Recipe: Happy Faces Will Appear Once You Serve My Special No-Fail Applesauce Cake!

Those that love the taste of apple need to sample this recipe that I have for you today.  Imagine what a great way to chase away a chilly and dismal Fall day than with a hearty piece of my applesauce cake that is jammed pack with raisins, chopped nuts, and a fragrant blend of spices to bring out the maximum flavor of apples.  

This sounds yummy, doesn't it?  Let me assure you that it is.  I have made this cake many times because it is a family favorite.  This cake is wonderful to serve plain or top with your favorite white icing.  

When I had my apple tree, I made good use of my yearly apple avalanche and baked lots of apple related recipes from my one tree, including a homemade applesauce for this simple cake.  Sadly enough, that tree serving us so well through the years,  finally became diseased and had to come down.  As you can imagine, I miss it dearly because that old girl was very good to us.  Now I have a youngster of an apple tree planted, but it will take time before she produces.  Until that time, my little sapling is able to share her bounty of apples, I use a canned applesauce, which also makes an utterly delicious recipe for this moist and delicately spiced applesauce cake--only it's easier.

I recommend sifting your dry ingredients together for ultimate success.  This way your baking soda will not land in one spot to ruin your cake with that bitterness it can often have if you forgo that step.  Trust me, I have made this mistake and now regularly sift or dissolve my soda in sour milk, buttermilk, or sour cream if called for in a recipe to prevent failure.

One day soon, I do hope you try my recipe!  Seriously, readers, I think once you do that you'll add it to your own recipe boxes as well.

My No-Fail Applesauce Cake

1 cup of raisins
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts
3 cups of flour
1-1/2 cups of sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
3/4 cup of canola oil
1 jar (15 oz. size) or 1-1/2 cups of applesauce
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla

Preheat your oven to 350-degrees. 

Next, I usually grease a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan and then dust it lightly with flour.  Tap out the excess and set it
aside.

In a small bowl, toss the raisins and nuts with one tablespoon of the flour and reserve this until later.

In a larger mixing bowl, sift together the remaining flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, allspice, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.

Add the oil and applesauce next to those measured dry ingredients and beat thoroughly with your electric mixer for about two minutes or so until well combined.

You will add the eggs and vanilla next and beat in for another minute.

Now is the time to toss in your reserved raisins and nuts and stir into the batter until well blended.

Pour the batter into that prepared pan and bake for about 40 minutes at 350-degrees. 

ENJOY!