Amaretto Bundt Cake

This lovely and light holiday bundt cake is infused with amaretto liqueur and garnished with fresh berries. Served with a hot cup of tea, coffee, or cocoa, it’s a definite Christmas showstopper.

Dec 22, 2024

It’s an early edition of Recipes Made Healthy this week! I wanted to share this amaretto infused bundt cake recipe as soon as possible because you might want to add it to your Christmas dessert table. Amaretto, the star flavoring agent in this cake, is an Italian liqueur that has a sweet, almond flavor with a hint of bitterness and notes of vanilla. It plays a dual role in this dessert – it’s mixed into the batter and is part of the glaze that gets drizzled over the baked cake.

My motivation for developing this recipe was to have a holiday dessert offering that was festive and delicious, without being too heavy and calorie laden. The ingredient adjustment that plays the biggest role in lightening this dessert is cutting back on the amount of oil. It’s not uncommon for bundt cake recipes like this one to call for a cup of oil. No matter the type of oil you’re using, one cup contains nearly 2,000 calories, that’s a lot!

When making baked goods (think cakes, muffins, or quick breads) that contain generous amounts of oil, my favorite go-to ingredient tweak is using reduced-fat (2%) Greek yogurt in place of some of the oil. This ingredient swap reduces the calories significantly yet still yields a moist and delicious baked good with a tender, delicate texture. The Greek yogurt (1/2 cup) and oil (1/3 cup) combination I used in this recipe has less than 750 calories. This simple adjustment really lightened the calorie load of this yummy holiday cake.

I hope that your Christmas is filled with simple pleasures, happy memories, cozy time with loved ones, and of course, delicious food. Merry Christmas!

To your health,

Darlene

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AMARETTO BUNDT CAKE

Yield: 12 servings

Serving Size: 1 slice

Prep: 15 minutes

Ready: 1 hour 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

Bundt cake

Nonstick baking spray with flour (such as Baker’s Joy)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup plain 2% Greek yogurt (such as FAGE Total 2%)
1/3 cup neutral oil (such as avocado oil)
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 cup white whole-wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup 1% milk
1/4 cup amaretto liqueur

Glaze and topping

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon powdered sugar, divided
1 1/2 tablespoons amaretto liqueur
2 cups fresh berries (blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, or sliced strawberries)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a bundt pan with baking spray and set aside.
To prepare bundt cake, in a large bowl, mix together granulated sugar, yogurt, oil, egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract until combined. In a separate bowl, stir together whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a small bowl or measuring cup, stir together milk and amaretto (1/4 cup).
Add about a third of the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and mix until almost combined. Add about a third of the milk and amaretto mixture and mix until almost combined. Continue this alternating pattern until the flour and milk mixtures are incorporated into the batter, being careful not to overmix. Pour batter into prepared bundt pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the cake comes out clean. While cake is baking, prepare glaze by stirring together powdered sugar (1/3 cup) and amaretto (1 1/2 tablespoons) until smooth; set aside.
Allow cake to cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Flip cake onto a serving platter and immediately drizzle entire surface of cake with glaze. Allow cake to cool completely. When ready to serve, dust cake with remaining 1 tablespoon powdered sugar and garnish each serving with fresh berries.

Nutrition Information per Serving

257 Calories, 7 g Total fat, 1 g Saturated fat, 0 g Trans fat, 16 mg Cholesterol, 175 mg Sodium, 41 g Total carbohydrate, 2 g Dietary fiber, 25 g Total sugars, 23 g Added sugars, 4 g Protein, 0 mcg (0%) Vitamin D, 38 mg (2%) Calcium, 1 mg (6%) Iron, 65 mg (2%) Potassium