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Applesauce Spice Snack Cake (using Splenda®)

Applesauce Spice Snack Cake

There are certain things in life that may be very well inescapable.  Some of those things are medical conditions that run in the family.   You know, the same questions and quizzical survey your doctors routinely ask every time you pay them a visit.   They want to know your family medical history and assess your possible risks for heart disease, diabetic conditions and cancers.      While my paternal grandmother has probably never been sick a day in her life, my maternal relatives have an extensive history of the aforementioned heart diseases, diabetes and certain cancers.       I don’t take these medical conditions lightly and don’t take it for granted that regardless of how much I have maintained an active and healthy lifestyle that I will somehow escape what may have been passed down to me genetically.

A couple of weeks ago, some of my Teenie Cakes Facebook friends requested tasty recipes using sugar substitutes for their loved ones that need to watch their sugar intake.    A special thank you to Leticia and Michelle for their requests and feedback on Facebook of some of the recipes they’d like to try and see more of.     Besides using seasonal produce and looking for more healthful alternatives to dishes and desserts, I appreciate and enjoy looking for and testing recipes for those with special dietary needs that are inline with healthy eating habits for me and my loved ones too.

I thought this recipe would be perfect as a first try using a sugar substitute.  It times up well with back-to-school and you probably have some applesauce sitting in your pantry or refrigerator that’s used to pack in the kids’ lunches.     Besides adding the word “spice” to the title of the recipe, I stayed with the recipe without trying to experiment further on the flavors.   It is not a “sweet” cake…if your serving it for folks that wouldn’t mind a bit more sweetness, add a dollop of light whipped cream.   It’s perfect with a glass of cold milk, comforting tea or coffee without feeling like you just ate a sugary pastry and are headed for an uncomfortable and unhealthy sugar rush.

I need to mention this…I cut a couple of pieces this morning for Hubby to take to work.  I asked him to taste it and what he thought of it without disclosing that I used Splenda®.    He couldn’t tell that a sugar substitute was used! 🙂

I am not a dietitian or nutritionist. Consult with your family doctor(s) for nutrition and dietary needs.     For this recipe, I used Spenda® Granulated.

Teenie Notes

  • I love using nuts in my baked goods!  I would definitely make this again with the addition of chopped walnuts or pecans.
  • These would be great as mini-muffins too.
Applesauce Spice Snack Cake
source 375 Sensational Splenda® Recipes by Marlene Koch

Serves 9

Ingredients

1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup Splenda® Granulated
2 tablespoons molasses
1 large egg
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice

Topping
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon Splenda® Granulated

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8×8 inch cake pan with nonstick spray.

In a large bowl, stir together oil, Splenda®, molasses, egg, applesauce and vanilla. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and allspice and hand stir until smooth. Spoon batter into prepared baking pan.

In a small bowl combine sugar, cinnamon and Splenda®. Sprinkle with a spoon evenly over top of cake.

Bake for 20 minutes or until inserted toothpick or butter knife comes out clean (insert from top of and middle of cake). Transfer pan to wire rack and cool before serving. Serve with a dollop of light whipped cream!

Applesauce Spice Snack Cake

Per Serving
Calories 170
Carbohydrate 24 grams
Protein 3 grams
Fat 7 grams (.5 saturated)
Fiber 2 grams (7 sugar)
Sodium 170 milligrams
Diabetic exchange 1 1/2 Carboyhdrate, 1 Fat
WW point cmparison 4 points

Disclaimer:
I am not a dietician or nutrionist. Consult with your family doctor(s) for you and your family’s nutritional and dietary needs. I am not affiliated with Splenda® or McNeil Nutritionals.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Lisa says

    I am glad you are posting some recipes that use Splenda, brown sugar Splenda, etc. as I have type 2 diabetes. I had made homemade applesauce the other day, but it turned out a bit tart and so I added a bit of brown sugar Splenda, cinnamon and a dash of cloves. Very Autumn -tasting! I decided to use up the last of it in your recipe. I was tempted to cut back on the molasses, but I went ahead and put it all in. The only thing I omitted was the real sugar in the topping, I only used the Splenda and the cinnamon, but it just sat on top after baking and blew off like sands in the wind. I assume the sugar helps it caramelize or something. It came out pretty good. I agree with you that adding nuts will really put it over the top, I’m thinking of adding pecans next time and just leaving off the topping.

  4. denise @ quickies on the dinner table says

    I love the wonderful open texture of this cake and the fact that it isn’t sugar laden. I wonder if my boys would go for a healthier treat like this? I should try it out on them. You really can’t take good health for granted! Even the very young…..

  9. Christine @ Fresh Local and Best says

    I enjoy the less sweet desserts as it often seems more balanced to me than the sticky gooey stuff. It’s wonderful that you are helping your friends come up with ways to bake without sugar. There are so many great possibilities, not the least this one.

    • Cristina - Teenie Cakes says

      HI Christine and thank you! I must admit, sometimes I’m in the mood for sticky gooey desserts…but I almost always welcome the more balanced desserts that are good any time of the day and enjoyable with tea/coffee. =)

    • Cristina - Teenie Cakes says

      Hi Baking Serendipity – I’ll need to find out how to use regular sugar instead of the Splenda for those that don’t mind using sugar (for these sugar substitute recipes). I understand that the substitution is 1:1, but I’d have to test the other ingredients and the resulting texture/taste. 😉

  12. Sara says

    The low calorie intake might be really dangerous to me…it would make me eat double portions without feeling guilty 🙂 I think it’s amazing you did a recipe like this one….it’s always good to have some recipe that fit these type of needs in hand….even if we are lucky for not having health issue you might always have to take family or friends necessities. For me that’s always an issue when I cook or bake with kids at school because there are often allergies to consider. Thanks for sharing (and beautiful pics!)

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