Oh… wow! This is officially my new favorite breakfast spice cake recipe. I tinkered with the ingredients a smidgen. However, it’s one of Great Grandmother’s recipes that left a lot open to interpretation, imagination, confusion, and insinuation. I figured that my alterations were within reason to make. One might excuse my choices as self-defense. After reading the original, hopefully you’ll understand. (1 1/2 or 2 “scant” cups of flour? Really?)

My version of this tender, fine-textured, delicious cake included vanilla, chopped prunes, and raisins as well. I’m picky about sweets; they must have a certain salt level or else I’m not “wowed.” This cake meets my requirements and exceeds my expectations!

(pardon the lack of a photo; I need to re-make and re-photograph it)

Plain Applesauce Cake

Created by Jenai on January 24, 2016

Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients

1/2 cup Butter (or 1/4 cup each Butter and Shortening)
1 1/2 cups Brown Sugar, packed
1 Egg
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 cup Thick Unsweetened Applesauce
1 3/4 cups Flour
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon Cloves
1 cup Raisins (I used 1/2 cup each Raisins and Chopped Prunes)

Method

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and grease one medium-sized loaf pan (mine is 9 by 5 inches). This would also work for muffins. However, I don’t know the baking time for that, so you’d have to babysit a little.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the shortening/butter and brown sugar (it will be thick).
Beat in the egg and vanilla, and then stir in the applesauce.
In a separate bowl sift and combine the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
Add flour mixture to the applesauce mixture, and beat with a spoon for about 30 seconds, until well-combined.
Stir in the raisins.
Spoon the batter into the pan. Bake for about 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to finish cooling.