Pound cake adventures with nonfat sour cream - includes recipes

Sunset, Dec, 1995 by Elaine Johnson

People kid my friend Susan Bryan that she's a walking clipping service. No matter what the topic, she reaches into her handbag and pulls out an informative article. But the last time we got together, her "clipping" consisted of a silver of pound cake, and she pronounced herself stumped.

The problem was her mother's recipe for sour cream pound cake. Susan felt she could no longer justify its weighty ingredients. Being an adventurous cook, she had tried substituting nonfat sour cream for the regular sour cream and for three-quarters of the butter. The result was less than ideal: a dense cake with a strange, gummy layer. Would I help her remodel the recipe? She didn't expect a dessert exactly like her mother's, just closer.

A little sleuthing with sour cream manufacturers brought some good news; her substitution of nonfat sour cream for regular is something they recommend -- and something to try with your own holiday baking. But replacing butter with nonfat sour cream is another matter.

Susan wondered if the addition of a little baking powder would make the cake lighter. It helped, but as I worked with the recipe, I realized that fixing this cake was going to be complicated.

First, the extra sour cream was throwing off the cake's chemical balance. A little extra baking soda neutralized the sour cream's acidity, getting rid of part -- but not all -- of the gummy layer.

The mixing technique was another catch. The original recipe called for beating the butter and sugar together, then beating in whole eggs, to trap air and lighten the cake. In the absence of most of the butter, the beating was only partially effective. To compensate, I tried beating the sugar and egg whites into an airy foam. While I was at it, to cut down the cholesterol and fat I substituted egg whites for three of the original whole eggs.

A dozen cakes and some additional experiments later, the gummy layer was gone and the cake had a tender texture, nearly like that of a true pound cake -- with only 3.5 grams fat, 39 milligrams cholesterol, and 214 calories per slices. (Compare that with the original's 14 g fat, 95 mg chol., and 311 cal.) Though fat and cholesterol are significantly lower in the new cake, you still don't want to munch it like popcorn.

"I knew there was a reason I asked you to do this," laughed Susan, glad she hadn't had to bake the 12 cakes. But would she like the results? I brought her a slice. She says she's going to clip the recipe for her family reunion.

Svelte Sour Cream

Pound Cake

Cooking time: 1 1/2 hours Prep time: About 20 minutes Notes: This cake has a classic almond and vanilla flavor. To make a spice cake, substitute 2 teaspoons rum extract for the almond extract; also, add to the flour 2 teaspoons ground ginger, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg. Makes: 16 to 20 servings

6 large egg whites, at room
temperature
2 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup (1/8 lb.) butter or margarine,
softened
3 large eggs
1 carton (16 oz.) nonfat sour cream
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
4 teaspoon baking soda