Applesauce Cake

When I was growing up my family always got together at my Aunt Nanny's house at Christmas time. All of my aunts and uncles and cousins would come and bring something to eat. It was always a great time with lots of story telling and laughter. Like most families, we gathered around the table and reminisced about Christmases past while eating delicious food. Those tastes and smells etched into us forever.

This Christmas is a tough one for all of us since my Aunt Nanny passed away a couple months ago. Being far from my family at Christmas is always hard, this year especially, but I find baking to be a comfort. When my Aunt passed away I took her recipe box and promised to share the recipes. I wanted to make one of these recipes for our Christmas Eve dinner. It is not something that I remember her making and she probably did not make it often, but I thought that it would be a perfect homage to her. Something simple yet elegant, sweet and filling, just like her.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cup flour
2 cup sugar (or 1 3/4 cup if using sweetened applesauce)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cup applesauce (we used Seneca brand unsweetened)
2 eggs
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1 cup seedless raisins

The recipe did not include it, but I added a glaze.

For the glaze:
4 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 cup powdered sugar

Sift the four. I use a sieve and knocked it against the applesauce jar.

Add the dry ingredients and mix.

Add the shortening, water and applesauce. Mix with mixer on medium speed for two minutes.

Add the eggs and mix.

 

Fold in the raisins and nuts with spoon.

Pour batter into a tube pan, I used a bundt pan, but any round pan will work if you put something in the middle like a can. Even the batter out so it is flat.

Bake at 350F for 1 hour. Let cool completely.

For the glaze, melt butter in saucepan, add brown sugar and milk and bring to a boil. Boil for one minute while stirring and remove from heat. Let cool a bit and add powdered sugar to desired consistency. Let cake cool completely before glazing.