Mommom's Applesauce Cake

When I was a kid there was a cake that my mom would make occasionally. We all loved it. It made the house smell amazing and to this day reading the recipe alone brings back some wonderful memories. It also happens to be one of the first baked goods I learned to make - I was motivated by my desire to eat it more often. I love this cake warm and toasted with butter - served like banana bread. My father would pour a bit of applesauce over it. As I was baking it today my husband's comment was, "It smells like Christmas!"

The recipe has been handed down from my Mom's step-mother. To us grandchildren she was always Mommom. This recipe is one of the wonderful lasting imprints she left on our family.

I've updated the recipe a tad, mostly re-arranging the directions to make it easier to follow. (I tend to do that with recipes.)

Mommom's Applesauce Cake
(printable recipe)

Ingredients (in order of use):

• 4 C unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1 tsp cloves
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 2 C sugar
• 1 C butter (or shortening, but I think butter's better)
• 4 eggs
• 1 ½ C applesauce

Directions:

1. Sift together in medium bowl: flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, ginger, nutmeg. Set this aside until needed.
2. Measure out remaining ingredients: sugar, butter, eggs, applesauce.
3. Grease a tube pan and line the bottom with wax paper.
4. Preheat oven to 350°.
5. In large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar.
6. Add eggs, 1 at a time.
7. Continue mixing, adding flour mixture alternatively with applesauce.
8. Pour into greased and lined tube pan.
9. Bake at 350°  1 hour, 20 minutes. Test for doneness.
10. After removing from oven, let cool about 5-10 minutes before removing from pan.
11. Run a thin knife around the edge, to release the cake and invert onto a cake plate.
12. Slice and serve. Or let cool completely and slice and serve.

Notes:
This is a very dense cake, similar to pound cake in consistency. It's wonderful for dessert or for breakfast. You can make this cake in a bundt pan, but I prefer a tube pan because the bundt pan is a bit too small for the cake.



The Ultimate Recipe Swap is all about baked goods this week. Go on over and browse the wonderful recipes there or link up your own. We'd love to have you at the party.
I'm also linking this recipe to:
Food on Fridays @ Ann Kroeker
Recipe Swap @ The Grocery Cart Challenge
This post is also included in Real Life's Your Life Your Blog