Honey Apple Oat Cake

Just reading the title is tasty, right? I found the recipe for this cake in Cooking Light last year and it was one of those things I liked so much I ate one piece and threw the rest in the garbage so I wouldn't eat too much of it (I do that to Doritos if they're anywhere in my vicinity, too - but I have to crush them first otherwise I probably would dig them out of the garbage later.). I finally figured out that sweets are something you should give away, not throw away, if you don't want to eat the whole batch.

Anyways, this is a fabulous cake to make on a crisp November evening to share with two lovely friends and a bottle of chilled prosecco after a wine tasting at your new neighborhood wine shop.

The cake ends up super moist from the honey and applesauce. There's no oil at all in the recipe which cuts down on the fat. There's quite a bit of sugar, but only a scant 1/4 cup butter for the whole cake. Cooking Light says that 1 serving is only 255 calories and 5.4 grams of fat - not bad! Plus it has 3.4 grams of protein and 1.5 grams of fiber. I think this counts as a Green and Lean recipe for sure! I can also verify that a small piece goes perfectly with a hot mug of black coffee for breakfast!

Honey Apple Oat Cake (from Cooking Light)

1 cup quick-cooking oats (I used regular oats and it worked just fine)

1 cup hot water

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat flour and it worked just fine)

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/3 cups brown sugar

3/4 cup applesauce

1/3 cup honey

2 large eggs

Topping:

1/4 cup butter

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Mix oats and water and set aside. Mix dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, soda, salt). In separate bowl, beat sugar, applesauce, honey, and eggs with hand mixer for 1 minute. Add the oat/water mixture and dry ingredients a little at a time until fully mixed. Pour into greased cake pan and bake at 350 degrees for 48 minutes (my cake was done after only about 30 minutes) or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Mix topping ingredients in small saucepan and cook until bubbly. Quickly pour over cake and broil for 1 minute until top is bubbly and golden.

If you're feeling decadent, top with freshly made sweetened whipped cream.

Give a majority of the remaining cake to your friends to take home to their husbands and/or sister and kid.