Low-Fat Classics : The Dessert Diet

All those pumpkin pies for Halloween were just a warm-up--November marks the true beginning of the holiday baking season. This is the time when home cooks turn to classic, reliable recipes to get them through the year’s heaviest entertaining schedule. This is not the time we think about diets (unfortunately, most of us don’t do that until January). But what if you had a repertoire of great-tasting classic desserts that just happened to be low in fat--sweet things that didn’t sacrifice flavor for better nutritional figures? Wouldn’t you add at least one to your regular holiday line-up?

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Steamed pudding is a holiday tradition in many families. Ours is a simplified version using only diced figs for fruit. We omitted the suet that is called for in most recipes and substituted applesauce for moistness. The pudding is steamed in a deep, heavy kettle on a rack in simmering water. Pudding molds are usually used, but we steamed ours in a small bundt pan covered with foil. Serve the pudding warm with tangy orange creme.

STEAMED APPLE-FIG CAKE

1 1/2 cups diced figs

1/2 cup apple brandy

1 cup sugar

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons warm water

1/2 cup nonfat egg substitute (equivalent to 2 eggs)

1 cup applesauce

2 teaspoons vanilla

Orange Creme

Combine figs and apple brandy in bowl.

Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in separate bowl.

Combine baking soda and warm water in third bowl. Stir into flour mixture along with egg substitute, applesauce, vanilla and fig-brandy mixture.

Pour batter into 5-cup bundt pan, lightly greased or sprayed with low-fat nonstick cooking spray. Cover cake pan with foil. Stand mold on wire rack in large (10-quart) kettle on top of stove and pour in boiling water to reach halfway up sides of mold. Tightly cover kettle and simmer until cake tests done, about 1 hour. Serve warm with Orange Creme. Makes 16 servings.

Each serving contains about:

114 calories; 61 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 1 gram fat; 23 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams protein; 0.17 gram fiber.

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Orange Creme

1 cup nonfat plain yogurt

1 cup nonfat whipped topping, thawed

2 teaspoons grated orange zest

Combine yogurt, whipped topping and orange zest in bowl. Chill until serving time. Makes about 2 cups

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Cranberry-pear tart, a low-fat variation on the classic caramel-pear tart usually laced with butter, is one of those recipes that looks very complex but is actually pretty easy to prepare. The pears are poached the day ahead. The crust and pastry cream may also be prepared in advance. An hour or two before serving, just assemble the tart.

The pears are poached in cranberry juice to give them a rich burgundy color--it makes for a very festive-looking tart.

CRANBERRY-PEAR TART

1 (12-ounce) can frozen low-calorie cranberry juice concentrate, thawed

1 cup red wine

1 stick cinnamon

1 vanilla bean, split, seeds removed

2 firm ripe pears, peeled, halved, cored

2 cups nonfat milk

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup flour

1/2 cup nonfat egg substitute (equivalent to 2 eggs)

1 teaspoon vanilla

Pastry Crust

2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons cornstarch

Mint sprig

Combine cranberry juice, wine, cinnamon stick and vanilla bean in saucepan. Bring to simmer. Add pear halves, cover and poach until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat and chill in poaching liquid overnight.

For pastry cream filling, heat milk in saucepan to simmering. Combine sugar and flour in bowl, then stir in egg substitute until smooth. Stir mixture into simmering milk. Heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and thickened. Cool. Stir in vanilla.

Spoon pastry cream into prepared Pastry Crust, spreading to cover evenly. Cover and chill until serving time.

For pear glaze, remove chilled pears from syrup. Remove cinnamon stick and vanilla bean. Over high heat, reduce syrup to 1 cup.

Combine water and cornstarch in bowl until smooth. Stir into simmering syrup. Heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and clear. Cool to room temperature.

To assemble tart, spoon 3/4 of glaze over pastry cream in tart, spreading evenly to edges. Cut each pear into 5 slices leaving slices attached at stem end. Fan out pears and arrange atop tart with stems pointing toward center. Brush remaining glaze over pears atop tart. Garnish with mint sprig. Makes 8 servings.

Each serving contains about:

327 calories; 264 mg sodium; 13 mg cholesterol; 5 grams fat; 61 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams protein; 0.65 gram fiber.

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Pastry Crust

1 cup flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon baking powder

3 tablespoons butter, cut-up

2 tablespoons nonfat egg substitute (equivalent to 1/2 egg)

1 1/2 tablespoons water

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in bowl. Cut in butter until size of small peas. In another bowl, combine egg substitute, water and vanilla. Stir into flour mixture with fork.

Gather dough into small flattened round. Roll on lightly floured board to fit 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Gently lift and press dough into tart pan. Pierce bottom and sides with fork. Bake at 375 degrees 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove to wire rack to cool. Makes 1 (9-inch) tart shell.

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Cardamom bread is traditional for Scandinavians during the holidays. Cardamom pods can be purchased in most grocery stores. Open the pods, remove the seeds, then crush in a mortar. If you’re a novice bread baker and serving this bread for a special occasion, you may want to try the bread ahead of time. Braided breads take a little longer to make than standard loaves, but they’re well worth the effort. It’s not that they’re difficult; they just take practice. Surprising to many--judging by the taste--is that the bread has only a trace of fat.

HOLIDAY CARDAMOM BRAID

6 to 7 cups flour

2 packages dry yeast

1 cup nonfat milk

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons crushed cardamom seeds

1 1/2 cups nonfat yogurt

1 tablespoon butter, melted

Combine 2 cups flour and yeast in bowl.

Combine milk, 3/4 cup sugar and salt in saucepan. Heat to warm (115 to 120 degrees). Add milk mixture and 1 teaspoon cardamom to flour-yeast mixture and stir until blended. Beat in yogurt until blended.

Beat in enough of remaining flour to make soft dough. Knead about 10 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic. Place in lightly buttered bowl, turning to coat outside of dough with butter. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Grease 2 baking sheets or spray with low-fat non-stick cooking spray. Punch dough down. Divide dough into 2 pieces for 2 braids. For each braid, divide dough piece into 3 parts. Shape each part into 15-inch-long rope. Place 3 ropes close together on greased baking sheet. Beginning from center, braid ropes together toward 1 end, stretching slightly to keep braid from becoming uneven in center. Turn pan and braid toward other end. Repeat with second piece of dough.

Cover and let rise until both braids have doubled, about 30 minutes. Brush with melted butter. Combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar and remaining 1 teaspoon cardamom in small bowl. Sprinkle over braids. Bake at 375 degrees 20 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Remove to wire rack to cool to warm. Makes 2 loaves, 14 servings per loaf.

Each serving contains about:

236 calories; 207 mg sodium; 3 mg cholesterol; 1 gram fat; 49 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams protein; 0.15 gram fiber.

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Date and cranberry breads were always traditional accompaniments to my family’s holiday dinners. They also make nice fruitcake substitutes--especially if you’re dealing with a family of fruitcake haters. A combination of dates and dried apples helps keep this nonfat version of date bread moist. Serve it with low-fat Neufchatel cheese instead of cream cheese, if you like. The bread may be prepared several days in advance. After cooling, cover the loaf tightly with foil and refrigerate.

DATE-AND-APPLE LOAF

1 cup dates, cut up

1 cup dried apples, cut up

1 cup boiling water

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup light-brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup nonfat egg substitute (equivalent to 1 egg)

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine dates and apples in bowl and pour boiling water over fruit. Stir in baking soda and allow mixture to stand until water cools to room temperature.

Add brown sugar, egg substitute, flour, vanilla and salt, stirring just until blended.

Spoon batter into 9x5-inch loaf pan, lightly greased or sprayed with low-fat nonstick cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees 45 to 55 minutes or until wood pick inserted in center comes out clean. Makes 1 loaf, 14 servings.

Each serving contains about:

279 calories; 167 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 0 fat; 67 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 0.65 gram fiber.

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Tiramisu, the Italian dessert that practically every American restaurant seems to serve these days, is normally flavored with coffee, chocolate and mascarpone cheese. Our low-fat version is made with nonfat ricotta cheese, which is available in most markets. And ours is made in individual custard cups for easy serving. If you have a problem finding ladyfingers, substitute sponge cake cut into the size of ladyfingers.

TIRAMISU

7 ladyfinger cookies

2 tablespoons coffee-flavored liqueur

2 tablespoons creme de cocoa

2 tablespoons espresso coffee powder

2 teaspoons boiling water

2 cups nonfat ricotta cheese

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

Cocoa powder

Separate ladyfinger halves. Combine coffee liqueur and creme de cocoa in small bowl. Drizzle over cut side of ladyfingers. Cut ladyfingers in half crosswise.

Line bottom of 4 (6-ounce) custard cups with parchment or wax paper. Arrange ladyfinger halves upright around each custard cup.

Dissolve coffee powder in boiling water to make smooth paste. Stir into ricotta cheese. Stir in sugar and vanilla.

Spoon mixture into prepared custard cups. Cover. Chill until firm. Unmold onto serving plates. Dust with cocoa. Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

178 calories; 210 mg sodium; 69 mg cholesterol; 3 grams fat; 23 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams protein; 0.02 gram fiber.

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Our low-fat version of this all-time favorite Thanksgiving pie--made with nonfat milk and egg substitute--is spiced with freshly grated ginger and Chinese five-spice powder instead of the usual pumpkin pie spices. A gingersnap crust made without butter is substituted for a pastry crust to keep the fat content low.

GINGER-PUMPKIN PIE

1 cup crushed gingersnaps (about 16 gingersnaps)

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1 (16-ounce) can pumpkin

2 teaspoons grated ginger root

3/4 teaspoon Chinese 5-spice powder

1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup nonfat egg substitute (equivalent to 2 eggs)

1 1/2 cups nonfat milk

Combine gingersnaps and 2 tablespoons sugar in bowl. Pat mixture onto bottom and sides of 9-inch pie plate, lightly greased or sprayed with low-fat nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

Combine pumpkin, remaining 3/4 cup sugar, ginger, 5-spice powder and salt in bowl until blended. Stir in egg substitute until blended. Stir in milk. Carefully pour into prepared crust.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue to bake 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool. Makes 8 servings.

Each serving contains about:

151 calories; 226 mg sodium; 5 mg cholesterol; 1 gram fat; 32 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 0.65 gram fiber.