wet ingredients except for the apple and cranberries and process until completely mixed. Add the grated apple and cranberries and process until the cranberries are in pieces. Pour the batter into a greased 9x13 inch pan and bake at 350 degrees F for 23-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out cleanly. This yields 15 dessert servings or 8 breakfast servings. I prefer this cake warm. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.
- You can make a cream cheese drizzle for this cake using 3 oz. softened reduced fat cream cheese, 2 T unsweetened almond milk, a dash of vanilla, and 1/16 tsp. THM Pure Stevia Extract Powder. If you stick within the serving size, the fat from the cream cheese will be well within the 5 gram fat limit for a THM:E meal.
- Alternately you can mix together low fat Greek yogurt, some sweetener, and a dash of nutmeg and eat a dollop of it with your cake. This makes a great breakfast.
Notes
You could add some grated carrot, some orange zest, and/or more rum extract to this cake for some extra Christmas flavor.
Suggested products:
- I used the food processor that came with our Ninja blenderset.
- Oat Fiber
- Xanthan Gum
- Watkin’s Rum Extract
- You can buy gluten free oat fiber and pure stevia extract powder from the Trim Healthy Mama online store.
You may also enjoy:
Cran-Apple Oat CakeEggless Coffee Cake SmashCinnamon Streusel Coffee CakeBanana Cake with Cream Cheese Drizzle
