Low Calorie Raspberry Linzer Cake

We were having some friends over for dinner and with me and Mike watching calories we've just been eating little 100 calorie sugar free klondikes or weight watchers ice cream for dessert.  Well, that just wasn't going to cut it for company.  I literally searched all of my food magazines (which is a LOT) and of course nothing was healthy, or it was but it wasn't something everyone would like ie coconut layered cake, chocolate meringue cookies etc etc.  Two of us like chocolate and the other two don't.  Sooo I searched all the magazines and then reverted right back to my dear friend google.  I came across a few desserts and decided to make this raspberry linzer cake because I knew for SURE every one of us liked raspberries! It would've been better if I had a food processor to actually ground up the almonds.  I used my mini food chopper and then pounded them in a sandwich bag with a mallet to get them as small as I could.  The consistency of the cake was very moist and fluffy..and of course a little nutty in my case. But it didn't alter our guests stamp of approval.  This cake also has more steps then I would like to go through, but beauty is pain and if you want a low calorie dessert, you're just going to have to suck it up and follow all the steps! It wasn't hard per say, I just found myself bouncing from counter space to counter space with different tasks.  With that being said, I would still make this low calorie cake again and again.  I added 1/2 tsp of lemon zest to mine because there is just something so refreshing about lemon and raspberries combined in baked goods.  I LOVE it!!

recipe adapted from eating well
Ingredients

• 1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup whole almonds
• 2 tablespoons low-fat milk
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature , separated
• 3/4 cup sugar, divided
• 2/3 cup raspberry jam
• 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar, for garnish
• 1/2 pint (about 1 1/4 cups) fresh raspberries, for garnish (optional)
  

  Nutrition 

  Per serving: 217 calories; 8 g fat (1 g sat, 5 g mono); 71 mg cholesterol; 32 g carbohydrates; 5 g protein; 2 g fiber; 146 mg sodium; 29 mg potassium.

  Preparation

• To prepare cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat two 9-inch round cake pans with cooking spray with flour. alternatively, coat the pans with regular cooking spray, line them with parchment paper and spray the paper.

• Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

• Place almonds in a food processor and process until finely ground. Add milk, oil and almond extract and pulse to combine.

• Beat egg whites in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Beat in 1/4 cup sugar in a slow, steady stream. Continue beating until stiff peaks form.

• Beat egg yolks and the remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl on medium speed until pale yellow and doubled in volume, 3 to 5 minutes.

• Gently stir the almond mixture into the egg-yolk mixture with a rubber spatula.

• Add the flour mixture; gently stir until just incorporated.

• Stir about 1 cup of the whites into the batter until combined. Gently fold the remaining whites into the batter, using long, even strokes, until just incorporated and no white streaks remain. 

• Divide the batter between the prepared pans; spread it to the edges and gently rap the pans against the counter once or twice to settle the batter.

• Bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached, 18 to 20 minutes. (I did 18 min) Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then invert the layers onto the rack, remove the pans and parchment paper, if using, and let cool completely, about 45 minutes more.

• To assemble cake: Place one layer, top-side down, on a serving plate; spread raspberry jam over it. (I just assembled it on the wire rack and carefully transferred it to a serving plate.)

• Cover it with the second layer, top-side down. Sift confectioners' sugar over the cake.  Decorate with raspberries, if desired.

 ENJOY!!