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In a lot of American kitchens, the first cool morning of fall meant the same thing every year: a jar of applesauce came off the pantry shelf, the spice tins came down, and by the time the coffee was ready the whole house smelled of cinnamon and cloves. Applesauce cake was the cake of that season, dark and soft, cut into squares straight from the pan.
It is an old recipe, and a thrifty one. It comes from the years when butter and eggs were scarce, so the applesauce does most of the work. There is only one egg in the whole pan, and some families made it with none at all. What the applesauce gives instead is moisture that lasts: this cake is still soft on day four.
There is no frosting and it has never needed any. A little powdered sugar if company is coming, plain if not. The one thing worth doing properly is the raisins: ten minutes in hot water before they go into the batter. Dry raisins pull moisture out of a cake as it bakes. Plumped ones give it back.
Why this applesauce cake works
- Applesauce does the heavy lifting. It replaces most of the eggs and much of the fat, and it holds moisture, so the crumb stays soft for days.
- Baking soda and acid. The acid in applesauce and brown sugar reacts with the soda to lift the cake and turn the crumb that deep, old-fashioned brown.
- Plumped raisins. Soaked and drained, the raisins bake up soft and juicy, and they do not steal water from the batter.
- Three spices, in proportion. Cinnamon leads, cloves and nutmeg stay in the background. More than half a teaspoon of cloves takes over.
Ingredients
Makes one 9 by 13 inch cake, 15 generous squares or 20 smaller ones. US cups with grams in brackets.
- 1 cup raisins (150g)
- Hot water for soaking the raisins
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (250g)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick, 113g), softened
- 1 cup packed brown sugar (210g), light or dark
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce (365g), at room temperature
- 1 cup chopped walnuts (115g)
- Butter or shortening for the pan
- Powdered sugar for the top, optional
Use unsweetened applesauce, smooth or slightly chunky. If sweetened applesauce is all you have, reduce the brown sugar by 2 tablespoons.
How to make applesauce cake
- Put the raisins in a small bowl, cover them with very hot tap water or water from the kettle, and leave them for 10 minutes. Drain them well and pat them dry with a paper towel. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease a 9 by 13 inch baking pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg until the spices are evenly spread through the flour.
- In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and the brown sugar with a mixer on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is lighter in color and fluffy. Beat in the egg until smooth, scraping down the bowl.
- Add the applesauce and mix on low. The batter will look curdled and broken at this point. That is normal, and it comes back together as soon as the flour goes in.
- Add the flour mixture in two additions, mixing on low only until the last streak of flour disappears. Fold in the drained raisins and the walnuts with a spatula. The batter will be thick.
- Scrape the batter into the greased pan and spread it evenly into the corners; it makes a fairly shallow layer. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top springs back when pressed lightly, the edges have pulled slightly away from the pan, and a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
- Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for at least 45 minutes. When it is completely cool, dust it with powdered sugar if you like, and cut it into squares right in the pan.
Tips that make the difference
- Plump the raisins and drain them well. Dry raisins steal moisture from the cake; soaked ones give it back.
- Toast the walnuts for 8 minutes at 350°F while the oven heats. It is optional, but it takes away the slight bitterness of raw walnuts.
- Do not overmix after the flour goes in, or the cake turns tough.
- Dust with powdered sugar only when the cake is fully cool, just before serving. On a warm cake the sugar melts and disappears.
Variations
- No nuts. Leave out the walnuts and use 1 1/2 cups of raisins, or swap the walnuts for pecans, the more Southern choice.
- Dates or dried cranberries. Replace the raisins with the same amount of chopped dates or dried cranberries. Soak cranberries the same way; dates need no soaking.
- Loaf pans. Divide the batter between two greased 8 by 4 inch loaf pans and bake for 45 to 50 minutes.
- Brown sugar glaze. Boil 1/4 cup butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar and 2 tablespoons milk for 1 minute and pour it over the warm cake.
Storage and make-ahead
Keep the cake in its pan, covered tightly with foil or a lid, at room temperature for up to 5 days. Like most spice cakes it is better on the second day.
To freeze, wrap squares in plastic wrap and pack them in a freezer bag. They keep for 3 months. Thaw at room temperature, still wrapped, for 1 to 2 hours.
For breakfast, warm a square for 15 seconds in the microwave and spread it with soft butter.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make applesauce cake with no egg at all?
Yes, and many older versions did. Leave out the egg and add 2 extra tablespoons of applesauce. The cake will be slightly denser and a little more fragile when you cut it, but the flavor is the same.
Can I use homemade applesauce?
Homemade applesauce makes the best cake of all. If it is thin or watery, let it drain in a fine sieve for 10 minutes first. If you sweetened it, take 2 tablespoons out of the brown sugar.
Why is my applesauce cake gummy in the middle?
Either it was underbaked or the batter was overmixed. Check with a toothpick right in the center. Too much applesauce will also do it, so measure a level 1 1/2 cups rather than emptying the jar.
Does applesauce cake need frosting?
Traditionally, no. It was eaten plain with coffee, and a dusting of powdered sugar was the company version. If you want more, a spoon of whipped cream suits it better than a thick frosting.
Every house had one thing that was baked when the weather turned, and in a great many of them it was this. Put a pan in the oven on the first cool morning and the smell will tell everyone what season it is.
Old-Fashioned Applesauce Cake (9 by 13, Raisins and Walnuts)
A dark, soft, old-fashioned applesauce cake baked in a 9 by 13 pan, with cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, plumped raisins and walnuts, one egg and no frosting. Cups and grams, and the raisin trick that keeps it moist for days.
Ingredients
- 1 cup raisins
- Hot water for soaking the raisins
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick, 113g), softened
- 1 cup packed brown sugar (210g), light or dark
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce (365g), at room temperature
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- Butter or shortening for the pan
- Powdered sugar for the top, optional
Instructions
- Put the raisins in a small bowl, cover them with very hot tap water or water from the kettle, and leave them for 10 minutes. Drain them well and pat them dry with a paper towel. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease a 9 by 13 inch baking pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg until the spices are evenly spread through the flour.
- In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and the brown sugar with a mixer on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is lighter in color and fluffy. Beat in the egg until smooth, scraping down the bowl.
- Add the applesauce and mix on low. The batter will look curdled and broken at this point. That is normal, and it comes back together as soon as the flour goes in.
- Add the flour mixture in two additions, mixing on low only until the last streak of flour disappears. Fold in the drained raisins and the walnuts with a spatula. The batter will be thick.
- Scrape the batter into the greased pan and spread it evenly into the corners; it makes a fairly shallow layer. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top springs back when pressed lightly, the edges have pulled slightly away from the pan, and a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
- Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for at least 45 minutes. When it is completely cool, dust it with powdered sugar if you like, and cut it into squares right in the pan.
