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This low calorie vanilla buttermilk cake is my new absolute favorite cake. Even my mom, who can sometimes be a little hard to please when it comes to cakes, gave it a raving review!
I’ve been looking for a go-to lighter healthier from scratch vanilla cake recipe for quite some time and now I’ve finally got it. It’s the perfect size for us, making a single 8-inch round layer. And it’s super versatile – like the little basic black dress of desserts.
It’s the first recipe I’ve tried from one of my recent cookbook acquisitions: Enlightened Cakes: More Than 100 Decadently Light Layer Cakes, Bundt Cakes, Cupcakes, Cheesecakes, and More, All with Less Fat and Fewer Calories (affiliate link) by Camilla Saulsbury.
Serving Suggestions
Think of all the ways you can serve a simple wedge of light, yet moist, and delicious vanilla buttermilk cake:
- Plain or with a dusting of confectioners sugar
- Iced with a thin layer of your favorite frosting
- Sliced horizontally and filled with a layer of jam and few dollops of whipped cream or topping
- Topped with fresh berries or other seasonal fresh fruit
- Topped with a compote of plumped dried fruit (pear apple compote, slow cooker apple compote or dried fruit compote)
- With a small scoop of frozen yogurt or ice cream
- Drizzled with your favorite sauce
- In a trifle
- Spread with nutella and sprinkled with chopped hazelnuts
- Topped with sliced strawberries alongside a small scoop of vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt…
With a simple fail-proof cake like this in your repertoire, you never have to worry about what to serve for dessert again!
How Many Calories and WW Points in this Vanilla Buttermilk Cake?
According to my calculations, each slice has just 189 calories.
To see your WW Points for this recipe, track it in the WW App!
(You must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.)
7 SmartPoints (Green plan)
7 SmartPoints (Blue plan)
7 SmartPoints (Purple plan)
5 PointsPlus (Old plan)
Recipe Notes
It is made with basic ingredients that I always have on hand, stirs together in minutes and uses just 1/2 a stick of butter and 1/3 cup sugar, so it’s relatively low in WW Points values (as desserts go).
I made it with cake flour the first time and plan on trying all-purpose the next time I make it.
Next time I may split it and add a thin layer of jam and few dollops of whipped cream before serving it topped with berries.
I also want to experiment with using olive oil instead of butter and lemon juice/zest in place of vanilla. Another variation would be to top with 1 cup of fresh fruit before baking.
To make this cake even easier, I changed the way you mix it together, using a technique for one-bowl cakes Camilla uses throughout her cookbook, Piece of Cake!: One-Bowl, No-Fuss, From-Scratch Cakes (affiliate link) Enjoy!
If you’ve made this Enlightened Buttermilk 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.
Low Calorie Vanilla Buttermilk Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour (all-purpose or cake)
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup butter, at room temperature, (1/2 of a stick of butter is 1/4 cup)
- 2/3 cup low-fat buttermilk
- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 tablespoon confectioners sugar (optional)
For the Strawberries
- 4 cups sliced strawberries
- 1 tablespoons sugar
Instructions
- Position your oven rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Spray an 8-inch round baking pan with nonstick baking spray with flour. (Such as Bakers Joy or Pam with flour)
- In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt until well blended.
- Add the egg, butter, buttermilk and vanilla to the flour mixture. Using an electric mixer (affiliate link) on medium-low speed, beat the mixture for 1 minute, until blended. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula and then beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, until everything is incorporated and well blended.
- Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 20-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Remove the pan from the oven and set it on a wire cooling rack (affiliate link) for 10 minutes, then remove the cake from the pan and place it on the rack (top side up) to cool completely.
- When completely cool, sprinkle with the confectioners sugar if desired and serve with strawberries
- For the strawberries, in a large bowl, toss together the strawberries and 1 tablespoon sugar until well combined. Let stand for at least 15 minutes, until the sugar melts and strawberries begin to release their juices.
Notes
(Must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.) 7 SmartPoints (Green plan) 7 SmartPoints (Blue plan) 7 SmartPoints (Purple plan) 5 PointsPlus (Old plan) I made it with cake flour the first time and plan on trying all-purpose the next time I make it. This a very versatile cake. You can enjoy it plain, with fruit and/or whipped cream. Or ice it with a thin layer of your favorite frosting. It’s also great with ice cream or frozen yogurt and a drizzle of your favorite sauce. Next time I may split it and add a thin layer of jam and few dollops of whipped cream before serving it topped with berries. I also want to experiment with using olive oil instead of butter and lemon juice/zest in place of vanilla. Another variation would be to top with 1 cup of fresh fruit before baking.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is a lovely cake. Goes together quickly, has a moist crumb and an unexpected depth of flavor that must have been the buttermilk. Topped with berries makes a perfect desert.
Double the recipe and it fits perfectly in an 8×11 pan. Need to cook for an additional 8-10 minutes.
Maybe lime zest and juice? or would that not play well with the buttermilk?
And it is just heavenly as it is.
Hi Sarah, I think lime zest and a little juice would be nice. ~Martha
This is absolutely a delicious cake. I replaced the sugar with a substitute used low fat on everything that I could and used egg whites! Thank you!
This cake is not only delish but beautiful . Love the blog so refreshing and decent. Prepared definitely with class..that’s more than I can say for all the filth out there these days..FAT FREE OR NOT!
Butter did not blend well and is lumpy. Not sure if I should bake or keep mixing,
Sorry I forgot to mention using 3Tof Grape Seed Oil in lieu of butter having to be on a low saturated food plan.