{cinnamon pecan streusel cake}

(February 17, 2013)

I love to {bake} and have been trying new things for years, but I have always made high sugar, fat and calorie desserts. As I have been losing weight these last 2 years, I have been very careful not to eat anything that I bake and ruin my diet. If I did eat anything, I would only allow myself to eat 2-3 small bites. So, I went on a quest to find low calorie desserts! I found some awesome recipes and will now be cooking them for you and posting the recipes right here! (and on the recipe page) <3 

This first week I made a cinnamon pecan streusel cake. It was a really easy recipe and turned out {so} good! I would recommend it with a nice hot cup of coffee! All the ingredients were easy to find and it wasn't very time consuming. My overall rating for this is 4.5 stars (and only because I am not a huge fan of nuts in my desserts.)  Enjoy!

This recipe comes from the cookbook "Guilt Free Sweet Treats (Woman's Day)" and was tested out by Karen!

What you need:

STREUSEL:

1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup uncooked quick-cooking oats

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp light stick butter, softened

1 tsp water

1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans

CAKE:

1 3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) light butter, softened

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp salt 

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cup each, all purpose flour and whole wheat flour

1 container (8 oz) reduced fat sour cream

Directions: 

1) Begin with Streusel- Mix brown sugar, oats, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl. Add butter and water; rub between fingers until evenly moistened. Stir in pecans; press together to form small clumps.

2) Cake- Heat oven to 350*F. Line a 13x9x2 in. baking pan with nonstick foil, letting ends of foil extend about 2 in. above pan on short ends.

3) Beat sugar, butter, spices, vanilla, baking soda and salt in large bowl with mixer 3 minutes until blended. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each. Alternately beat in flours with sour cream on low speed until just blended.

4) Spread batter evenly in pan, sprinkle with streusel and bake 35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Lift cake by foil ends onto cutting board. Cut into 24 squares.

{Karen's notes} I found that this took 45 minutes to cook, not the 35 suggested by the cookbook. I would set the timer for 35 minutes to check it, but not be concerned if it needs to stay in for an extra 10 minutes! I thought it was really good and I personally would serve it as a breakfast cake with coffee rather than a dessert!