Q. I have a coffee house in my town that makes these lovely mini coffee cakes. They come in different flavors, too! I'd like to know how to make these at home with a lower-calorie recipe.

A. What a great idea — making several different flavors of individual coffee cakes with one recipe.

We are keeping this light by using a small amount of a less-fat (no trans) margarine for the topping and the batter (2 tablespoons in each). We added in some fat-free sour cream and buttermilk to compensate for lost baking fat. Pump up the fiber by using half whole-wheat flour and half unbleached white flour. The fruit topping is up to you; use fresh blueberries, chopped peaches, canned pie filling. And if you want the coffee cakes to look like they came from a coffee house or cafe, use 1 cup of white flour instead of 1/2 cup whole-wheat and 1/2 cup white flour.

INDIVIDUAL COFFEE CAKES

TOPPING

1/4 cup light- or dark-brown sugar

1/4 cup unbleached flour

Pinch of salt

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons less-fat margarine (with 8 grams fat per tablespoon)

2 to 3 tablespoons oats

COFFEE CAKE BATTER

2 tablespoons less-fat margarine

1/2 cup sugar (a sugar blend with Splenda or Equal can be substituted)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 large egg

1/2 cup unbleached white flour

1/2 cup whole-wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup fat-free sour cream

2 tablespoons lowfat buttermilk (or 2 tablespoons fat-free half-and-half blended with 1/4 teaspoon vinegar and let stand for 5 minutes)

About 1/2 cup fruit of choice (frozen or fresh cranberries, dried cranberries, chopped apples or peaches, or apple or cherry pie filling from can)

Preheat oven to 375-degrees. Line jumbo muffin pan (with 6 large muffin cups) with jumbo paper liners or spray pan with canola cooking spray.

Add the brown sugar, 1/4 cup flour, pinch of salt, and 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon to large mixing bowl (fitted with paddle attachment) and beat briefly to blend. Add 2 tablespoons margarine and beat on low until crumb mixture forms. Work in the oats with your hands and pour into a small bowl and set aside.

Return mixing bowl to mixer and add 2 tablespoons margarine, sugar, and vanilla extract and beat until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat to combine, scraping sides of bowl. Add the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a 4-cup measure and whisk to blend.

Add the flour mixture all at once to the mixing bowl along with the sour cream and buttermilk. Beat on low speed just until blended (scraping down the sides of the bowl after 5 seconds).

Spoon a heaping 1/4 cup of batter into each jumbo muffin cup. Spoon a slightly heaping tablespoon of fruit topping in the center of each, then sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the top. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until coffee cakes are lightly browned and top springs back after being pushed in slightly.

Makes 6 individual coffee cakes.