Lighter King Cake recipe

A Low-Fat Version Of This Mardi Gras Classic!Mardi Gras kicks off next week, so it's time to grab your beads, stock up on hurricane mixes and get all your ingredients to make a sinfully delicious King Cake! However, just a sliver of traditional King Cake can set you back 500 calories and 15 grams of fat! Instead of using up a meal's worth of calories in just dessert, swap your traditional King Cake recipe for this lighter one instead!

This King Cake recipe is made with applesauce and oil instead of butter and filled with light cream cheese, so this moist, flavorful cake only tastes indulgent! Plus, the addition of flakey coconut in the filling gives this cake an almost tropical flavor. And let's be serious -- the less calories you eat means the more calories you can drink, which is what Mardi Gras is all about anyway! (That and faltering morals, of course.)

Lighter King Cake recipe

Recipe adapted from Baking Bites.

Serves 8

Ingredients: 

Cake: 

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour1 cup whole wheat flour1/2 cup sugar (brown sugar can be used too)2-1/2 teaspoons dry active yeast1/2 cup skim milk (warmed to 110-120 degrees F)1/4 teaspoon sea salt3 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce1 tablespoon canola oil3 large eggs at room temperature1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling:

8 ounces light cream cheese4 tablespoons sugar1 teaspoon vanilla4 tablespoons flaked coconut

Icing:

1/2 cup powdered sugar2 tablespoons waterGreen, purple and yellow sprinklesDirections:

Grease a 6-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray.In a large bowl, mix 3/4 cup of the flours, sugar, yeast and salt together. Add in warm milk, applesauce and oil. Using a handheld mixer, beat in eggs, one a time. Be sure each egg has been fully incorporated before you add the next one in. Stir in vanilla.Sift in the rest of the flours and mix using the mixer for about two minutes. Cover with plastic and let sit for at least 10 minutes.Meanwhile, mix filling by beating cream cheese, coconut, vanilla and sugar until creamy.Once batter has set, pour 1/2 into the Bundt pan. Using a tablespoon, scoop filling onto the top of the batter until filling is gone. Pour the rest of the batter over the filling and smooth out with a spatula. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let rise for at least 1-1/2 hours.Once batter has risen to double its size, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Once preheated, bake cake for at least 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool on a wire cooling rack for at least 30 minutes.While cake cools, make icing by mixing the sugar and water together. When cake is completely cooled, frost by drizzling the icing all over the cake to cover it liberally. Sprinkle 1/3 of the cake in yellow sprinkles, 1/3 in purple sprinkles and the remaining 1/3 in green sprinkles. Serve immediately and enjoy!

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