A lot of times we see these decadent, drool worthy recipes online, yet if you’re trying to reduce sugar, lose weight, or hit protein goals it’s a common misconception what we can’t have them.
But I’m here to tell you that you CAN.
I’m convinced you don’t have to give up dessert to lose weight- it just takes a few strategic changes.
My Macro Makeover series is all about making swaps and adjustments to make recipes healthier and more macro friendly. It typically means omitting refined sugars, reducing ingredients with high saturated fat such as butter, or finding finding ways to increase protein.
When I saw a gorgeous white chocolate raspberry poke cake online, I immediately wanted to see if I could make a version that actually fit my goals. The original came in at 523 calories and 43 grams of sugar per slice.
Challenge accepted.
While I typically make a few small tweaks, I sort of did an overhaul with this one. I has tested another recipe a while back that came out PERFECT. I ended up with a cake that’s still soft and moist, but WAY more macro friendly, and i figured that would be the perfect base for this recipe. And the macros for this version are great!
✨ 153 calories
✨ 8g protein
✨ 15g carbs
✨ 6g fat
🍰 Only 4g sugar
No, it doesn’t taste exactly like the bakery version (nothing with 70% fewer calories ever will), but it’s surprisingly close. More importantly, it’s the kind of dessert I can actually enjoy without feeling like I blew my entire day of eating.
The Biggest Swaps
Instead of:
Butter
Cream cheese
Sweetened condensed milk
Lots of sugar
Cake flour
I used:
Greek yogurt
Protein powder
Ultra filtered milk
Zero calorie sweetener
Whole wheat flour
Those simple swaps cut hundreds of calories while keeping the cake soft, creamy, and full of flavor.
The Recipe
Raspberry Jam
Ingredients
24 oz frozen raspberries
1/3 cup monk fruit sweetener, stevia, or honey
1 tbsp cornstarch
Directions
Cook raspberries over medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until broken down.
Strain through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds.
Return the puree to the pan and whisk in the sweetener and cornstarch.
Simmer for about 25 minutes until thickened. Chill while preparing the cake.
Protein Cake
Ingredients
1 cup low fat ultra filtered milk (regular is fine too, it will just change the macros a bit.
50 ml olive or coconut oil
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup monk fruit or granulated stevia
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup vanilla protein powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
Directions
Preheat oven to 325°F.
Line a 9×9-inch pan with parchment paper.
Mix the wet ingredients together, then stir in the dry ingredients until just combined.
Bake in a water bath for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool completely.
White Chocolate Protein Frosting
Ingredients
1 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
1/2 cup sugar free white chocolate
2 tbsp milk
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1/4 cup raspberry jam
Directions
Melt the white chocolate with the milk and coconut oil.
Stir in the Greek yogurt.
Mix in the protein powder until smooth.
Fold in the raspberry jam.
Assemble
Poke holes throughout the cooled cake.
Fill the holes with the remaining raspberry jam and spread any extra over the top.
Frost with the white chocolate raspberry frosting.
Swirl a little extra raspberry jam into the frosting.
Slice into 16 pieces and enjoy.
If you want to see the original recipe, you can find it here by In Bloom Bakery. You can feel free to align your version more closely to hers. Simple swaps like using stevia instead of sugar, can also have a huge difference if you want to follow the original more closely - but either way you slice it, you’re going to have a delicious result!