Mama's Apple Sauce Cake

Nellie’s Apple Sauce Cake


2 c. plain flour
1/4 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. cloves
1/2 t. nutmeg
2 T. baking soda
1 c. sugar
1 c. raisins
1-1/2 c. coarsely chopped pecans
1 stick butter, melted
2 c. apple sauce (hot)

Sift together flour, salt, soda, and spices.
Add raisins and nuts.
Stir in melted butter and hot applesauce; mix well.
Note: Batter will be very thick.

Spoon batter into buttered tube or bundt pan.
Bake at 275 F for approx. 1-1/2 hours.
Cake is done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Bump.

Make one of these bad boys today. Autumnal. Delicious.

Mama’s Pecan Pie gets a lot of love round these parts, and deservedly so. Mama’s Apple Sauce Cake is just as good.

Thanks for bumping this. SOUnds delicious.

Recipe for the apple sauce portion?

Chris

Really? Okay.

  • Peel, core, and slice apples.
  • Put in pot, cover.
  • Cook over low heat until apples reduce to sauce.

Really? Okay.

Peel, core, and slice apples.
Put in pot, cover.
Cook over low heat until apples reduce to sauce.

The even lazier way is to rinse the apples, put them in a pot, put the lid on, cook until the apples start falling apart, run them through a food mill, eat. Last week my three year old made a batch with minimal help.

Some people add all kinds of other ingredients. Alton Brown uses honey, apple juice, and cognac, for instance.

Thanks.

Chris

Also, apples aren’t all the same. Granny Smith aren’t Braeburn aren’t Fuji, aren’t Pink Lady…

I’d just look up an apple sauce recipe to see if any recommend varieties and perhaps mix them up to get the right flavors (which is what I do when doing apple pie). Or, for this recipe, I’d just buy apple sauce. The subtleties of homemade vs store bought are unlikely to matter that much here.

I bought a jar of unsweetned apple sauce today specifically to make this cake. I can’t wait.

Dang Rich, you’re right on the money!

egs.
Macs you cook without peeling and coring and run through the mill.
Goldens hold their shape, so you want to cook and then blend slightly to keep the chunks.
Backyard mutt apples you have to carefully peel and cut out the worms and rust.

As for the cake, the recipe sounds like my grandmother’s, and that goes back more than a century.
A classic that I prefer with the sugar cut back, served at breakfast with yogurt.

P Hickner

Robert,
Do you cook the apples until they completely fall apart, or do you puree them after cooking, or do they remain as very soft sliced apples?

Do you have preferences in apples for this.
thx

That depends on the apples - some varieties fall apart, some hold their shape. But I never puree, since I like it a bit chunky. If it’s too chunky, I use the potato masher.

I have decided preferences for eating-out-of-hand apples and for pie apples, but in this recipe I don’t think it makes much difference.
Despite the name, it’s more of a raisin-nut-spice cake than an apple cake; the apple sauce makes it dense and moist.
If the apples are not tart, I do add some lemon juice (this time, the juice of one large lemon to 8 or 9 apples, which made 4 cups of sauce).

Holiday bump - for those who want something in addition to (or in lieu of) Mama’s Pecan Pie.

Made this 3 times (doubled recipe so 6 cakes) in the past 2 months and it is just outstanding!!

Thanks for the bump Robert. This is the cake that I asked my Mom to make for my birthday, she had a recipe for the frosting from my great Aunt that really hit the spot for me.

Finally made this for the first time. Delicious, though I might have liked it a little sweeter if it’s going to be a standalone dessert (perhaps the applesauce I used was tarter than average?). Perfect as is with ice cream or whipped cream or as a breakfast cake. Or I might also try an icing next time.

thanks

Bump.

It’s that time of year again.