Lisa Cope requested a rehab of her recipe for Apple Cream Coffeecake. This moist breakfast treat resembles a traditional sour cream coffeecake, but has added interest with a layer of sliced apples nestled under a cinnamon nut filling. Each serving contains 14 grams of fat.

For this recipe, we:

Reduced the amount of margarine from 1/2 cup to 1/4 cup. To compensate, we added 3 tablespoons of baby food pears.

Replaced the cup of sour cream with drained non-fat yogurt. We tried replacing the sour cream with a light variety, but it resulted in a much drier, less flavorful cake.

Reduced the amount of walnuts from 1/2 cup to 1/3 cup.

Results were excellent. Both the original and rehabbed cakes were moist and good. Their taste was slightly different, but equally delicious.

Reduced to only 6 grams of fat per serving, our Apple Cream Coffeecake doesn't have to be reserved for breakfast. Enjoy it for dessert, or an afternoon treat.

Tip of the week: We tested this recipe with the specified sliced apples. They were tasty, but it was difficult to make a "clean cut" through the cake. Using diced apples makes the cake easier to slice.

Apple-Cream Coffee Cake

STREUSEL

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 cup sugar

COFFEE CAKE

11/2 cups nonfat plain yogurt, drained to 1 cup

1/4 cup margarine

3 tablespoons baby food pears

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 Granny Smith apple, pared, cored, sliced or diced

Preheat oven to 350†. Lightly spray Bundt pan with vegetable oil spray. In small bowl, combine nuts, cinnamon, and 1/2 cup sugar; set aside.

In large mixing bowl, beat margarine and pears until smooth; add 1 cup sugar, beating until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. In medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Add flour mixture to margarine mixture, alternately with drained yogurt, beginning and ending with flour. Spread half of batter into prepared pan. Top with apple slices and half of streusel mixture. Top with remaining batter; sprinkle with remaining streusel mixture. Bake at 350 degrees 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven; cool on rack for 30 minutes. Remove from pan. Makes 12 to 14 servings.

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