Refreshing Cold Fruit Soup with Toasted Reduced-Fat Pound Cake

For a cookbook style copy of the recipe for Refreshing Cold Fruit Soup with Toasted Pound Cake, click HERE!

Last week, we started a refreshing summer food theme with Shrimp Rolls with Drawn Butter on Herbed One-Hour Bread. I’m pleased to continue that theme this week by offering an easy, delicious recipe for Refreshing Cold Fruit Soup with Toasted Reduced-Fat Pound Cake.

The idea is simple: prepare a full-bodied, tasty cold fruit soup and, on the top, float some freshly made reduced-fat pound cake that has been gently toasted, coated with a thin layer of apricot preserves, and garnished with fat-free yogurt, a sprinkling of chopped walnuts, and a bit of small fresh fruit. Delicious individually, but when combined on the same spoon it’s an explosion of refreshing flavors and textures that’s sure to please.

Some Cook’s Notes before we begin.

• When making the pound cake, the importance of making sure your ingredients are at room temperature cannot be over-emphasized. It’s the difference between the cake having the proper texture, and having a texture that’s just a bit heavy. (If, for any reason, the pound cake does come out a little heavy, however, don’t fear; once you place it on top of the Fruit Soup, it will absorb some liquid and soften, and will taste great anyway!)

• For baking the pound cake, I used a large (15” x 10”) baking dish. If your pan is too small, the pound cake will come out too thick. We’ll slice it to half-thickness for putting on top of the soup.

This recipe makes about three quarts of fruit soup with enough pound cake to accompany that.

First, let’s make our pound cake.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Using an electric mixer, mix 2 cups of sugar and ¾ cup of room temperature butter substitute until creamy.

Slowly add the following ingredients and continue mixing till combined: 1-1/2 cup AP flour; ½ cup pastry flour; 2 tsp baking powder; 1-1/2 tsp each vanilla extract; juice and zest of 1/2 lemon; 1 cup fat-free room-temperature yogurt; and 5 egg substitute eggs at room temperature.

Pour the batter into a large baking pan. Bake for about 1 hour, turning the pan half-way for more even baking. (You can make the fruit soup while the pound cake is baking.)

When done, set the pound cake aside to cool.

To make the fruit soup:

Bring 8 cups of water to a boil in a large pot.

Add 1 cup of sugar, 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, seeded and rough chopped; 1 lb. pears, peeled, seeded and rough chopped; and the juice of ½ lemon. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Add 2 lbs. peaches, peeled, pitted and rough chopped; and ½ small cantaloupe, removed from rind and rough chopped. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Add 1 large sliced banana, 1/4 tsp cinnamon and 1//4 tsp nutmeg, and simmer for 5 minutes.

Using an immersion blender, puree the fruit mixture for about five minutes to create a smooth liquid.

Mix 2 Tbsp of cornstarch with ¼ cup of cold water to form a slurry. Add the slurry to the fruit mixture and let simmer for another 5 minutes.

When finished set the soup aside to cool, then refrigerate till ready to serve. (Serve cold or room temperature.)

To serve the soup:

Pour each serving of soup into a bowl.

Using a large cookie cutter (round, heart-shaped, or any other desired shape), cut a piece of pound cake that will fit on top of the soup in the bowl. Slice the piece you cut into two pieces, each half the thickness of the full piece. Lightly toast the pound cake slices, apply a thin layer of apricot preserves to each.

Garnish the pound cakes with a dollop of fat-free yogurt, some chopped walnuts, and a few small fruit pieces.

For a cookbook style copy of the recipe for Refreshing Cold Fruit Soup with Toasted Pound Cake, click HERE!

Hope you enjoy this easy, refreshing summer treat!

Please visit again next week for another great-tasting, easy-to-make recipe! Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)