Sponge Cake with Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 3/4 cup whole-grain pastry flour
• 1/4 cup white pastry flour or all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 6 eggs, separated
• 3/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 3/4 cup granular sugar substitute
• 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt

Frosting

• 1 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
• 2 tbsp granular sugar substitute
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Makes 12 Servings

1. Heat the oven to 325 F. Lightly coat a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
2. For the cake: Sift the whole-grain and white flours and baking powder into a medium bowl.
3. In a large bowl, with an elecric mixer at high speed, beat egg whites until frothy, about 1 minute. Add cream of tartar and continue beating on high until  stiff peaks form, 2-3 minutes. Gradually add 1/2 cup of the sugar substitute and beat until you have a smooth glossy meringue. about 30 seconds more. Set aside.
4. In another large bowl, with the same beaters, beat the yolks on high speed for 2 minutes. Add remaining 1/4 cup sugar substitute, applesauce, milk, vanilla and salt; continue beating until mixture is very light, air and smooth, about 1 minutes more. Fold flour mixture into egg yolk mixture just until combined.
5. Add flour mixture to meringue and gently fold until whites are nearly incorporated. pour into prepared pan and bake until cake springs back when lightly touched and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 22-25 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack.
6. For the frosting: When cake is cool, combine sour cream chocolate chips in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until chips are melted and frosting is smooth, about 3 minutes. Add sugar substitute and cook, stirring, until  dissolved, about 30 seconds more. Stir in vanilla.
7. Spread warm frosting over cake and let cool at room temperature until frosting sets, about 1 hour. Cake can remain at room temperature for up to 4 hours

WW POINTS VALUE: 4 pts.


Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet Parties and Holidays Cookbook. My sweet tooth was calling out for something yummy and this dessert looked to good to pass up. Homemade desserts are wonderfull treats and a nice alternative to packaged or procced foods because you know what's in your homemade dessert. This sponge cake is a delicious alternative to running out and getting a packaged dessert. Making a cake from scratch is not that scary and it's a lot of fun. This cake is lightly textured and becomes a nice indulgence when topping with the chocolate sour cream frosting. I do offer a little piece of advice when beating the egg whites: Eggs separate most easily when cold. However, when beating egg whites for a recipe, let them come ot room temperature first in order to get more volume. Adding a bit of cream of tartar to the egg whites helps them reach full volume. A pinch of lemon juice and vinegar achieves the same thing. Use the beaten egg whites immeadiately, they will lose their volume as they sit.