Applesauce Cake

This cake can make you feel a little better about eating it because it has applesauce and nuts in it. And a homemake frosting will always taste better than the icing in those plastic containers.

This is one of Reese Weatherspoon's recipes from her book that I reviewed here.

I was able to try this one out at a brunch. Other people seemed to like it.

It goes great with coffee, even for breakfast.

It still tastes good, even a few days old.

I made half the recipe so the two of us did not have to eat it forever.

Ingredients:

For the cake:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 cups applesauce - You can get this no sugar added, if you are wanting less sugar in this cake.
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the brown sugar icing:
2 cups packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sifted confectioner's sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions:


To make the cake:

Grease and flour a 9 inch bundt or tube pan (I just used a pie pan because that is what I had on hand). 

In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 

Mix in the applesauce on low speed. The butter mixture will separate a little from the applesauce, so do not worry that they do not mix together completely. 

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Remove 1/4 cup of the flour mixture and dredge the raisins and pecans in it. Fold the remaining flour mixture slowly into the applesauce mixture until just combined. Add the raisin and pecan mixture along with the vanilla extract and stir together by hand.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 90 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center part of the cake comes out clean. Let cool slightly and remove the cake from the pan, allowing it to cool completely.

To make the brown sugar icing:

In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, cream, and butter. Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract, powdered sugar, and salt until smooth. Very quickly, pour the icing over the cake, allowing it to spread and drip down the sides to set. The icing sets up very quickly, so it looks best when it is allowed to flow naturally.

Reese suggests making this a day or two before you want to eat it because the cake gets moister with each day. 

Enjoy!