Food and Friendship

Santa Barbara

healthy smash cake

by

When our youngest grandchild recently turned 1, his mom and dad planned a small celebration, complete with balloons and presents, and of course, a cake!  Mama Dana requested something reasonably healthy, not sugar-laden, and one that would be fun for him to really get into!

While we grown-ups indulged in a more adult dessert, one with lemon and ginger ale (a secret recipe from a family friend which I may be able to share in the future), the little guy got his own smash cake, well-named, as you see in the photo.

In researching what would go into a tasty but healthy recipe, I found one for angel food cake with berries and adapted it for our party.  Angel food cake has little or no sugar, no oil, and no butter.  It’s strictly egg whites and vanilla, with a little bit of cake flour.  I used a teeny tiny little springform pan I happened to have (this 5″ x 3″ came with a set!)

but if you wanted to adapt it to a larger cake, just double or triple the recipe.

Feel free to dig in, no fork necessary … and get the camera ready!

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Healthy Smash Cake
 
This cake requires very few ingredients, but do make sure that after you whip the egg whites, you fold them into the dry ingredients gently so they stay nice and fluffy. Also, as I mentioned, there's no sugar necessary here but I'm including an option to add a little, in case you want it a little sweeter. And if you want to vary it a little, instead of those healthy berries on top, rainbow sprinkles would work too -- just sayin. Also, if you want a larger cake, just double the recipe and increase the cooking time about 5 minutes, depending on the size of your pan. When the top turns a light brown, it's ready.
Ingredients
  • Ingredients:
  • For cake:
  • ⅓ cup cake flour
  • 3 tablespoons sugar (optional, not necessary)
  • 4 egg whites, chilled
  • ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla
  • For topping:
  • ⅓ cup whipping cream
  • 2 teaspoons sugar (optional, not necessary)
  • ¼ cup mix of fresh strawberries, sliced thin, and fresh blueberries
  • Rainbow sprinkles (variation... use instead of berries)
Instructions
  1. For cake:
  2. Preheat oven to 325F degrees.
  3. Place the springform pan on a sheet pan to catch any possible spills, but do not grease pan.
  4. If you're adding the optional sugar, whisk 3 tablespoons of it with the cake flour in a small bowl and set aside.
  5. Using an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, combine egg whites, cream of tartar, and vanilla and beat on medium-high speed for about 3-4 minutes, until soft fluffy peaks form.. make sure the peaks can hold up straight when you lift out the beaters. This is an important step!
  6. Sprinkle the cake flour over the top of the egg whites and then using a spatula, gently fold in the flour mixture.
  7. Pour the batter into the springform pan and fill it right up to the top, creating a smooth surface with a spatula.
  8. Bake for about 20 minutes, until the top is alight golden brown.
  9. Remove cake from oven and invert over a cooling rack as you allow the cake to cool completely for about an hour (upside down!)
  10. Run a knife around the edges of the cake to gently release it from the pan.
  11. When you're almost ready to serve, using an electric mixer, combine the whipping cream with 2 teaspoons of sugar if using. Beat cream on medium--high until fluffy and firm enough to spread, about 4 minutes.
  12. Just before serving, and making sure your cake is completely cooled, spread the whipped cream over the top of the cake and top with fresh berries (or rainbow sprinkles!)