Reduced-fat products such as low-fat cheeses and creams may be used to replace full-fat varieties in some recipes. Even more surprisingly, you can reduce the fat, kilojoule and cholesterol contents of some cakes and biscuits by replacing part or all of the butter or margarine with a puree of dried fruit, such as apricot or prune. This will add flavor and texture, as well as reducing the fat.

To make 300g of puree, place 250g dried apricots or 250g prunes in a food processor or blender with 90ml water. Blend until smooth, then use in place of the butter or margarine in the recipe. With many recipes you can replace all the fat with the fruit puree, using the same number of grams of puree. But with other recipes you may find it works better to have half fat and half fruit puree. And note that the puree is not suitable for replacing fat in pastry.