Friday, October 15, 2010

Applesauce Cake

The other day I went apple pickin' with Kaela and Kate and Liz. Not like I need any more apples. I bought a measly nine pounds just because it was crazy not to. We went to Fishkill Farms, which I had been wanting to visit for a long time. What a great place! I will definitely return. It seemed like the place was run by women. I love that.

Apple season is pretty much finished in these parts. Now comes the long, cold winter. The Farmer's Almanac predicts a very cold winter, with little precipitation. I've been seeing tons of wooly caterpillars. Not sure if that's just an old wives tale, but I've never seen so many!

I picked Ida Reds, which are some of my favorite cooking apples. I love to make jelly with them. And the by product of that is lots of applesauce. Thusly, the need for an applesauce cake. My version is lightly sweetened and filled with either raisins, chopped pecans or both, or none. You can really play around with this.



Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2 cups of flour
1 tsp of baking soda
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 cup of sugar

Mix the dry ingredients together.

1/3 cup of oil
1 cup of unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup of yogurt
1 cup of nuts or raisin or a mix of both


Then mix the oil, applesauce, and yogurt together. Then add wet to dry with brisk strokes, adding the nut/raisins as you do.

Bake in a square pan for an hour. Check it ---it can be tricky!

11 comments:

  1. Julia, do you have any links to making apple jelly and sauce from the byproduct? I've never made apple jelly, but the chance to make both in one shot seems awesome!

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  2. The cake sounds great...and needed. The Babylady has finally decided she has opinions about food and is currently boycotting all the applesauce I froze. Yes, it is frozen and will last. Yes, she'll probably change her mind. But, in the meantime, there is applesauce cake!
    Glad you got to go picking~ fun!

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  3. I just got a bag of "seconds", 25 lbs of Cortlands and some yellow unidentifiables... Your cake looks a bit like my cake, I'll have to make, post and compare it to yours! Meanwhile, think that applesauce is one of the things I would never eat if it didn't come home-canned!!

    (Also, never made apple jelly... so maybe I'll give it a go, if I can justify having so much jam around!)

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  4. Emily - Check out this recipe: http://whatjuliaate.blogspot.com/2010/01/tangelo-lemongrass-jelly.html, which goes into detail about the jelly making process. I should be posting very soon a straight up apple jelly recipe.

    Meg - So far, my son hasn't refused any food products. He is an eater! I keep on waiting for the day when he will eat nothing but white cheese, or something weird like that. Until then...Sounds like you guys had fun on your turf in Seattle. So cool!

    Rebecca - I would love to see your recipe. I think everyone has one! I'll have to keep a look out on CakeWalk for your apple brilliance!

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  5. Looks tasty. I learned to make applesauce muffins long ago. I believe they had mayo in them. They were good. It's been ages. I don't think I've ever made an applesauce cake. I like the idea of raisins and pecans.

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  6. Denise - Mayo! Mayo I have the recipe? Ha, ha. sorry.

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  7. Okay, was that just a joke or would you really like the recipe? I'll go with the assumption "both". Here are my notes, back from my days as an undergrad--a dirty little 1980s (last time I made these...) post-it note:

    16 oz jar applesauce
    1 cup safflower mayo
    3 cups flour
    1/2 cup brown sugar
    1/2 cup raisins
    1/2 cup milk
    2 tsp baking soda
    1/4 tsp cloves
    2 tbsp cinnamon
    1 tsp vanilla
    1/2 tsp salt
    1 tsp nutmeg
    mix all but raisins. add raisins. sprinkle with nutmeg and cinnamon. bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

    That's it. No more detail. I have no idea why the mayo is safflower. Obviously, you'll use your own applesauce. I was not the applesauce making type in college. I should try and bake these again and confirm they are edible : )

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  8. Denise - Spot on with "both." That was indeed my answer. That's amazing. A whole cup of mayo! But it makes sense when you figure mayo is just oil and eggs. Probably makes the cake super moist. Still, it seems wrong. Right?

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  9. I will be making this cake as soon as the painting is done....It looks so delish! Liz

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  10. Denise - Yah, ; )

    Liz - Your next obsession!

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