Lowfat Apple and Cinnamon Cake

Joey and I really both love dessert, but it's hard to find desserts that are figure friendly. Yes, I know all about Skinny Cow, etc., but sometimes we really want something besides ice cream.

Now, I am not a baker at all. While I do own a fancy mixer, it pretty much sits there neatly covered. I have had so many of my baking attempts fail, that I am always hesitant bake. This time I am glad I took the chance, because not only is it figure friendly, it's super tasty.

I got this recipe from the new Lifetime show, "Cook Yourself Thin." This particular recipe stood out to me because it uses sweet potatoes instead of butter or oil. The outcome is extremely moist AND extremely dense. You can not eat a huge slab of this, so I guess this makes it even more figure friendly. I followed the recipe really closely except I didn't have an 8-inch springform and was not about to buy one. (Okay, I confess I would have bought one but I couldn't find it in my neighborhood.) I used an 8x8 square metal baking dish and it turned out just fine.

Ingredients
For the cake

• 1 large apple (about 10 ounces)
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 1/4 cups finely ground almonds
• 1 cup self-rising flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup superfine sugar
• 2 cups peeled sweet potato (the white variety), finely grated at the very last minute to prevent
• discoloration
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• For the icing
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease the base and sides of an 8-inch springform pan with a little vegetable oil and a pastry brush. Line the pan with parchment paper.
2. Peel, core and chop the apple into 1/4-inch cubes. Toss them in a small bowl with some lemon juice to prevent oxidation.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the ground almonds, flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.

Notes

As I mentioned earlier, I did use a square dish rather than a springform. I did use parchment paper, though, and that was really helpful.

I didn't particularly love the icing. It could be that my powered sugar is too old, but when I make this again I am going to use non-fat whipped topping or ice-cream instead.