Grammie's Applesauce Cake

In our family, if a recipe is preceded by "Grammie's," you know it's going to be good! My grandmothers are both wonderful cooks who love to feed their families delicious food. So yesterday, when my aunt said, "Grammie has a recipe for applesauce cake that I LOVE!" and "I could eat a whole one of these BY MYSELF!" I knew it had to be good. I was looking for a recipe to use up a bunch of applesauce that had been opened for awhile, and this turned out to be just the thing. It truly was scrumptious and lived up to all the expectations I have of any recipe that comes from Grammie.

Applesauce Cake

2 cups flour
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
1 1/2 cups applesauce
1 1/2 cups raisins
1/2 cup oil 

Mix all ingredients and place in a greased and floured angel food cake pan. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes.

I was out of raisins, so I chopped up an apple and used that instead. I was also almost out of sugar (yes, it's time for a grocery run) so I used brown sugar instead of white and only 1/2 cup. Although Grammie said she usually uses sweetened applesauce and I might want to increase the sugar, my cake was plenty sweet for our tastes with the reduced sugar and unsweetened applesauce.

The cocoa powder was unexpected, but it really adds a depth of flavor to the cake that is special. It doesn't taste chocolatey, but deeper, richer, more layered or nuanced. Something like that anyway.

I also used half white whole wheat flour and half all purpose. My aunt says she has baked this in a 9x13 pan, but if you have one, I recommend the angel food pan. There's just something fun and special about a cake that looks like a huge, scrumptious doughnut. :) It filled the whole house with an absolutely tantalizing aroma while it was baking, and we've already eaten half of it! But with only 1/2 cup each of sugar and oil, I don't feel too bad about that at all!

 

Sorry I don't have a better picture of it. We were so excited to dig in after dinner and then I had to get Clara in bed right after. Speaking of Clara, she loved it! I don't give her many sweets, but this was a healthy, naturally sweet treat that I felt great about feeding her, and she felt great about eating! Win-win all around.