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This applesauce cake has been passed down through my family for years, giving everyone a taste of home with its incredibly juicy texture. The mix of cozy spices and apple sweetness makes a comforting dessert that might just make you forget about carrot cake altogether.
I first baked this during fall apple harvest about five years back, and it's now what my daughter asks for every birthday without fail. When it's in the oven, the whole house smells absolutely wonderful.
Ingredients
- All purpose flour: gives just the right foundation for this juicy, tender cake
- Baking soda and baking powder: team up to create perfect fluffiness and height
- Salt: brings out every flavor and cuts through the sweetness
- Ground cinnamon: provides that classic warm taste that everyone loves
- Ground ginger: adds a tiny kick that perks up your tastebuds
- Nutmeg and allspice: give extra layers of flavor and richness
- Granulated sugar and brown sugar: work together for ideal sweetness and moisture
- Eggs: bind everything while adding a rich quality
- Unsweetened applesauce: the main player that makes everything moist with mild apple flavor
- Vegetable oil: keeps your cake wonderfully juicy for days after baking
- Vanilla extract: ties all flavors together with its sweet aromatic touch
- Cream cheese and butter: make a tangy, creamy topping that pairs perfectly with the spiced cake
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Prepare the Baking Dish:
- Heat your oven to 350°F and spray your 13×9 baking dish thoroughly with nonstick spray, getting into all the corners. Metal pans give you sharper edges while glass pans might need a few extra minutes in the oven.
- Mix the Dry Ingredients:
- Stir together the flour, leavening agents, salt, and all spices for about 30 seconds. This good mixing makes sure the spices and rising agents spread evenly in your batter, so you won't get random spots of spice or uneven puffiness.
- Cream the Wet Ingredients:
- Mix the sugars and eggs for two full minutes until they look lighter. This puts air into the mix which helps make your cake soft. When done right, the mixture should drip from the beaters in ribbon-like streams.
- Combine Wet Mixtures:
- Put the applesauce, oil, and vanilla in with your sugar mixture and mix until they're all combined. Don't worry if it looks a bit separated or weird at this point—that's totally normal because of how different these ingredients are.
- Form the Batter:
- Make a hole in the middle of your dry stuff before adding the wet mix. This stops flour from going everywhere and makes mixing easier. Stir with a spatula gently just until you can't see dry flour anymore. Your batter should look a bit bumpy, not smooth.
- Bake to Perfection:
- Pour your batter into the pan and shake it a little to level it out. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, and check it at 30 by sticking a toothpick in the middle. The cake is ready when you see just a few moist crumbs on the toothpick.
- Cool Completely:
- Let the cake cool on a wire rack until it's room temperature. You can put it in the fridge to cool faster, but never put frosting on a warm cake or it'll just melt off.
- Make the Frosting:
- Mix the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla starting slowly to avoid sugar dust everywhere, then speed up. Beat it for 3 to 4 minutes until it's fluffy and stays in place when you lift the beater.
- Frost and Serve:
- When the cake is totally cool, spread frosting evenly on top. For a fancier look, use a spoon back to make swirls and peaks in the frosting before cutting slices.
My grandma always said we should use homemade applesauce for this cake, saying fresh apples gave it something special. While the store stuff works just fine, I still make it with homemade sauce once during apple season to keep her memory alive.
Common Questions About This Recipe
- → What makes this cake moist?
The cake gets its amazing moisture from the applesauce that adds natural juiciness and softness, plus the vegetable oil that helps maintain a rich texture throughout.
- → Can I use sweetened applesauce instead of unsweetened?
You can definitely use sweetened applesauce, but remember it adds extra sugar. You might want to cut back on the recipe's sugar a bit to keep it from getting too sweet.
- → How do I ensure the frosting stays fluffy?
For super fluffy frosting, beat the cream cheese and butter at high speed after you've mixed everything together. If your frosting gets too soft, just pop it in the fridge for a few minutes to firm it up.
- → How should I store this cake?
Keep your cake covered in the fridge. You can eat it straight from the cold or let it sit out a while for a softer feel and better flavor.
- → Can I freeze the cake?
You can totally freeze the cake without frosting on it. Just wrap it really well in plastic and put it in an airtight container. Add the frosting after it thaws for the best results.