Grandma's Hot Applesauce Cake (and my revision)

I think I have finally recovered from all that Christmas Baking! Well, my waistline hasn't yet, but I only gained 2 lbs over the holidays, so I consider myself lucky.  

As you can tell from this post, I have been raiding my mom's recipe box again. I must admit here, though...I hate cooked apples. Yes, I know I live in Washington (the apple state). Yes, I know they are good for you. Still, not a fan.

This cake may have changed my mind. When I thought about this (and served it to my mom, Aunt, Uncle, and cousin), this recipe is really one of those that I could see took them back to when their mom used to make it for them. And, even though I don't care for cooked apples, I can appreciate this recipe. 

I added an upside down apple aspect to this cake because I thought it was going to be quite spicy. I was right about the spice level, and the apples added another level of richness. This cake is dense and moist, and I think it's a great representation of a sweet yet satisfying old time dessert. For my version, I added a bit of lemon juice and a touch of vanilla along with 1/2 brown sugar instead of all white sugar. 

This is some serious cake - rich and dense, so serve small pieces, preferably with ice cream.

For a printable version of the recipes, click here.

Grandma’s Hot Applesauce Cake (original)

In a saucepan, heat

2 cups sugar

1 cup shortening

2 ½ cups applesauce

Until shortening melts.

Add:

2 ½ cups flour

4 teas. Baking soda

1 teas. Cinnamon

½ teas. Nutmeg

½ teas. Cloves

½ teas. Allspice

Fold in 1 pound raisins and ½ cup walnuts.

Bake at 300 50-60 minutes.

Grandma’s Applesauce cake (my revision):

For the upside down apple:

2 granny smith apples, peeled cored, and cut into 8 slices each

¼ c. butter, melted

¼ c. brown sugar

Combine butter and brown sugar, and spread evenly in a 9” cake pan. Set aside while you make the cake.

For the cake:

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup sugar

½ cup butter

1/3 cup oil

2 ½ cups applesauce

2 ½ cups flour

4 t. baking soda

1 t. cinnamon

½ t. nutmeg

½ t. cloves

½ t. allspice

1 t. salt

1 ½ cups raisins

1 cup toasted and chopped walnuts

Juice and rind of 1 lemon

½ t. vanilla

Preheat oven to 300. In a large sauce pan, combine brown sugar, sugar, butter, oil, and applesauce. Heat until butter is melted and all ingredients are combined.

While applesauce mixture is heating, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and salt in large bowl. Add hot ingredients, vanilla and lemon. The baking soda will cause the batter to instantly rise, so please use a very large bowl. Stir mixture together until well combined. Fold in walnuts and raisins, and gently spoon over your apple mixture in the bottom of your pan.

Bake 50-60 minutes, until dark brown. Let cool 5-10 minutes, then invert over a serving dish. Be careful, the mixture on the bottom is hot and liquid. Let cool at least 30 minutes before serving.