WW Recipe of the Day: Lightened Up Oatmeal Cake
After a little holiday hiatus our little group of bloggers working its way through Power Foods: 150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients (by Martha Stewart and the editors of Whole Living Magazine) continues it exploration of grains and legumes this week with oats.
The first thing that probably comes to mind when you think of oats is a steamy bowl of oatmeal on a chilly morning, but the truth is that they can add extra nutrition to a variety of healthy dishes.
The Skinny on Rolled Oats
Did you know that oats contain more protein than any other cereal grain? (I didn't!)
Weight Watchers Friendly Oatmeal Cake
They're also rich in beta-glucan, a type of soluble fiber known to significantly lower cholesterol and stabilize blood sugar.
And if that weren't enough, just one cup of oatmeal gives you at least 20% of your daily RDA of thiamine, folate, B5, iron, magnesium, zinc, copper and manganese. Guess what I'm having for breakfast tomorrow?
I've like oatmeal for as long as I can remember. Especially when turned into oatmeal cookies. Or oatmeal bread. Or oatmeal cake.
In fact, I liked the Quaker Oats Lazy Daisy Oatmeal Cake my mother made so much when I was a kid, it became my official birthday cake! (She even made me one this year.)
Enlightened Lazy Daisy Oatmeal Cake
So, making the lazy daisy oatmeal cake seemed like the natural choice for this week.
Already, pretty healthy as sweet treats go, I decided to give the recipe a makeover, lightening it up a bit.
I substituted applesauce for some of the butter and used canola oil for the rest, cut back on the sugar, and made the pieces a little smaller since its such a heavy filling cake.
We each had a piece for dessert last night. It tasted just as good as Mom's!
How Many Calories and WW Points in this Oatmeal Cake?
According to my calculations, each frosted piece of cake has about 203 calories. To see your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, Click here!
If you've made this Frosted Oatmeal Cake, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. And stay in touch on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.
Enlightened Lazy Daisy Oatmeal Cake
Ingredients
- 1-¼ cups boiling water
- 1 cup rolled oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
- 1-½ cups flour (all-purpose or white wheat)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup applesauce
- ¼ cup canola oil
- 2 large egg whites
Topping
- ½ cup shredded coconut
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup rolled oats (quick or old-fashioned, uncooked)
- ¼ cup skim milk
- 2 tablespoons chopped pecans
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
Instructions
- Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat an 8 or 9-inch square baking pan (affiliate link) with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, combine the boiling water and oats and set aside for about 15 minutes to soften.
- In another large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg and set aside.
- Add the sugar, brown sugar, applesauce, oil and egg whites to the oat mixture and beat until well combined and creamy.
- Add the flour mixture to the oat mixture and stir just until well combined. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 to 60 minutes for a 9-inch pan, or 55 to 65 minutes for an 8-inch pan.
- While the cake is baking stir together the topping ingredients and set it aside.
- Remove the cake from the oven and immediately spread the topping mixture evenly over the top of the hot cake.
- Broil about 4 inches from heat, for 1 or 2 minutes, or jut until the topping is bubbly. Watch closely because the topping can burn easily.
- Remove from the oven and place the pan on a wire rack to cool completely.
Recipe Notes
*Points® calculated by WW. *PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT each plan's ZeroPoint Foods (Green plan, Blue plan, Purple plan) using the WW Recipe Builder.
Be sure to check out what these other participating bloggers have cooked up oats. (If you are interested in joining us, contact Mireya at My Healthy Eating Habits. We'd love to have you join us.)
- Alyce @ More Time at the Table
- Ansh @ Spice Roots
- Jeanette @ Jeanette's Healthy Living
- Jill @ Saucy Cooks
- Mireya @ My Healthy Eating Habits
- Sarah @ Everything in the Kitchen Sink
- Casey @ Bookcase Foodie
- Bambi @ Adobo Down Under
More Weight Watchers Friendly Oatmeal Recipes...
- Baked Oatmeal Recipe Roundup
- Low Fat Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
- Skinny Banana Oatmeal Muffin & Bread Recipes
- Skinny Cranberry Oatmeal Apple Cookies
- No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
- Individual "Banana Bread" Baked Oatmeal Muffin Cups
- Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies
- Banana Oatmeal Cookies
Sources:
- Quaker Oats
- Power Foods: 150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients
- The World's Healthiest Foods
Martha is the founder and main content writer for Simple-Nourished-Living.
A longtime lifetime WW at goal, she is committed to balancing her love of food and desire to stay slim while savoring life and helping others do the same.
She is the author of the Smart Start 28-Day Weight Loss Challenge.
A huge fan of the slow cooker and confessed cookbook addict, when she's not experimenting in the kitchen, you're likely to find Martha on her yoga mat.
This post contains affiliate links to products I like. When you buy something through one of my Amazon links or other (affiliate links), I receive a small commission that helps support this site. Thank you for your purchase!
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Ansh
That is a real good way to eat dessert. You get the nutrition and you don't feel guilty afterwards!!
Mireya Merritt
Light chocolate cake with pecan and coconut topping, I always called that German chocolate cake. It is a good one! Maybe the oatmeal is what makes this into Enlightened Lazy Daisy?
Martha
Hi Mireya, This cake isn't chocolate, though I've seen variations that call for the addition of cocoa powder and/or chocolate chips!
Saja
My mom used to make lazy daisy oatmeal cake for my and my brother’s birthday. After she died, I began making my version with quite a bit less sugar. Then I had to switch to gluten free sugar. Thank you so much for a healthier version.
adena
This is a lighter version of Grandma's Oatmeal Cake. I subbed Splenda and Truvia brown sugar for the batter. It came out fantastic!
Thank you for the recipe.