STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

LMonet asked about this topic a few weeks ago and I just ran across these tips.  Maybe yall will find them handy:

Reducing Fat while baking

We all know about replacing oil with applesauce, -pumpkin and the diet soda cakes, but I was reading this book out of my extensive cookbook library the other day and it had even more ideas, I thought I would share:

--You -can- bake with reduced fat butter/margarine but not replacing on a one-to-one basis. Substitute 3/4s of the light product for the fullfat version, i.e. if a cake recipe calls for 1 cup of butter, use 3/4 cup of light butter. This compensates for the extra water contained in reduced fat butter/margarine. The book suggests not using brands with less than 5 grams of fat or 50 calories in baking as the results will be less than desirable.

--Besides applesauce, you can use pureed prunes (in chocolate mixes), mashed bananas, pureed strawberries or raspberries, pureed apricots or peaches, plain or flavored yogurt, pureed squash or black bean puree for brownies. If the directions call for oil, replace with 3/4s as much of the chosen fat substitute. If the directions call for solid shortening, replace with half as much of the fat substitute. Substitute 3 tbs eggbeaters or egg white for each whole egg called for in the recipe.

--Add 2 tsp of lecithin granules (available in health food store) to your purees/applesauce to improve the texture of baked goods

--When using nuts, get the half the fat by toasting them before adding them to a recipe - toating intensifies the flavor so much you can cut the amount by half

--To keep baked goods moist when replacing fat with substitutes, reduce the oven temp by 25 degrees, and check for doneness a few minutes prior to the end of recommended baking time

--Fat free cream cheese makes a runny frosting...but if you add a tablespoon of sf vanilla pudding mix, it will thicken.

--You can make a low fat graham cracker type pie crust using 1 cup of crushed Fiber One or Kashi cereal, 2 tblsp white or brown sugar, and 3 tblspoons egg substitute, mixed; pressed into pie pan, and baked at 350 for 12-14 minutes.

--Replace up to one third of flour in a bakery recipe with finely milled oat bran or oat flour to increase the recipes fiber. It may not make a big points difference but you will be getting extra fiber in your diet if you need it.