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Is Cake Unhealthy?

From birthday to weddings, graduations to retirements, a celebration doesn't seem complete without a cake of some sort. Although it's festive, a cake typically isn't too healthy as it's high in calories, fat and sugar without offering a significant source of other nutrients. However, some substitutions make a homemade cake a slightly better choice when consumed in moderation.

  1. Nutritional Breakdown

    • The nutritional breakdown of a cake depends largely on the ingredients used to make it; therefore, its nutrition content can vary considerably between recipes and flavors. If you study a range of types of cakes on the USDA Nutrient Database, a picture of overall caloric, fat and sugar content emerges. Typically, a serving of cake is high in calories, with one-twelfth of a generic 9-inch chocolate cake -- without frosting -- coming in at more than 350 calories. Although it also contains 5 grams of protein, this same chocolate cake provides 14 grams of fat and 50 grams of carbohydrates. A standard white cake is fairly better, but it still contains 264 calories per slice with 9 grams of fat, 42 grams of carbs and 4 grams of protein. A much healthier option is angel food cake: One slice contains just 72 calories, with less than 1 gram of fat and 16 grams of carbohydrates.

    About the Frosting

    • In many cases, a cake will be topped with a layer of frosting, which of course adds to the calories, fat and sugar. Again, nutritional breakdown can differ based on ingredients and brands; however, 2 tablespoons of ready-to-eat chocolate frosting adds another 163 calories to your treat, plus 7 grams of fat and 23 grams of sugar. Two tablespoons of vanilla frosting contains 138 calories, 5 grams of fat and 20 grams of sugar.

    Boxed Versus Homemade

    • Using boxed cake is easier and faster than baking a cake from scratch, but it doesn̵7;t do your health any favors. Commercial cake mixes can contain unhealthy ingredients, including hydrogenated fats, additives, preservatives and too much sodium, according to British nutritionist Jane Clarke, reporting in ̶0;The Daily Mail.̶1; When baking a cake from scratch, you have much more control over what goes into the final product.

    A Healthier Cake

    • With certain substitutions, you can make a cake healthier without sacrificing too much of the flavor or texture. To make a cake lower in fat, replace half the fat listed in the recipe with applesauce or plain yogurt. Therefore, if a cake calls for half-cup of butter, use a quarter-cup of butter and a quarter cup of applesauce or plain yogurt. Mashed ripe bananas and some fruit purees can also be substituted in certain circumstances. If you̵7;re worried about the refined grain content, replace up to half of the flour with whole-wheat flour. This adds fiber to your cake; however, don̵7;t replace all of the flour -- that will make the cake overly heavy.

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