Easy Diet Dessert Recipes for Weight Watchers

Cake is and has always been a popular dessert for dinners and special occasions, as well as in between meals, but many dieters shun cake because it tends to be rather high in calories. These two recipes, however, produce cakes that are not only extremely moist but relatively low in calories, meaning that weight watchers can enjoy these delicious desserts without sabotaging their diets. On the other hand, these two recipes produce such tasty cakes that they’re sure to a hit with non-dieters as well.

Recipe for Low Calorie Sour Cream Coconut Cake for Dieters

For the following cake, cooks can substitute a purchased white cake mix, for the sake of ease and convenience; however, if they do so, they must bear in mind that the total number of calories per slice will be somewhat different than what is listed below.

Ingredients for cake:

• 2 and 3/4 cups flour
• 1 and 2/3 cups sugar
• 2/3 cup vegetable shortening (room temperature)
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons skim milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 egg whites

Preparation of cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Lightly grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans.
3. Combine flour and sugar in sifter.
4. Place shortening in bowl and stir just to soften.
5. Sift dry ingredients into shortening.
6. Add 3/4 cup milk and vanilla extract.
7. Mix until all flour is damp.
8. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed.
9. Add eggs and remaining milk.
10. Beat 1 minute longer.
11. Pour batter into prepared pans.
12. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.
13. Remove from oven and allow to cool before frosting.

Ingredients for sour cream coconut icing:

• 2 cups low fat light sour cream
• 2 cups sugar
• 24 ounces frozen coconut (unsweetened)

Preparation of icing:

1. Mix all ingredients by hand.
2. Frost the first layer.
3. Add second layer and frost.
4. Store cake in refrigerator between servings.

Servings: 16
Calories per slice: 325

---

Recipe for Marshmallow Cream Cake for Weight Watchers

This recipe is for an angel food cake that is extremely low in calories yet also exceptionally tasty. Please note, however, that cooks can substitute prepared marshmallow frosting, but if they choose to do so, they should keep in mind that the number of calories per slice will differ from that provided below. Moreover, as shown in the photo, cooks can garnish the cake with either strawberries and/or chocolate shavings, but doing so will increase the calorie count, especially if they use the chocolate shavings.

Ingredients for cake:

• 1 and 1/4 cup cake flour, sifted
• 1 and 1/2 cup egg whites
• 1 and 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 and 1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter

Preparation of cake:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine egg whites, salt, vanilla, almond, and cream of tarter in glass bowl.
3. Beat, gradually adding 1 cup sugar, until stiff peaks form.
4. Mix flour and 1/2 cup sugar in separate bowl.
5. Gradually fold flour and sugar mixture into egg white mixture, using a large wire spoon (Do not beat).
6. Pour cake mix into ungreased 10-inch tube pan.
7. Using a knife, slice through batter several times to release air bubbles.
8. Bake for 35 to 40 minute or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
9. Invert cake upside down on a rack and allow it to cool.
10. Loosen edges of cake with a sharp knife.
11. Remove from pan by inverting onto a serving dish.

Ingredients for marshmallow frosting:

• 6 large marshmallows
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg white
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons water

Preparation of marshmallow frosting:

1. Cut marshmallows into pieces.
2. Combine egg white, sugar, and cream of tartar in top of double boiler.
3. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until peaks form.
4. Remove from heat.
5. Add marshmallows and vanilla extract.
6. Stir until cool and holds its shape.
7. Frost cooled angel food cake.
8. Garnish with strawberries and/or chocolate curls if desired.

Servings: 16
Calories per serving: 140

---

Easy Low Calorie Pound Cake Recipe for Weight Watchers

The pound cake recipe below is one that has been in my family for years. In fact, I can remember my grandmother baking it for family dinners, special occasions, get-togethers, and “just because.” I can also recall my mother baking it, and when I married and had a family of my own, I too used the same recipe. In fact, when my son was a teenager, he and his friends were always begging me to bake this particular pound cake for them, and of course I couldn’t deny their pleading, even though the cake seemed to be devoured almost as soon as I removed it from the oven. Then again, they were teenage boys with teenage-boy appetites, so I guess that was to be expected.

I still use this same recipe today, although I’ve “tweaked it in order to reduce the caloric content because, like you, I’m mindful of my weight. Yet, even though some of the ingredients have been altered from the original recipe, the cake still tastes just as good today as it did when my grandmother made it those many years ago.

Tips for Baking the Perfect Pound Cake
When baking a pound cake, low calorie or otherwise, if you keep these time-tested guidelines in mind, you will be assured of baking the perfect cake:

- Use the specified-size pan because if the pan is too large, the cake will turn out flat, pale, or shrunken; and if the pan is too small, the batter will bubble over and make a mess in your oven; moreover, the cake will be misshapen.
- Do not fill the pan more than half full of batter.
- Follow the recipe exactly and measure all ingredients accurately.
- Preheat the oven to the recipe’s specified temperature.
- Do not open the oven before the minimum baking time has elapsed.
- Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center (only after the minimum baking time has elapsed).
- After removing from the oven, allow the cake to stand for at least five minutes before removing it from the pan.
- If frosting or glazing the cake, allow it to cool completely beforehand.

Recipe for Low Calorie Pound Cake with Lemon-Glaze

Ingredients:

• 2 and 1/2 cups self-rising flour
• 1 stick light margarine, softened slightly
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 4 large eggs
• 1 and 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup skim or 2-percent milk
• 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Lightly grease and flour a Bundt pan.
3. In large glass bowl, cream together margarine and shortening.
4. Add sugar and then cream again.
5. Add milk and flour a little at a time.
6. Add eggs and vanilla.
7. With an electric mixer set on medium speed, mix all ingredients well (batter will be smooth and thick).
8. Bake at 325 degrees until done (approximately 45 minutes) or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
9. Remove from oven, let cake stand for five minutes, then invert onto serving dish.
10. Allow cake to cool completely before glazing. (If you wish to reduce the calories even more, omit the glaze.)

Yield: 16 slices
Calories: With glaze, 225; without glaze; 205

Recipe for Quick Lemon Glaze

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup lemon juice (condensed, frozen, or fresh squeezed)
• 1/4 cup sugar. Drizzle glaze over top of the cake.

Preparation:

1. Mix juice and sugar together,stirring well.
2. Drizzle over the cake.

---

Low Calorie Pie Recipes for Weight Watchers

One of the most difficult aspects of dieting is watching other people eat delicious desserts. After all, a piece of fruit, while nutritious and even quite tasty, is no replacement for something sweet, even when it’s been dipped in a sugar substitute, especially not when someone’s sweet tooth is demanding to be placated.

In addition, dieters who deny themselves desserts are far more likely to sabotage their diets by eventually giving in to temptation and then overindulging, which ultimately leads to their regaining any weight they had previously lost. That is why these recipes are the answer to a dieter’s prayer. They are not only delicious but also low in calories and fat, meaning that dieters can enjoy them without later regrets. Finally, as noted below, both recipes can be adapted to make several other equally tasty low-cal pies.

Quick and Easy Recipe for Low-Cal Chocolate Pie

Ingredients for pie:

• 1 package sugar-free chocolate pudding mix
• 1 and 1/2 cups skim milk
• 1 small tub sugar-free refrigerated whipped topping
• Prepared piecrust
• Chocolate curls for garnish (Omit for an even greater calorie reduction)

Ingredients for piecrust:

• 2 cups low-fat graham crackers (Or substitute low-fat animal crackers)
• 1/2 cup low-fat light margarine (Or substitute yogurt margarine)

Preparation of piecrust:

1. Crush crackers (or animal cookies) until fine.
2. Melt margarine.
3. Pour melted margarine over crushed crackers.
4. Mix until crumbs stick together. (Melt and add more margarine if needed.)
5. Put crumb mixture into pie dish, pressing mixture onto the bottom and up the sides.

Preparation of pie:

1. Mix pudding according to directions, using the 1 and 1/2 cups skim milk.
2. Allow pudding to set a little, but not completely (Pudding sets fast).
3. Fold whipped topping into pudding.
4. Pour pudding into piecrusts.
5. Top with chocolate curls (If desired).
6. Refrigerate until completely set (At least 2 hours).

Yield: 1 pie (8 servings)
Calories: Approximately 145 per serving

Note: This same recipe can used to make other creamy pies, for example:

- Use coconut pudding and 1/2 cup shredded coconut.
- Use butterscotch pudding with 1/2 cup finely chopped butterscotch pieces.

Note: The coconut and butterscotch pieces will increase the number of calories, although not too drastically.

---

Quick and Easy Low-Cal Recipe for Strawberry Icebox Pie

This recipe is actually an adaptation of one that was popular in the 1950s when many homemakers, who had grown up with iceboxes, referred to their newfangled modern refrigerators as “iceboxes;” thus, the term “icebox pie.” Of course, back then, cooks did not have prepared whipped toppings, so they used evaporated milk to make this pie; and neither did they have sugar-free gelatin, which meant that the icebox pies of the 1950s were considerably higher in both fat and calories.

Ingredients:

• 1 package sugar-free strawberry gelatin mix
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 cup ice cubes
• 1 small tub sugar-free whipped topping
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 cup sliced fresh strawberries, or 1 cup sliced frozen strawberries
• 1 prepared piecrust (see recipe above)

Preparation:

1. Empty the gelatin mix into heatproof glass bowl.
2. Add boiling water and stir until gelatin dissolves.
3. Add ice cubes.
4. Stir until ice cubes melt and gelatin begins to set.
5. Add lemon juice.
6. Fold in refrigerated whipped topping.
7. Fold in strawberries.
8. Pour into prepared piecrust.
9. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until completely set.

Yield: 1 pie (8 servings)
Calories: Approximately 135 per serving

Note: This recipe can be adapted by using other flavors of gelatin mixes and/or fruit, for example:

- Use orange gelatin with 1 small can mandarin orange slices.
- Use lime gelatin and 1 tablespoon limejuice.
- Use cherry gelatin and 1/2 cup sugar-free cherry pie filling.
- Use raspberry gelatin and 1 cup slice fresh or frozen raspberries.

As stated in the beginning, these recipes make tasty low-cal pies, which means that dieters can enjoy them without guilt; well, that is, unless they consume an entire pie in one sitting. But even in that unlikely event, the total calories consumed would be nowhere near those contained in the average high-fat and calorie-laden pie.