Applesauce Spice Cake

It's that time of the year where it's all apples, all the time. I had an overabundance of applesauce from project canning and was looking for ways to use it up.

This cake is from Deb's second cookbook, which has a party cake builder section to mix and match different types of cakes and frosting. While this cake is similar to another one on Smitten Kitchen, the recipe from her book is a bit more versatile since you can swap out the applesauce for mashed bananas, pumpkin puree or grated carrot to change the type of cake. It's also a one-bowl recipe, which is a bonus.

As always, I can't help but make changes: reduced the sugar in the cake and frosting because I dislike of overly sweet things, subbed in some granulated sugar for brown, and some whole wheat flour for all-purpose. I never have ground ginger or cloves so I omitted them and increased the amount of cinnamon and nutmeg. Your kitchen will smell like autumn.

Applesauce Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen Every Day

Applesauce cake
6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup (50 grams) packed brown sugar
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup (215 grams) applesauce (can substitute for mashed bananas, pumpkin puree, or 2 cups/225 grams grated carrot)
1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (60 grams) whole wheat flour

Cream cheese frosting
115 grams (half an 8-ounce package) cream cheese, softened
4 tablespoons (55 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (60 grams) powdered sugar (sifted if lumpy)
Pinch of fine sea salt
1 tablespoon cream or whole milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Make cake:

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square or 9-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in the egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined, scrape down the bowl, and then sprinkle the baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg over the batter and beat until very well combined. Add the applesauce and stir to combine. Stir in the flours until it just disappears.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out batter-free. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the cake to ensure it is loose, flip it out onto a plate, and then reinvert cake onto a cooling rack. Let cool completely before frosting. You can hasten this process along in your freezer, where it shouldn't take more than 15 minutes to fully cool.

Make frosting:

Place the frosting ingredients in a food processor and run the machine to mix. Scrape down the bowl, then process for another 1 to 2 minutes, just until smooth and somewhat fluffed.

Spread frosting on top of cooled cake. Keep frosted cake in the fridge.