March 5, 2016

APPLESAUCE CAKE

applesauce cake2

I have been meaning to have a go at baking this cake ever since it appeared in my friend Ken’s blog a while ago.  Finally the right moment arrived.  (Do other people have to have the right moment to bake a certain cake or is it just me?)  It’s a popular American recipe.

applesauce cake

I was in need of a cake that was quick to put together, moist and very tasty.  Something that would not need fancy decoration to make it tempting, that would keep well and be perfect with a cup of tea or equally good with a dollop of custard.  And no sickly icing to set your teeth on edge.

applesauce cake3

It turned out to be the perfect cake in all those respects.  My father who is 87 has been very poorly with a nasty bout of shingles and very unpleasant complications.  He had not felt much like eating and a piece of tasty cake was just what he needed to rejuvenate the taste buds, stimulate the appetite and set him on the right course to build up his strength again.  The strength of cake.  The glory of calories when you need lots of them.

applesauce cake4

This cake is a good keeper so that foil wrapped squares of it can be left in his fridge for nibbling on at any time when he feels like it.  Just the job.

You can see Ken’s post about it here.  I converted the fl oz measurements into grams for future use and the only change I would make when I make it again is to reduce the amount of salt in the ingredients.  If you like gingerbread style cakes you will like this one.  (There is no ginger in it but the spices are full on.)  For the apple sauce I used a jar of apple compote that you find on the shelves in French supermarkets.  You could simply used stewed apple instead.  I also added some dried fruit for no other reason than I had it to use up.

Ingredients

365g plain flour

365g golden caster sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1½ tsp salt ( I would reduce this to 1 tsp or less next time)

¾ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground cloves

½ tsp ground allspice

120ml vegetable oil

120ml water

360ml unsweetened apple compote

2 eggs

2 tblsp dried mixed fruit

Method

Preheat the oven to 180° C / 160° fan.  Grease a 22cm square baking tin and line the base with baking paper.

Sift the flour, spices, bp and salt into a large bowl.  Add the sugar and mix together.

Beat the eggs with the oil and water.  Add to the flour mixture along with the apple and beat together until just combined.  Stir in the dried fruit and mix well.

Pour into the prepared tin and level the top.  Bake for about an hour until done.

Cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack.  Cut into squares when cold.

Cuts into a minimum of 16 squares, depending on how big you cut the squares.

7 comments:

  1. oh yes... sometimes those simple cakes are the best and I love the use of applesauce here, beautiful !

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  2. This definitely sounds like a good one to me. Definitely satisfying and good at any time. I've used apple sauce in cakes in the past and once when I was baking away from home, very pushed for time and couldn't find any unsweetened sauce or jars of compote in the local shops I used an apple baby food instead. It worked just fine, surprisingly enough.

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  3. I've always fancied an apple sauce cake - it looks lovely. I'm really into stripped back, no frills cakes at the moment.

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  4. Looks good, and I love any sort of cake with apple in it. Have a jar of compote left from my last French visit, so one to make.

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  5. I love apple and spices in cakes so I know I'd love this applesauce cake. I wouldn't mind at all that it doesn't have any icing or decorations on it as for me the cake is always my favourite part of a cake!

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  6. I made this today and thought it was very good. I used a slightly different spice mix and would not add dried fruit if I made it again. There is a small error in your recipe -- you've forgotten to include the sugar when you mix the dry ingredients together.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Susn, having help with proof reading is ...... a big help. It's funny how you can miss something like that even when checking a few times! I'll correct it when I get chance.
      Glad you enjoyed the cake. I think I added the fruit just because it was there and might try chopped prunes next time, but it doesn't need it.

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