Last December, one of my best friends from high school drove down to visit on a Sunday afternoon. Since she worked in a professional bakery for quite a few years and loves baking as much as I do, we decided to take Amanda Rettke’s fun online cake decorating class. (Amanda is the supremely talented and hilarious blogger behind I Am Baker!)
My friend showed up at my door with nearly everything we needed: a huge bucket of homemade buttercream frosting, two rotating cake stands, a big package of piping bags, and more frosting tips than I could count! As for the rest of our supplies, I baked plenty of plain cupcakes and cake layers the night before for us to practice on.
After arranging everything on the kitchen counter, I opened my laptop to start playing the class videos. When we finished watching the first few sets, we each filled a piping bag and began squeezing buttercream out of the fancy tips, slowly creating rosettes, ruffles, and shells on pieces of wax paper and the cupcakes.
With my friend’s bakery background, she quickly caught on and filled a full-sized cake with a beautiful pushed-petal design, but I needed the rest of the afternoon to finally pipe a few acceptable-looking rosettes… Still, we both really enjoyed Amanda’s class, and we planned on getting together to practice again!
Although perfect piping skills remains on my bucket list (have you seen some of Amanda’s gorgeous cakes? like this one or this one?), I always seem to forget to plan far enough in advance to allow myself enough time to decorate cakes. When I get a cake craving, I want to bake and eat it ASAP… Without putting in the extra time to make it look pretty!
Which is why I absolutely love simple cakes, like this Greek Yogurt Cranberry Orange Pound Cake! It’s meant to be served exactly as it looks when it comes out of the oven, and it’s already full of sweet, fresh fruity flavors (no decorative icing or frosting required!). Even better, it contains no refined flour or sugar and only 131 calories!
And without any frosting, I feel absolutely no guilt sneaking a second slice! 😉
Traditional pound cakes earned their name because they contained a pound each of four main ingredients: all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, butter, and eggs. Umm… That doesn’t exactly sound very healthy to me! What about you?
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST HEALTHY CRANBERRY ORANGE POUND CAKE
So let’s talk about how to make this healthy cranberry orange pound cake!
To start, you’ll use white whole wheat flour. I know—it sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? Usually white flour and whole wheat flour are two completely different things! However, white whole wheat flour is made by finely grinding a special type of white wheat, whereas regular whole wheat flour comes from a heartier variety of red wheat. This special wheat gives white whole wheat flour a lighter taste and texture, very similar to that of all-purpose flour, which really allows this cake’s tender texture and fruity flavors to shine. (Bonus: It still has the same health benefits as regular whole wheat flour, too!)
Instead of a pound of butter and eggs (that’s nearly 4,000 calories!), you’ll use merely 1 tablespoon of butter (or coconut oil!) and 3 egg whites. Whew… That sounds much more manageable to my waistline! The rest of this cake’s extremely tender texture comes from one of my favorite ingredients in healthier baking…
Greek yogurt! …although I’m sure you already guessed that from the title of this recipe. Greek yogurt provides the same moisture as extra butter or oil for a fraction of the calories, and it gives your pound cake a big protein boost, too!
To sweeten this healthy cake, you’ll use another one of my favorite ingredients: liquid stevia. Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that’s clean eating friendly, and it’s highly concentrated. You just need 1 tablespoon for this entire recipe, instead of a pound of sugar! This is the kind that I buy because I love its sweet flavor and don’t notice any strange aftertastes like with some other stevia products. You can find it at many health-oriented grocery stores, but I always buy mine here because that’s the best price I’ve found. (And you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
And finally, for the most important ingredients… You’ll use a combination of freshly squeezed orange juice and orange zest for the citrus flavor. The zest actually provides the majority of the bright sunshiny taste, so don’t skip it! You’ll need about 2 large oranges to yield the right amount of zest.
Just before spreading the batter into your loaf pan, you’ll fold in fresh cranberries. I highly recommend fresh (or frozen and thawed), rather than dried! Dried cranberries generally contain extra added sugar, and the fresh ones have a much better flavor. I prefer to dice the cranberries to ensure you taste them in every bite, and I use a food processor to quickly chop them. It’s such a great secret time-saving trick!
Who’s ready for healthy cake?? 😉 And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your healthy cranberry orange pound cake!
| Greek Yogurt Cranberry Orange Pound Cake | | Print |
- 2 ¾ cups (330g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 tbsp (15g) freshly grated orange zest (about 2 extra large)
- 1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 3 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1 tbsp (15mL) vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp (15mL) liquid stevia
- ¾ cup (180g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ½ cup (120mL) freshly squeezed orange juice (about 1 extra large)
- ½ cup + 2 tbsp (150mL) nonfat milk
- 1 ½ cups (165g) fresh whole cranberries, diced
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line a 9x5” loaf pan with foil. Lightly coat the foil with nonstick cooking spray.
- To prepare the cake, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and orange zest in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg whites, vanilla extract, and stevia. Stir in the Greek yogurt, mixing until no large lumps remain. Stir in the orange juice and 2 tablespoons of milk. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and remaining milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts.) Gently fold in the cranberries.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350°F for 50-60 minutes or until the top feels firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before lifting out the cake by the foil and transferring it to a wire rack to cool completely.
Whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour may be substituted in place of the white whole wheat flour. Regular whole wheat flour may be substituted in a pinch, although the cake will be less tender and have a distinct wheat-y flavor.
The cake requires 3 full egg whites. The whites contain the majority of the protein in eggs, and that protein is required to ensure the cake maintains its shape and texture while cooling. Without all 3 egg whites, the cake will collapse while cooling and turn out much denser.
I do not recommend substituting for the liquid stevia, if at all possible. (It’s one of my favorite ingredients, and you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too! I buy it online here because that's the best price I've found.) However, if you really prefer to omit the liquid stevia from the cake, substitute 1 ¼ cups (240g) granulated sugar and omit the milk, but the cake will no longer be clean-eating friendly. You may substitute 1 ¼ cups (240g) coconut sugar and omit the milk to keep the cake clean eating friendly, but it will be much darker in color and the orange flavor will be somewhat muted. The baking time may vary with either of those substitutions as well.
To quickly dice the cranberries, add them to a food processor, and pulse until they’re no larger than ¼ of their original size.
Frozen and thawed cranberries that have been patted dry to remove any excess moisture may be substituted for the fresh. In a pinch, 1 cup of diced dried cranberries that have been hydrated may be substituted for the fresh cranberries. To hydrate the dried cranberries, add them to a microwave-safe bowl, add water until it rises ½” above the cranberries, and cover the top with a lid or plastic wrap. Microwave on HIGH for 1 minute. Let the cranberries sit while preparing the cake batter. Just before mixing them in, drain and pat dry.
Any milk may be substituted in place of the nonfat milk.
Do not use a hand-held mixer or stand mixer to mix up the batter. This will result in a dense, gummy, or tough cake. Use a whisk where instructed, and use a fork for everything else.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie, lower sugar}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Greek Yogurt Lemon Pound Cake
♡ Greek Yogurt Chocolate Chip Pound Cake
♡ Greek Yogurt Blueberry Lemon Pound Cake
♡ Greek Yogurt Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Pound Cake
♡ Cranberry Orange Scones
♡ Cranberry Orange Mini Muffins
♡ Simple Orange Poppy Seed Cake
Sounds lovely . Would raspberries be a good substitute ?
Thanks Frances! Raspberries should work, but I’d recommend using 1 cup of whole raspberries that have been diced because raspberries contain more liquid than cranberries. (Too much more liquid will cause the cake to collapse while cooling.) 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of it!
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Thank you
I really appreciate your interest in receiving my blog’s emails at a new address Cami! The easiest way for you to change your email address is as follows. Scroll down to the bottom of one of my emails to your first email address, and click on the blue link that says, “unsubscribe now.” Follow the directions to unsubscribe that email address. Click here to resubscribe, and enter in your new email address, cnadestiny@hotmail.com, when prompted. Follow the directions to complete your new email subscription. Then you’ll be all set! 🙂
Is there a way to substitute honey/maple syrup for stevia?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Dana! Unfortunately, I don’t recommend either of those. In order to substitute either honey or maple syrup, you’d need to omit the orange juice to compensate for the added liquid… And then it’d basically be a cranberry pound cake with only a bit of orange flavor. 😉 I’d love to hear what you think if you try it!
Pound cake that is healthy! Certainly saving this recipe. I started replacing butter with coconut oil in many of my baked goods and fell in love with the healthy replacement. yUM
Thanks Maria! That means a lot to me that you’ve saved my recipe. 🙂 I agree — coconut oil is wonderful in baked goods!
This sounds so delicious. And a low fat pound cake? PERFECT for the holidays, love it!
Thanks Phi!! If we were neighbors, I’d bake you your own cake in a heartbeat! ♡
That sounds like a great way to spend time with a friend, baking classes!! This bread also sounds like a great way to spend time…and then EATING IT ALL.
My thoughts EXACTLY!!! I knew we were friends for a reason Brittany! 😉
Boo hoo. I made this and it didn’t turn out. It caved in in the middle and was raw on the inside and the sides were starting to burn.. I baked it a long time T Not sure what I did wrong. I did forget the eggs. Would this make a big difference? The inside part still tasted good, even though it was kind of raw!
PLEASE HELP!
I love your website and have tried many other recipes!
I’m so glad you’re enjoying my other recipes Laurie! Unfortunately, omitting the eggs was exactly what causes those issues that you described. I actually included a paragraph about why the egg whites are important in the Notes section underneath the Instructions already, so I recommend reviewing that. 🙂 If you add the 3 egg whites to your batter the next time, it should turn out perfectly!
I tried this again and it turned out perfect! that was completely my bad the first time!
Wonderful!! I’m so glad the cake turned out perfectly! The eggs make a surprisingly big difference. 🙂 Thanks for retrying the recipe and letting me know Laurie — I’m touched!
That was such a fun day!! I was actually JUST reflecting on how I can’t believe it’s been a year since we did that… I think I saw something about the Flinstone Christmas movie and it brought me back! I hope we can get together and watch Christmas movies, sip on warm drinks, and frost cakes again sometime in January!! (except maybe not the Christmas movies… heehee) <3 <3 <3
PS- that loaf is GORGEOUS!
PPS- I FINALLY found unsweetened coconut yogurt for a decent price at Sprouts!! I can't wait to use it in baking!
YAY!! That’s awesome about the yogurt!! And thank you so much for your kind words about my pound cake! 🙂 I’d love to get together for coffee/tea/whatever works, frost cakes, and maybe substitute a chick flick or two for the Christmas movies. 😉 Can’t wait to finally see you again sweet pea!
I only have regular Stevie, not vanilla cream. Can I use it and keep the same measurements?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Angie! The measurement depends on the type and brand of stevia that you have since different brands have different sweetness concentrations. What exact stevia do you have? 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try the pound cake!
I have Skinnygirl liquid Stevie. It’s my first time using it. I made the cake with it but it didn’t turn out very well lol it gave it a very odd taste. I need to order the vanilla cream stevia and try again. Thanks
I really hope you enjoy the cake more when made with the vanilla creme stevia Angie! And I truly appreciate that you’re willing to try it again with the stevia I recommend — that means a lot to me! 🙂
Can I use whole eggs instead of just egg whites? If so, would it be 3 whole eggs? Thank you!
Yes, you need a total of 3 egg whites from the eggs, so 3 whole eggs would be correct. The baking time may be slightly longer due to their addition. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of the pound cake Amy!
I used the exact ingredients and amounts as directed but there is an after taste in the pound cake everything else is perfect i do not know why there is an after taste, can you help me?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Alaa! Would you be willing to do a quick experiment? Add 4-6 drops of the vanilla stevia to ¼ cup of milk. Stir and take a sip. Do you notice the aftertaste when drinking the stevia-sweetened milk?
ok i tried what you told me to do there is no after taste and I let my daughter and husband also try it there is no after taste. So what is the next step. I really what to know what i the problem and I really appreciate you helping me figuring it out. You are actually amazing you always reply to my questions promptly.
That’s GREAT news Alaa!! Some people notice an aftertaste with the stevia, but that’s fantastic that you didn’t. 🙂 When you zested the orange, did you just skim off the very top layer of orange peel? Or did you include the white rind underneath?
Just the top like I always do with your recipes.
Great! Thanks for the info Alaa. 🙂 Just to verify, you used fresh cranberries, correct? And you followed the recipe exactly as written, without using any of the modifications in the Notes section underneath the Instructions? I’ll keep thinking — we’ll solve this!