Last week when I stopped by the grocery store, I smiled as soon as I walked through the sliding glass doors. The supermarket strategically placed their bakery right at the very front, tempting customers with treats from the moment they entered.
A half dozen display tables stood scattered around that floor space, each holding its own dessert. Cookies, brownies, brownie bites, mini cupcakes, regular cupcakes, cake slices, cake pops, coffee cake, pies, tarts… Every sweet treat imaginable!
Of course, the store tucked away the not-so-sweet baked goods like bread, rolls, and bagels in the far corner… They knew those were far less tempting!
Last week, the bakery had added an extra long folding table display for Valentine’s Day, which looked as if it might collapse under the weight of all the products piled on top! It held packages of pre-baked sugar cookies and boxed cake mix, alongside huge tubs of sprinkles and containers of store-made buttercream frosting dyed in every color of the rainbow.
The bakery knew many people wanted to frost sugar cookies and bake cakes for their loved ones for Valentine’s Day… But those people usually lacked the time to do it all from scratch, so the bakery’s display solved that problem. Buy all of the pre-made components and just decorate at home!
As a kid, I would’ve begged my mom to let us do that… I loved store-bought frosting and treats back then! But as an adult, I’ve started to gravitate away from those overly sweet and decorated desserts towards simpler (and healthier!) options…
Like this Healthy Vanilla Bean Pound Cake! It’s so full of rich vanilla flavor that no frosting is necessary (and even the drizzle is optional!). This healthy pound cake is also really easy to make. You just need two bowls, a whisk, and a fork—no mixer!
But I saved the best for last… This healthy pound cake contains no refined flour or sugar, and it’s just 125 calories! That’s basically the definition of cake heaven in my book!
WHY IS IT CALLED POUND CAKE?
Traditional pound cakes earned their name because they contained a pound of each of the following ingredients: all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, butter, and eggs. They were really moist and dense… And had way more calories per slice than I want to think about!
So let’s talk about how we’re going to make our pound cake healthier!
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST HEALTHY VANILLA POUND CAKE
You’ll start with white whole wheat flour (like this!). Yes, such a thing actually exists—and it’s not a combination of white (aka all-purpose) flour and whole wheat flour! Regular whole wheat flour comes from coarse and hearty red wheat, whereas white whole wheat flour is made by finely grinding a special type of soft white wheat (hence the name!). This gives white whole wheat flour a lighter taste and texture, which is perfect for letting the tender texture of your healthy vanilla bean pound cake shine!
You’ll skip the pound of butter (about 2 cups!) and eggs (about 9 of them!). Instead, you’ll use a mere 1 tablespoon of butter and 3 egg whites. Whew! My waistline is doing a happy dance just thinking about how many calories we shaved off!
Therefore, the majority of this healthy vanilla pound cake’s tender texture comes from Greek yogurt. Although… You may have guessed that already! I love baking with Greek yogurt because it adds the same moisture to your cake batter as extra butter or oil for a fraction of the calories, and it gives your healthy pound cake a big protein boost, too!
Rather than granulated sugar, you’ll sweeten your healthy vanilla pound cake with another one of my favorite ingredients: liquid stevia. Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that contains nothing refined or artificial (aka it’s clean-eating friendly!). It’s also highly concentrated, so you just need 1 tablespoon to sweeten your entire cake!
This is the liquid stevia that I buy because I love its warm flavor and don’t notice any strange aftertaste, like with some other stevia products. Although you can find it at many health-oriented grocery stores, I buy mine online here because that’s the cheapest price I’ve found. (And you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
Of course, the true star of the show is the vanilla bean! Because it’s really hard to find good vanilla beans near where I live (especially ones that don’t cost an arm and a leg!), I use this vanilla bean paste instead. I buy it online here! It adds the same richness as regular vanilla beans — and just look at all of those pretty black speckles! They make me so happy! ♡
If you want to make your healthy vanilla bean pound cake look a little fancier, then add a little drizzle on top once it has completely cooled! I made mine with this healthy “powered sugar” as the base, then mixed it with milk and a little more vanilla bean paste. For easy drizzling, put it in a small bag, cut off a tiny piece of one corner, and drizzle away!
A slice for dessert… A slice before bed… A slice as a mid-afternoon snack… This healthy vanilla pound cake basically disappeared in the blink of an eye at my house! It truly is the BEST!
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 vanilla bean pound cake!
| Healthy Vanilla Bean Pound Cake | | Print |
- for the pound cake
- 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
- 1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 3 large egg whites, room temperature
- 5 tsp vanilla bean paste (see Notes!)
- 1 tbsp (15mL) liquid stevia (see Notes!)
- ¾ cup (180g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 ¼ cups (300mL) nonfat milk
- for the drizzle (optional)
- 5 tsp confectioners’ style erythritol
- 1 ½ tsp nonfat milk
- ¼ tsp vanilla bean paste
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and coat a 9x5” loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- To prepare the cake, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg whites, vanilla bean paste, and liquid stevia. Stir in the Greek yogurt, mixing until no large lumps remain. Stir in ¼ cup 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.)
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350°F for 45-55 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 carefully transferring the pound cake to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To prepare the drizzle, just before serving, stir together the erythritol, milk, and vanilla bean paste in a small bowl. Transfer the glaze to a small bag, cut off a tiny piece of one corner, and drizzle on top of the cooled cake.
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.
This is the vanilla bean paste that I used! It’s much more affordable than buying regular vanilla beans, and it’s completely shelf-stable. Each teaspoon is the equivalent of one full vanilla bean! I bought it online here. For a stronger vanilla flavor, increase the vanilla bean paste by another 1 teaspoon.
You may substitute regular vanilla extract for the vanilla bean paste, but the vanilla flavor won’t be quite as prominent.
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 mine online here because that's the cheapest price I've found. For the best results, use the same liquid stevia that I did! Many stevia brands and products have different sweetness levels, so they're not always a 1-for-1 substitution.
However, if you really prefer to omit the liquid stevia from the cake, substitute 1 ¼ cups (240g) granulated sugar and reduce the milk to ½ cup + 2 tablespoons, but the cake will no longer be clean-eating friendly. You may substitute 1 ¼ cups (240g) coconut sugar and reduce the milk to ½ cup + 2 tablespoons to keep the cake clean eating friendly, but it will be much darker in color. The baking time may vary with either of those substitutions as well.
Any milk may be substituted in place of the nonfat milk.
In the drizzle, this is the confectioners’ style erythritol that I used. In a pinch, regular confectioners’ (powdered) sugar may be substituted for the confectioners’ style erythritol. However, regular powdered sugar is more absorbent, so start with ½ teaspoon of milk and add more as necessary to achieve the desired consistency.
I do not recommend baking this cake in square or round cake pans. If baked in either of these pans, the center of the cake will likely collapse because of the lack of sugar and how this cake is sweetened with stevia instead. (Sugar actually plays a role in cake’s structure — it’s not just there for sweetness!) For the best taste and texture results, use a loaf pan as instructed.
GLUTEN-FREE OPTION: For the gluten-free flour, use the following: 1 ½ cups (180g) millet flour, ¾ cup (90g) tapioca flour, ½ cup (60g) brown rice flour, and 2 teaspoons xanthan gum. Most store-bought gluten-free flour blends (like this one!) will work as well, if measured like this.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low sugar, higher protein}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Blueberry Pound Cake
♡ Healthy Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake
♡ Healthy Raspberry Almond Pound Cake
♡ Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pound Cake
♡ Healthy Cranberry Orange Pound Cake
♡ Healthy Eggnog Pound Cake
♡ Healthy Carrot Cake Pound Cake
Oh my, what a divine pound cake variation! Definitely doesn’t need anything fancy to make it flavorful.
Thank you so much Liz!! Your sweet comments always make my day! 🙂
Looks delicious! One quick question, I seem to be missing where you place raspberries in ingredients section. The recipe instructions mentions “gently press the remaining raspberries on top”… How much raspberries for total recipe & at what point do add the first part of the raspberries? Thanks!
Thanks for catching that typo — all fixed! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try this pound cake!
I’m confused the directions talk about raspberries?
Thanks for catching that typo — all fixed! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try this pound cake April!
Here is the nutritional information. Really hoping that you’ll start adding it.
Nutrition Facts
Servings 12.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 124
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 1 g 2 %
Saturated Fat 1 g 3 %
Monounsaturated Fat 0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 4 mg 1 %
Sodium 349 mg 15 %
Potassium 84 mg 2 %
Total Carbohydrate 22 g 7 %
Dietary Fiber 3 g 13 %
Sugars 4 g
Protein 9 g 17 %
Vitamin A 2 %
Vitamin C 0 %
Calcium 7 %
Iron 6
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Laura! The full nutrition information for my recipes is actually included already, directly beneath the Notes section of each recipe. It can be easy to miss! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try this pound cake!
Oh, how I missed that… it’s one of those days. Sorry! Thanks so much for your reply and for putting the info out there. And for your amazing recipes!
No need to apologize Laura! It happens all the time. 😉 I’m so glad you’re enjoying my recipes! I can’t wait to hear what you try next! 🙂
I managed to screw this up twice (flavorless with the crust peeling off). Buuuuuut, after freezing then thawing, it makes a great blank slate for french toast. Topped with hazelnut and orange oil it’s great!
Oh no!! I’m glad you managed to turn it into something tasty though! 🙂 That’s so strange that it turned out flavorless though… Did you happen to use the vanilla stevia, by chance? Or did you substitute for it using one of the alternatives in the Notes section? I’d love to work together to figure out why it was so flavorless — so that if you decide to try a third time, your pound cake turns out perfectly!
I want to make this recipe, but was wondering if I could use 2 full eggs instead of 3 egg whites as we don’t mind yolks. Thank you – looks amazing!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Ila! I’ve actually gone over this in the Notes section of the recipe, directly underneath the Instructions. It can be easy to miss! 😉 You can include the yolks, if you prefer. I can’t wait to hear what you think of this pound cake!
Can regular stevia be used instead of vanilla stevia? I’d love to make it today but I don’t have vanilla stevia, just regular stevia. Thank you!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Mikaela! Are you trying to substitute the same brand’s regular liquid stevia flavor, rather than their vanilla stevia flavor? 🙂
Hey Amy!
About how many inches(thick) is a single slice?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Nicole! Since this recipe yields 12 slices (the yield is directly underneath the recipe title in the recipe box!), each slice should be about ¾” thick (9″ loaf pan divided by 12 slices 😉 ). I’d love to hear what you think if you try this pound cake! 🙂
I made this last night and the texture was great as was the sweetness but the over all flavor was wheat-y. Caveat: I didn’t have the vanille bean paste so I struggled with a couple of beans and got what I could from them and then added vanilla extract to fill in the gap. Clearly I didn’t add enough and I will try this recipe again when I get my vanilla bean paste but i am thinking I will change flours. I don’t want to use all purpose because I still want it to be clean eating so may try the gluten free flour you suggested. I also picked up some Bob’s paleo baking flour, could I use that? I may try the lemon pound cake while I wait for my vanilla bean paste to get here. I love your website…I found it while trying to kick the sugar habit….thanks for the thoughtful recipes!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Amy! I’m happy to work with you to sort through those issues. 🙂 What was the exact flour that you used in your first try? I don’t have any experience with Bob’s paleo baking flour, so I’m honestly not sure how it’ll turn out. However, if it says you can use it cup-for-cup for all-purpose or wheat-based flours, then I’m guessing it should turn out okay!
I used KAF white whole wheat the first time….the one you recommend using. My cake looked like the pics and the texture was good.
Thanks so much for the information Amy! I think there are two things that probably contributed to the wheat-y flavor: (a) using the vanilla extract and what you could manage from the regular vanilla beans {the vanilla bean paste that I use and recommend definitely has a stronger, more concentrated flavor!} and (b) your taste buds are probably more sensitive to the flavor of wheat, especially compared to mine! I’ve found that some people are much more sensitive to certain flavors (my mom and Greek yogurt, my brother and vanilla stevia, my best friend and wheat, me and garlic!). There’s nothing wrong with that — that’s just the way things happen sometimes!
I’m so glad the texture was fine! I did a bit more research on the Bob’s Red Mill paleo flour, so I have a better answer for you now. 🙂 I’d recommend starting with 2 ½ cups of the paleo flour in place of the white whole wheat flour. It may be okay to use the full 2 ¾ cups, but it’s always easier to add more flour at the end of Step 2 than it is to remove flour! 😉 Since you’ve already baked this cake with white whole wheat flour, you know what the batter should look like. If it looks too wet and runny, then go ahead and add that final ¼ cup! Also, you’ll need to add 2 teaspoons of xanthan gum, just like I recommend with my GF flour blend. Xanthan gum is what imitates gluten’s structural properties, so it will ensure your cake doesn’t collapse while cooling. (Some of Bob’s Red Mill’s other GF blends include xanthan gum, but their paleo one doesn’t — hence why you’ll want to add it in yourself!)
I hope that helps!! 🙂