Smith Island Cake

( Doug Kapustin, Baltimore Sun / July 30, 2008 )

Lower-fat Smith Island Cake
Publication date: 07/21/2010 Yield: Makes: 16 servings

Ingredients:
Cake:
Cooking spray formulated for baking
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 (8-ounce) carton fat-free sour cream
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup egg substitute
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk

Frosting:
16 ounces 1/3-less-fat cream cheese (can also use fat-free cream cheese)
2 tablespoons light butter
3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line bottoms of 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper cut to fit. Coat parchment and sides with cooking spray. Set aside.

Combine butter and sour cream in a large bowl. Add sugar and vanilla. Beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add egg substitute and beat 2 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix well after each addition.

Place 1/2 cup of batter into each cake pan. Spread evenly with the back of a spoon or small spatula. Bake in 350-degree oven for 8 minutes. Let cake cool slightly (between 5 and 10 minutes). Remove from pan and carefully peel off parchment paper. (The parchment can be reused to bake the next layers.) Cool completely on a wire rack. Repeat until there are 8 thin layers of cake. Stack layers between additional parchment or waxed paper until the cake is ready to be assembled.

For frosting: Beat with a mixer at medium speed the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add sugar and mix well. Add cocoa powder, salt and vanilla and beat until smooth.

Assembling the cake:

Top the first layer of cake with about 1/4 cup of frosting. Top with another cake layer and repeat, using remaining layers. Frost top and sides of. You may have some frosting left over. Store in refrigerator but serve at room temperature.

Cake batter recipe adapted from Cooking Light

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