Apples and pumpkin are my go-to favorites for fall baking. Forget about chocolate, well for a little while anyway. And, of course, fall spices add such a rich, delicious flavor. A few years ago, I played with fall spice proportions until I found the one that suited me. Your taste may differ, so if you can't stand cinnamon, nutmeg, or cloves, then by all means, omit the one you don't like. I love ginger, but found I didn't care for it mixed in with everything else. This is definitely an each-to-their-own situation.
Pumpkin and apples or applesauce lend so much moisture to a cake. It's really quite amazing. So this cake won't be dry unless it's over-baked. And it's healthy too, right?
You could frost this with almost anything. Cream cheese frosting would be a big hit, as would a simple white buttercream or caramel buttercream. But I chose to go with freshly whipped cream this time. Just add a dollop to each piece when it's served. If you want to dress it up, you can always top it with a sprinkling of powdered sugar.
But the truth is that it's good enough to just eat plain.
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (12 tablespoons) room temperature
1 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup regular sugar
3 large eggs (room temperature)
1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
1 tablespoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 350. Prepare a 9x11 cake pan by buttering and dusting with flour.
In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt,
cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Stir well with a fork to combine. Set
aside.
Cream the butter with the sugars. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Beat in the vanilla. Add
the flour mixture and the applesauce in thirds, alternating between
them. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake 30-35 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean from the middle.
Cool on a cake rack.
Mix the flour well with the spices. |
Spread in the baking pan. |
Ack! A crack! It's okay! |
Serve with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream. |
Coming in March! |
this is a wonderful recipe. I think I need to try it now. Thanks
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like it will make a wonderfully moist cake.
ReplyDeleteThanks
Sounds so delicious I want to try making it. The book looks so interesting and fun to read.
ReplyDeleteLove the new cover! So cute.
ReplyDelete