Desserts That Trim the Fat, Not the Flavor

As a child, I lived in a rather exalted world. My father was a baker of pastries, and my brother and I lived in a continual sweet tooth paradise. Not only did desserts appear at every meal, but we also spooned frosting straight from the bowl for special treats, ate chocolate sprinkles and cashews by the handfuls, and crunched on silver dragees leftover from decorating wedding cakes. Dentists loved us.

I’m not about to dissolve in tears over those early health choices, but oh, my, how times have changed. Unless you’ve been beamed from some alien planet, you know that health experts in every field are advocating lighter and healthier fare; in particular, the message is: “Lower the fat.” This I’ve tried to do. Leaner cuts of meat and poultry, pasta, fish, fresh vegetables and fruit have reduced the level of fat in our household without reducing our enjoyment of food.

That part was easy, but lowering the fat in cherished desserts turned into the perfection of awfulness. My taste buds, geared to memories of childhood desserts, were not sparked by the recipes I was making from low- and nonfat cookbooks, food and health magazines and friends’ suggestions.

Once I even made something called Lee’s Luscious Lumps, a recipe one of my Weight Watcher friends recommended. This was a mixture of freeze-dried coffee, nonfat dry milk, sweetener and vanilla, mixed with water and rolled into small balls. I’m not sure what went wrong. The mixture would not roll; it had calcified in the bowl.

In fact, from anybody’s point of view, my explorations were failing to increase morale at dessert time. And I wondered, what’s the use of lowering the fat in dessert if it doesn’t taste good and people are refusing to eat it?

But I kept on trying. What I wanted was to make dazzling finales that family and guests would enjoy, while eliminating desserts that might bust everyone’s fat budget for the month and alarm cardiac specialists. I feared that my drop-dead pies might one day begin to live up to their billing.

What was most obvious was that my decreasing-the-fat experiences were leaving me with the oddest collection of baking products. My father would surely have been astonished to see not only flour, sugar, baking powder and chocolate chips occupying space, but also little bottles of baby food (applesauce, purees of apricot and prunes), all kinds of nonfat dairy products, as well as egg whites (yes, most egg yolks are tossed), egg substitutes, fruit juice concentrates and even cornstarch.

Well, happily, things did change in my epicurean journey and occasionally the last course turned out truly sublime. The fat had been trimmed, but not the flavor. For those who take dessert--and their health--seriously, here are some of those winning recipes. They are quite wonderful in taste and texture and a pleasure to serve to family and guests with a fluff of frozen yogurt, nonfat ice cream or spoonfuls of nondairy whipped topping.

But the most daunting challenge continues to elude me. I used to make a rather celebrated pie dough. Now I’m hungry for a little praise. The low-fat crusts I tried were dreadful. If the recipes were included here, they would probably drop out of the column because they are so depressingly heavy. So I’ve quit trying. Now I simply buy my crusts ready-made from the many varieties available in the market.

FAT-FREE PINEAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

This recipe came to light just as I was about to add the cornstarch-water mixture to the stir-fry dish I was preparing one night. On the back of that bright lemon-yellow box of Kingsford cornstarch--a product chiefly used to thicken puddings, gravies and sauces--I saw a claim that immediately captured by attention. Fat-free desserts! This self-decorating cake included no eggs or butter. I puzzled over the composition of the batter. No eggs or butter, but 1/4 cup cornstarch? Only a food chemist can uncover the reason this thing works, but the cake is wonderful. Great-tasting flavor, moist, very tender crumb--and no fat. The recipe is supposed to make 12 servings. But tiny, low-fat servings are not going to satisfy anybody. It’s more reasonable to assume that the cake will serve 6 to 8 people.

TOPPING

1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1 tablespoon lemon juice

7 canned pineapple rings, well drained

7 maraschino cherries

Place brown sugar, corn syrup and lemon juice in 9-inch round cake pan that has been sprayed with nonfat cooking spray. Stir to combine. Place pan in 350-degree oven 3 minutes. Remove. Arrange pineapple rings and cherries in pan. Set aside.

CAKE

1 cup flour

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup nonfat milk

2 egg whites

1/3 cup light corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt in large bowl.

Combine sugar and milk in separate bowl, and with wire whisk or fork mix together 1 minute. Add egg whites, corn syrup and vanilla and stir until blended. Gradually stir into flour mixture until smooth.

Spoon batter over pineapple. Bake at 350 degrees until wood pick inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Immediately loosen edges of cake from pan and invert onto serving platter.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Each of 8 servings contains about:

275 calories; 276 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 0 fat; 67 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams protein; 0.16 gram fiber.

MICROWAVE STRAWBERRY PIE

1 (9-inch) unbaked pie shell

3 to 4 cups fresh strawberries

1/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 (10-ounce) package frozen strawberries, thawed

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Fruit desserts seldom fail in the execution and make splendid low-fat choices, especially in berry season when this pie with its fresh-tasting glaze can be served.

Arrange pastry round in pie pan and crimp edges. Pierce sides and bottom all over with fork. Bake according to package or recipe directions. Cool.

Wash and hull fresh strawberries. Set on paper towel to drain well.

Meanwhile, mix sugar and cornstarch in 4-cup measure. Stir in thawed strawberries. Microwave on high (100% power) 4 to 8 minutes or until thickened and clear, stirring every 2 minutes. Stir in lemon juice. Cool.

Evenly spoon small amount of glaze in bottom of pie shell (to help anchor strawberries). Arrange strawberries in pie shell. Spoon remaining glaze over berries, spreading carefully to cover all berries. Refrigerate 2 to 3 hours before serving.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Each of 8 servings contains about:

262 calories; 76 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 13 grams fat; 34 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams protein; 0.69 gram fiber.

PUMPKIN PIE

1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin

3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups nonfat evaporated milk

Egg substitute equivalent to 4 eggs

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 (9-inch) unbaked pie shell

Another challenge I had was to reduce the fat (4 eggs and 2 cups half and half) in my favorite pumpkin pie recipe. The solution came with the arrival of nonfat evaporated milk on market shelves. Now, instead of half and half I use nonfat evaporated milk, while egg substitute in place of the whole eggs keeps flavor and creaminess intact. The extra filling for this pie can be poured into individual custard cups and baked along with the pie.

Combine pumpkin, sugars, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt in large bowl and beat until well blended.

Add evaporated milk, egg substitute and butter and stir to combine. Pour enough filling into prepared pie shell to fill. Pour remaining filling into 2 to 3 custard cups to bake along with pie.

Bake pie and filled cups at 425 degrees 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake 35 to 40 minutes longer or until wood pick inserted into center comes out clean. Custard cups should be baked until set. Cool to room temperature and serve, or cover and chill before serving.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Each of 10 servings contains about:

318 calories; 239 mg sodium; 8 mg cholesterol; 13 grams fat; 43 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams protein; 0.65 gram fiber.