Applesauce Cake with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting

I am not a baker. If you read this blog, you’ll notice that I make a a lot of soups, stews and savory things. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth either, but if you put a piece of carrot cake in front of me or a cheese danish, I’ll happily oblige. Which is why I love this cake so very much. It’s not too sweet, a little spicy, super tangy with the cream cheese and sour cream. Yum!

Not only is it the first cake I made in our new oven, our buttery cream Aga range who has yet to be named, but it is also the first cake I have not burned in a very, very long time. I picked it from a handful of recipes a friend sent over for Cookbook Club from Julia Turshen’s cookbook Now & Again, and why I picked it is beyond me given that measuring flour and spices is not my idea of fun cooking, but I am sure glad I did. It was fun! And even better, this cake turned out to be delicious, the frosting, perfect. I am adding it to my repertoire stat.

 

Ingredients for the Cake

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon ground ginger
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons of baking soda
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1/2 cup cane sugar
  • 1/2 cup of plain yogurt
  • 1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
  • 1/2 cup canola oil

Ingredients for the Frosting

  • 6 oz cream cheese at room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons sour cream
  • 1/4 cup local honey
  • pinch kosher salt

To prepare, preheat your oven to 350 degrees, or if you have an Aga, turn on the baking oven. Spray the bottom and sides of a 9” round cake pan and line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and baking soda. Add the eggs, sugar, yogurt, applesauce, and oil, mixing well until the batter is smooth. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 50 minutes. If you have an Aga, check it with a toothpick in the center, inserting it in the middle until it comes out clean, for me, my cake baked in 40 minutes. This recipe is forgiving, as you can see. Once done, set aside to cool to room temperature.

For the frosting, mix or whisk all the ingredient together until well incorporated and fluffy. A stand mixer works the best for this, but if you want to get a little arm workout in, a handheld whisk will do. Smooth the frosting more liberally than Bernie Sanders at small town pep rally on the top of your cake with a knife. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. You can make this ahead up to three days. Enjoy!

*Note: this recipe makes wonderful cupcakes!

Let me know if you give this a try or if you’ve started your own Cookbook Club, I’d love to hear all about it. Xx

 

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