Enlightened Cakes: More Than 100 Decadently Light Layer Cakes, Bundt Cakes, Cupcakes, Cheesecakes, Tea Cakes, and More, All with Less Fat and Fewer Calories »

Camilla V. Saulsbury, Ph.D., is a food writer, food scholar, and recipe developer. She has won numerous national recipe contests, including the grand prize at the Great American Chicken Bake-Off and the 2006 Build-a-Better-Burger recipe contest. Her recipes have appeared in Southern Living, Better Homes and Gardens, Vegetarian Times, Cooking Light, and Sunset, to name a few. A native of the San Francisco area, she earned her doctorate from Indiana University and lives in Texas.

If you have had a lifelong love affair with cake, Enlightened Cakes is for you. It contains a cake for every occasion. Triple-Tiered Chocolate Fudge Cake and Dulce de Leche Layer Cake are wonderful and just right for the perfect birthday. For a fuss-free cake for afternoon coffee with friends, Cardamom-Scented Citrus Loaf or One-Bowl Chocolate Buttermilk Cake will do the trick (and can be mixed, assembled, and in the oven in less than ten minutes). More than a dozen choices are included for the winter holidays, and autumn refreshments abound too, including the spicy and oh-so-moist Pumpkin Cranberry Cake (only 6 grams of fat per serving). For summer occasions try Fresh Blackberry Shortcakes with Brown Sugar Biscuits or Peaches and Cream Cupcakes, both unforgettable confections for a Fourth of July gathering.

These cakes are not hard to make. The recipes are straightforward, the ingredients commonly available, and the techniques geared toward the home baker. All have been field tested, which means all of them work. And all follow well-recognized "enlightened" guidelines for healthy eating, including no more than 10 grams of fat per serving, utilization of healthy fats and oils, and incorporation of whole grains when possible. A nutritional analysis is included with every recipe, listing a breakdown of calories, protein, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, sodium, and cholesterol per serving. Enlightened Cakes is the second volume in the Enlightened Cooking series.