10 Amazing Desserts with Smart Baking Swaps

Test Kitchen Tips for Simple Ingredient Swaps:

Applesauce and plain yogurt are good fat substitutes in most recipes. For the best texture and flavor, replace no more than half the amount of the fat listed in the recipe. For example, if a recipe calls for a ½ cup of butter, you can substitute ¼ cup of applesauce.
Mashed ripe bananas work well as fat substitutes in carrot and banana cake or muffins.
Replace one whole egg in a recipe with ¼ cup of fat-free, cholesterol-free egg product substitutes or with 2 eggs whites—you’ll save more than 10 grams of fat and 100 calories.
When baking a cake, sprinkle nuts on top of the batter instead of stirring them in; the nuts toast as they bake, releasing more flavor, so there’s no need for frosting!