Italian Torte

For pound cake:
1/4 cup light butter
~1/3 cup organic sugar
1/3 cup stevia
2/3 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon almond extract
3 egg whites
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch salt
1/3 cup skim milk (or non-dairy almond milk)

For filling:
11 cups ricotta cheese (I used 7 cups fat-free; 4 cups part-skim)
1/2 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips (11 tablespoons)
3 teaspoons stevia

Coat 9x5 loaf ban w/ nonstick cooking spray; set aside. In mixer, add butter, applesauce, sugar and stevia. Then add almond extract and egg whites. In a separate bowl, mix together flours, baking powder and salt. With mixer on low, add 1/3 of the flour mixture and then add half of the milk; beat until combined. Add another 1/3 of the flour mixture and the remaining milk. Once combined, add rest of flour mixture. Once incorporated, pour into pan and bake for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Allow to COMPLETELY cool before adding the filling. To add filling: Once cooled completely, cut pound cake into three separate pieces, long-ways. Put half of the filling on the bottom piece, then put the middle piece on top. Put the remainder of the filling on the middle piece and them put the top on. Smush together and put in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before serving. (Optional: Add slivered almonds to top of the pound cake before baking.)

Serving Size: 8 servings

Number of Servings: 8

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user SKOWENS1.