Phyllis Weber of White Oak requested a rehab of her recipe for buttermilk cake. This dense cake is baked in a tube pan and is wonderful served with a fresh fruit sauce.

Ms. Weber and her family love the cake, but she feels it is off-limits because it contains 1 cup of Crisco shortening. Each slice contains 18 grams of fat.

For this rehab, we:

Used 1 percent low-fat buttermilk.

Replaced the cup of Crisco with 4 ounces of fat-free cream cheese and 7 tablespoons regular (9-11 grams fat per tablespoon) margarine.

Results were better than we expected. Matching the texture and “crumb” of a high fat cake is always difficult and sometimes impossible. This time, however, we succeeded. Our rehab did not brown as well as the original, but the flavor and texture were excellent.

Reduced to 8 grams of fat per serving, this cake will please the whole family, especially the cook. For a “scratch cake,” it couldn't be easier to make.

Tip of the week: For those who like a little frosting on their cake, try making a glaze by mixing a small amount of lemon juice with a cup of powdered sugar. It's perfect for a cake like this one.

Buttermilk Cake

7 tablespoons regular margarine
4 ounces fat-free cream cheese
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 teaspoon orange extract
1 cup 1% buttermilk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray Bundt or tube pan with vegetable oil spray.

In large mixing bowl, cream together margarine, cream cheese, and sugar. Add eggs; beat 1 minute until well mixed. Add baking soda to flour. Add extracts to buttermilk. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk mixture to batter beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix well after each addition. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes or until cake-tester comes out clean.

Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on rack. Dust with powdered sugar or make glaze with powdered sugar and lemon juice. Makes 12 to 14 servings.

Before and after

Values based on 1 serving (1/13 of recipe)

Buttermilk Cake ... Adapted
Calories: 400 ... 320
   Fat: 8 g ... 8 g
   Carbohydrate: 54 g ... 55 g
   Sodium: 78 mg ... 198 mg
   Cholesterol: 68 mg ... 67 mg
   Fiber: 1 g ... 1 g
   Calories from fat: 41% ... 23%
    Nutritionists recommend those on a daily 2,000 calorie diet limit their fat consumption to 65 g or less, cholesterol to 300 mg or less and sodium to 2,400 mg or less per day.

Karen Weber, Pat Streicher and Ellen Illig are registered dietitians at Jewish Hospital's Cholesterol Center. The Recipe Rehab Cookbook, containing 250 recipes published in the Enquirer over the last eight years, is available by mail. Send check or money order for $40 to: RR Cookbook, P.O. Box 58100, Cincinnati 45258.

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