NCKAA: 32 Days until Christmas

Glossary:
Torte: A rich cake, originating in Austria, usually decorated or filled with cream, fruit, nuts, and jam.
Tort: A wrongful act, not including breach of contract, that results in injury to another's person, property, reputation, or the like, and for which the injured party is entitled to compensation.

But no worries, there is nothing wrongful about eating or making these tortes! They are diet-friendly.

I made the dessert for today's Non-Traditional Law Student Association Thanksgiving Lunch and am very excited to take them to school. These Torte-lettes ring in at a mere 186 calories each!

Natalie's Pumpkin TORTE-lettes
1 box yellow cake mix
1 can pumpkin
--
4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 tub whipped cream (like Cool Whip)
4 tsp sugar substitute
1/2 cup pumpkin
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 serving McDonald's caramel sauce (from Apple Dippers) - you can use ice cream caramel, but this is easier for portion control.
1/3 c chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Mix cake mix and can of pumpkin. Divide into muffin tins, filling each 2/3. Should make 17 or 18.

3. Bake as directed - about 25 minutes.

4. Put on rack to cool, them transfer to cake pan, cover with plastic wrap and freeze for several hours. This is important when cutting the muffins, otherwise they will crumble.

ONCE FROZEN THROUGH, make frosting.

5. Beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy.

6. Add sugar substitute, 1/2 c pumpkin and pie spice. Beat until smooth. Fold in whipped topping.

7. Cut each muffin into three: remove top, cut bottom in half horizontally.

8. Spread frosting on top of each muffin piece - about a quarter-inch thick. Stack each muffin back together. This is easiest if you do a single muffin at a time.

9. Empty McDonald's caramel into small sandwich bag. Cut small hole in corner and use to draw caramel on each muffin. Sprinkle with pecans. Store in refrigerator.

Serves 17.

Nutritional Info:Servings per recipe: 17; Calories per serving: 182.6; Total fat: 5.4 g; Sodium 263.3 mg; Total Carbs: 30.8 g; Dietary Fiber: 1.3g; Protein: 2.9 g.

I'm not going to lie, like most tort lawsuits, there are a lot of elements involved in this creation. I included step-by-step photos to help you out. Trust me, these are super delicious (I split one with Kevin last night) and worth the work and time involved. Hello, they are covered in creamy frosting with nuts and caramel! I was inspired by this beautiful creation and challenged myself to make a low-calorie, low-fat version. I succeeded!