Citrus Pound Cake & Date Sugar Icing

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A healthy Pound Cake?!?

Yes!

A healthy icing?

Yes!!!

I don't think there is one baker out there who answered those two questions like I just did.  I mean, a healthy poundcake?!? I think this is a day that history books need to include!

If you have ever read my Banana Bread post or the About Me page, then you know about my childhood addiction to sugary, buttery, baked goodness.  But now that I have perfected my own 100% healthy banana bread recipe, I no longer crave the perfectly laid out slices at the Starbucks checkout line.  Instead, my cravings have led me to another one of their no-good confections: the Iced Lemon Pound Cake.  I searched FoodGawker, TasteSpotting, I searched Google, I searched everything for a healthy Pound Cake recipe, but failed to find one.

From my previous recipe, the Dark Chocolate Coconut Cake, I had used some tofu and had a bit leftover.  Since I needed four trials to perfect that recipe, I had a chance to make another recipe with tofu in it.  And holy cow, I never realized how fussy tofu is!  You need to submerge it in a bowl of water, refrigerate it, and change its water every day.  Oh, and then use within seven days... how needy!  Anyways, I read that tofu can be used as an egg replacer as it is dense and provides moisture.  This is great for pound cakes because a basic pound cake uses many eggs and a lot of butter...  I found pound cake recipes that use 4 sticks of butter, 2-3/4 cup of sugar and 8 egg yolks...  Uhh, no thanks?  I'll make my own!

Trial #1:
     The first trial was surprisingly a successful one! The only problem were the flavors--I used 1 tablespoon of lemon zest which turned a little bitter after baking... I will use pure extracts in the next trial. This cake was beyond moist, it was wonderful and dense, and the butter extract really came through. Because of the moisture level, I thought that I was able to lower the amount of coconut oil and use applesauce instead. The only wrong thing about this cake was that it didn't look like pound cake. It was flat and more cupcake-like rather than pound-cake-like.

^^ Naked

^^ Dressed

Ain't it purdy?

One thing I wish I could share with you, is this icing.  It was fantastic.  Unfortunately, the sugar I used was to never be found again!  I could have sworn I bought it from Whole Foods, but I couldn't find it anywhere after that.  Not Mrs. Greens, not Nature Works, and not even two other locations of Whole Foods.  I used 1/2 cup of powdered coconut sugar with one tablespoon of water.  I bought coconut sugar because it is low glycemic (like honey, agave and maple syrup), it is high in B vitamins, Vitamin C, potassium and magnesium.  So if all that could come from a sugar, yes, I am making an icing with it!  But, like I said, I never saw it again... :(

Trial #2:

Just like my Dark Chocolate Coconut Cake, I thought I could use arrowroot starch in this as well to firm up the structure and make it more "pound-cake-like." I used 3 tablespoons because that was how much I used in the Dark Chocolate Coconut Cake and it turned out well! Next time, I would test using 1/4 cup though...

Trial #3:

This cake is very moist and dense, and you won't miss that buttery taste of regular pound cake because of the butter extract! The stevia will satisfy your sweet tooth, and the citrus gives the cake some tang. One big plus about this cake: it is low fat! The coconut oil is the only source of fat in this recipe, so bake this and eat up.

Citrus Pound Cake:  [low fat/sugar, high fiber/protein]
(makes one large loaf or 2 mini loaves)

   Dry:
       240g (2 cups) Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
        20g (1/4 cup) Whey Protein Concentrate
        48g (1/4 cup) Sucanat (or dry sweetener of choice)
        32g (1/4 cup) Arrowroot Starch (or cornstarch)
        1+1/2 tsp Baking Powder
        1/2 tsp Baking Soda
        1/4 tsp Sea Salt

   Wet:

        182g (2/5 package) Lite Silken Tofu, drained

        123g (1/2 cup) Unsweetened Applesauce

        113g (1/2 cup) Plain, Nonfat Greek Yogurt

        42g (2 tbs) Honey

        28g (2 tbs) Coconut Oil
        2 tsp Stevia Extract
        2 tsp Vanilla Extract

        1+1/2 tsp Lemon Flavor

        1+1/4 tsp Butter Extract
        1/2 tsp Orange Flavor

Date Sugar Icing:
   192g (1 cup) Powdered Date Sugar
   3/4 cup + 1 tbs Water
   1/4 cup + 2 tbs Honey

Directions (for the cake):
1.  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit
2.  Put the wet ingredients into a blender and puree, set aside
3.  In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients
4.  Pour the blender mixture onto the dry ingredients (every last drop!) and fold until everything is incorporated. Batter will be thick (I tend to overmix, and it still turned out fine)
5.  Spray a loaf pan with PAM, and scoop the batter in. Flatten the top with a spoon or spatula and put into the oven.  Bake for about an hour, until a toothpick comes out clean and surface springs back when touched.
6.  Top with icing. Slice into 8 slices when completely cooled! Otherwise it will not slice neatly.

Directions (for the icing):
1.  Measure out the date sugar and put it into a blender, blend/puree/liquify (whatever setting is fastest and strongest) for 30 seconds to a minute.  Shake the container to release any chunks that may not have been blended, and blend again for another 30 seconds or so.  By now, you shouldn't be able to see through the container, sugar should be floating around.
2.  Keep shaking the container, blend, shake, blend.  If it looks ready, it probably won't be... so keep blending!  You don't want a gritty icing (take it from me)
3.  When the sugar is finely ground like regular powdered sugar be, pour it into a medium bowl and stir in the water and honey.  When there is not enough liquid, it will look like a stiff, jam-like spread (which isn't a bad thing, I guess!).  Pour/spread over the cake.

This icing (seen in the Trial #1 pictures) was actually the first icing I had ever made! I had originally used powdered coconut sugar, but never saw it in stores again. I was tempted to buy a premade Pillsbury frosting (even though it is loaded with sugar), but I was saddened to see "partially hydrogenated oils" on the top of the ingredient list... an ingredient that I will never put into my body (read bottom of the linked page).

not buying it = good choice

So, I decided to just powder some sugar myself. Coconut sugar has a strong, distinct flavor, and sucanat didn't taste very good on the cake.  So, I used date sugar! It comes pretty finely ground, but not powdered like regular powdered sugar.  The extra work of powdering your own sugar is so worth the health benefits!  I like how this icing uses fruit sugar rather than processed stuff that a machine dumped out. Date sugar is high in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, while providing a great, unique flavor! Although the color needs some getting used to, I think you will enjoy it  :)  If you don't like it, I guess you can always use regular powdered sugar.  If you like white icings, try this recipe!

I am so happy to see that unhealthy foods actually can have a healthy alternative.  Make this recipe. You won't regret it!