Cake won't add as many pounds

Traditional pound cake may be made with more of the ingredients we shouldn't eat than is good for us — but it has so many fans it's not surprising someone has persisted in figuring out a recipe that streamlines the sugars and fats without sacrificing the smoothly rich taste.

Meet the benefactors, from EatingWell magazine: Recipe developer Katie Webster, and the test kitchen team who cross-tested the recipe after it was developed. The successful mission is described in detail in the magazine's February/March issue.

This revised version of the cream cheese pound cake is made with half whole-wheat flour, 38 percent less fat, and has 30 percent fewer calories, but still has the dense, fine crumb of the original, Webster points out. (Specifically, the original recipe has 307 calories per helping, 16 grams of total fat and no fiber; the new EatingWell version has 217 calories, 10 grams of total fat and 1 gram of fiber.)

"Serve this rich cake on its own, sprinkled with powdered sugar or with either sour cherry or chocolate sauce," Webster suggests. A recipe for a quick cherry sauce is included with the revised cake recipe. When you make the cake, be sure to use Neufchatel-type cream cheese, which has one-third less fat than regular, not "light" cream cheese, which has even less fat.

This is a fine cake to have in hand when people are around. You can make it ahead and wrap and store at room temperature for up to three days or freeze for up to one month.

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CREAM CHEESE POUND CAKE

(Active time 30 minutes; start to finish 3 hours, including cooling time)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

1/2 cup nonfat buttermilk

1/3 cup canola oil

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

6 large egg whites

2 cups sugar, divided

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

8 ounces Neufchatel cheese