Sometimes it’s the classics that just make me happy! Old Fashioned Applesauce Cake is my great-grandma’s recipe, and it is as much a winner today as it was in the 1930s. 🙂 This moist cake is infused with the flavors of fall: apples, cinnamon, and of course topped with one of my favorite frosting’s…cream cheese!!! Our house smells like delicious fall potpourri when Old Fashioned Applesauce Cake is baking!
Old Fashioned Applesauce Cake Recipe…
The recipe for this easy one-bowl cake comes together quickly. I like to use my own homemade Slow Cooker Applesauce for Old Fashioned Applesauce Cake. (I’m usually in a hurry!) However, my great-grandma’s original recipe does include instructions to make a small batch of fresh applesauce to use for this cake if you have fresh apples on hand. It takes a little longer, but I really like the added texture from the apples. If you have the time, following the instructions to make the applesauce fresh helps to make this cake extra special!
My favorite applesauce apple is the Macintosh. If you haven’t tried a Mac, they are naturally sweet, cook down quickly, and make a velvety smooth pinkish applesauce. I LOVE them! They are PERFECT for Old Fashioned Applesauce Cake! (All the apples in the pictures for this post are Macintosh apples.) 🙂
Old Fashioned Applesauce Cake
Notes
To make your own quick applesauce for this cake: Peel, core, and slice 3-4 small or medium apples, (enough to make 1 cup cooked apples). Add about 1/2 c. water and cook until soft, chop up with a spoon and set aside to cool. Add to recipe when applesauce is mixed in. If using fresh apples, the original recipe states to increase the sugar to 1 full cup. Doubling the recipe will yield a 9 x 13 cake.
Ingredients
Cake Ingredients
- 1/2 c. shortening
- 3/4 c. sugar
- 1/2 t. salt
- 1/4 t. ground cloves
- 1/2 t. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 t. freshly ground nutmeg
- 1 t. baking soda
- 3/4 c. unsweetened applesauce (or use recipe included to make a small batch just for this cake)
- 1 3/4 c. all purpose flour
- 1/2 c. nuts or raisins, if desired
Frosting Ingredients
- 1/2 c. softened butter
- 8 oz. softened cream cheese or neufchatel
- 4 c. powdered sugar
- 1 t. vanilla extract
Instructions
For cake:
- Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease a 7x11 baking dish and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together shortening, sugar, salt, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Add applesauce, baking soda, and flour, stirring well to combine. This will create a thick batter.
- Fold in nuts or raisins, if desired. Scrape batter into greased baking dish and smooth.
- Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until tests done with a toothpick. Be careful not to over bake.
- Top with frosting once cooled. Store in the refrigerator.
For frosting:
- In a medium mixing bowl, beat together butter and cream cheese until fluffy and combined.
- Mix in vanilla extract.
- Gradually beat in powdered sugar until frosting is smooth and spreadable consistency. May add a small amount of milk to make more spreadable.
I hope you’ll try Old Fashioned Applesauce Cake and let me know what you think. For me, it’s always fun to go back through my recipes and find lost treasures. Hopefully, I’ve inspired you to do the same. 🙂
If you’d like to see what products I used to create Old Fashioned Applesauce Cake, please see below. Please know, these contain affiliate links. This means I earn a small commission on any sales, at no extra cost to you. The income I earn helps to pay for maintaining my blog. Thank you so much for your support!
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