YOUR DIETITIAN: Beautiful spring cakes with surprising health benefits

Easter and springtime are the perfect times to celebrate with a moist, beautiful cake filled with healthful ingredients. Adding fruits, such as pretty red strawberries or blueberries; veggies, such as bright orange carrots; and heart healthy fats, such as walnuts, elevates a plain, ordinary cake to something special — not to mention, delicious, moist and beautiful to behold. These cakes are a delicious way to get more fruits and veggies — and their vital nutrients that improve our heart and brain health. Fruits Growing up, the dessert for Easter dinner was always homemade angelfood cake topped with lots of fresh strawberries and aerosol whipped cream topping. Topping a cake with fresh berries such as strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and/or raspberries is the simplest way to elevate the healthfulness of any cake. Besides adding color and natural sweetness, berries are rich in numerous antioxidants for brain and heart health. Plus, they supply fiber and vitamin C. Making a dessert rich in health-giving nutrients can be that simple. Try topping any white or yellow cake with yogurt or vanilla pudding and strawberries or a combination of various berries in place of frosting. It's delicious, colorful, and healthier than butter cream frosting. For an even healthier cake, try baking a Whole Grain Berry Cake from the Whole Grains Council. (See recipe.) It was inspired by strawberry shortcake. The cake is topped with Greek yogurt and colorful berries for a beautiful presentation. Since one of the two layers can be frozen for serving another day, it's ideal for just one or two persons. Or, try making a blueberry lemon tea bread. It's so moist and tender that it's more like a cake than a quick bread. Blueberries are rich in anthocyanins, a type of phytonutrient (plant nutrients). Anthocyanins are strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents proven to improve both brain and heart health. (If possible, use wild blueberries which contain twice the anthocyanin content of fresh cultivated berries. Wild blueberries can be found in the freezer case of stores.) Carrots Carrot cake is a traditional Easter cake — providing a vegetable (carrots) and fruit (pineapple). So, besides being moist and delicious, it provides health-giving nutrients — such as beta carotene. Carrots are exceptionally high in beta carotene. Our body converts beta carotene in vitamin A, a nutrient essential for many functions. Vitamin A is necessary for healthy vision, beautiful skin and maintaining our many mucus membranes — including the lining of our lungs. Thus, it helps to protect us from respiratory illnesses. Interestingly, beta carotene is better absorbed from cooked carrots than from raw ones. Cooking breaks down the tough fibers in carrots, allowing significantly more beta carotene to be absorbed. As a fat-soluble nutrient, beta carotene (and vitamin A) needs fat to be absorbed. Since carrot cake contains fat in the form of canola oil and walnuts, its beta carotene is well absorbed. The walnuts in carrot cake deliver additional health benefits. Walnuts are rich in ALA omega-3 fatty acids. According to a study in the British Journal of Nutrition, just 1 ounce of walnuts (14 halves) per day has been shown to help reduce age-related cognitive decline. Their ALA omega-3 fatty acids also lower LDL cholesterol, decrease inflammation and increase antioxidant activity. So you see, simply adding some berries, carrots and/or walnuts to a cake transforms it from an unhealthy dessert into one with heart and brain benefits. Who knew that something so tasty could also be good for you? Phyllis J. Molnar is a registered and licensed dietitian who writes about food and health for The Chronicle-Telegram and The Gazette. Email her at pjmolnar56@gmail.com. Whole grain berry cake The cake: 1 large egg, at room temperature ¼ teaspoon salt ½ cup sugar, divided ¼ cup milk ½ teaspoon vanilla extract ½ teaspoon almond extract ¼ cup white whole wheat flour 3/4 teaspoon baking powder The berries: 1 quart fresh strawberries or a mixture of berries (raspberries, blueberries or blackberries and/or strawberries) 1 teaspoon sugar The "cream" topping: 2 ounces whipping cream 6 ounces plain Greek yogurt Sugar, to taste Wash berries. Hull and slice if large. Add sugar. Mix. (Cover to preserve their vitamin C.) Allow to set for several hours so they get really juicy. Meanwhile, make the cake. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Set eggs out of the refrigerator to come to room temperature. (Or, you can run eggs under warm water to rapidly get eggs to room temperature.) Then, liberally grease two 8-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment or wax paper, then grease again (greasing the paper). Separate the egg whites and yolks. Place the whites into a medium bowl and the yolks in a large bowl. Add salt to the egg white. Beat with an electric mixer on high speed until it starts to form soft peaks. Then gradually add ¼ cup sugar, while beating. Beat until egg white forms medium (not stiff) peaks. Do not overbeat. Set aside. Without cleaning your beaters, beat the egg yolk with ¼ cup sugar until thick and light yellow. Blend in the milk, vanilla and almond extracts. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. Pour the flour mixture into the bowl with the egg yolk. Whisk to combine. Add the beaten egg whites and gently fold it into the batter using a rubber spatula. Divide cake batter between the two greased cake pans. (Gently tap pan on counter to prevent any air bubbles (or tunnels in cake). Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack briefly, then remove from the pan and continue to cool on the rack. (If you only lined the bottom of the cake pans with paper, run a butter knife around the edge of the pan to remove cake from the pan.) Mix the ingredients for the "cream" topping. Assemble the cake at least an hour before serving to allow juices to permeate. Place one layer of cake on a cake platter. Cover with the berries and "cream." Do the same with the second layer. When serving the cake, you may "use up" any extra fruit or "cream" with each serving. Note: This is a sponge cake, similar to lady fingers. Nutrition note: Made with whole wheat flour and less sugar, this is a healthier cake to serve topped with fresh strawberries than Angel Food cake. Makes: 8 servings (4 servings per layer) Variations: Top cake with fresh strawberries and aerosol whipped cream. (Substituting aerosol whipped cream for the "cream" topping.) Make a strawberry trifle: Layer cubed pieces of cake, strawberries and "cream" (or vanilla pudding) in a clear glass bowl — or in individual clear parfait glasses for single servings. SOURCE: wholegrainscouncil.org Blueberry-lemon tea bread Cake: ½ cup soft tub margarine, such as Olivio (or softened butter) 1 cup sugar 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or white whole wheat flour) 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon salt 2 large eggs ½ cup milk 1 ½ cups blueberries (preferably Wyman's frozen wild blueberries, thawed) 2 teaspoons fresh lemon zest Lemon glaze: ¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 large lemons) 1/3 cup sugar Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Grease and flour a 9x5-inch loaf pan (or 3 small loaf pans). Rinse off lemon and pat dry. Using a zester, zest 2 teaspoons of lemon peel from lemons. Set aside. Cut lemons in half and squeeze to obtain lemon juice. Set lemon juice aside to use as glaze. In a large mixing bowl, beat margarine or butter. Add sugar and bet on low speed until blended, scraping sides as needed. Increase speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, measure the flours by spooning the flour into a measuring cup and leveling off with a metal spatula. Place flours into a medium bowl. Remove 1 tablespoon flour to a small bowl. Add the blueberries to the small bowl. Gently mix the tablespoon of flour with the blueberries. Mixing the blueberries with flour prevents them from sinking to the bottom of the tea bread. Set blueberry-flour mixture aside. Add the baking powder and salt to the flours in the medium bowl. Whisk to combine. Reduce the speed of the mixer to low and add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until well blended. Scrape sides of bowl as needed using a rubber spatula. Alternately add flour mixture and milk, mixing just until blended. Do not overmix. Gently fold in the blueberries and lemon zest. Spoon batter into prepared baking pan(s). Bake a large loaf for about 1 hour or three small loaves for about 35 minutes. Tea bread is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool loaf in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove from pan. Prepare lemon glaze while the loaf is cooling. With a skewer, prick top and sides of warm tea bread in many places. Place a piece of wax paper under the wire rack to catch any drippings of lemon glaze. Using a pastry brush, brush top and sides of cake with lemon glaze. Continue to cool the cake on the wire rack. Makes: 18 servings SOURCE: Phyllis Molnar Carrot cake 2 cups flour, preferably half whole wheat pastry flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 cup canola oil 2 cups sugar 4 large eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 cups grated carrots 1 small can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained ½ cup chopped walnuts, or more to taste Cream cheese frosting: 2 ounces of tub margarine such as Olivio or butter 4 ounces reduced fat cream cheese ½ teaspoon vanilla extract 3 ¼ to 3 ½ cups confectioners sugar ½ cup chopped walnuts, garnish Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Place oven rack in center position in oven. Grease and flour a 9x13-inch pan. Set aside. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon). Using an electric mixer, beat oil and sugar together. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla extract. Beat well on medium speed until well blended. Add dry ingredients. Using a rubber spatula, fold dry ingredients into batter just until moist. Fold in carrots, pineapple and walnuts. Pour cake batter into prepared pan. Bake for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Do not frost until completely cooled. Meanwhile, prepare the cream cheese frosting Using an electric mixer, beat margarine or butter with cream cheese and vanilla until fluffy. Add sugar by spoonful, beating after each addition. Beat until smooth and creamy. Frost cake with cream cheese frosting and sprinkle nuts on top. Makes: One 9x13-inch cake SOURCE: Joanne Piazza, R.N.