Instructions

1. Substitute all of oil in the recipe with equal proportions of apple juice. Your cake might be moister, and you won’t taste the apples. With boxed cake mix, apple juice won’t alter the density of the cake, but in a homemade cake recipe, you might notice your cake doesn’t rise as much. Use an unsweetened or low-sugar variety of apple juice so the excess sugar doesn’t weigh down the cake.

2. Substitute all of the oil using half apple juice and half of a fruit puree. For example, 1 cup of oil can be substituted with 1/2 cup of apple juice and 1/2 cup of apple puree. By adding the puree, the cake may be moister and take on a denser texture -- whether it’s boxed or from scratch. Baking times can change with apple juice and puree so check on your cake three-quarters of the way through baking for doneness. Your cake might take on the flavor of the fruit puree, so use a puree that pairs well with the apple juice as well as the cake flavor you’re trying to make.

3. Replace only half of the oil called for in the recipe with apple juice. This keeps the texture and flavor of the cake as similar as if you used the entire amount of oil. For example, use 1/2 cup of oil and 1/2 cup of apple juice for every 1 cup of oil called for in the original recipe. Using this method reduces the calories but keeps the cake’s integrity. Use this method on butter-cake recipes, since butter cakes need oil and fat for their rich flavors and textures.