This one is for my mom. A favorite of mine from childhood. Delicious One Bowl Applesauce Cake with a fabulous browned butter lemon frosting. Nuts? If you insist. I don't. But that is okay. ;-)
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I may be having a birthday coming up. It *may* be a big one. Okay, it is a big one. But let's focus on the cake, shall we? The One Bowl Applesauce Cake if you don't mind.
My mom would make this for my siblings and myself for our birthdays. Yes, some years I would choose a store bought cake. But eventually, as I grew older, I realized that no store bought cake even came close to this homemade wonder. Oh, yum.
It's the browned lemon butter frosting on top that makes the cake extra delicious. The cake is moist, flavorful of apples and cinnamon and with that topping of lemon drizzled down the side: pure deliciousness.
One Bowl Applesauce Cake
So here is the big dilemma: Do you add raisins and nuts to the batter. Now, if you want my opinion, raisins are a sure thing. (Unless of course you don't have any in the pantry.) ;-) I wished I had some when I baked this but the kids ate them all. I LOVE raisins in this cake. It adds another depth to the cake that makes the cake shine even more.
Nuts on the other hand should be forbidden in baked goods. Yes, they should. Baked goods are soft and chewy. Adding a hard nut in the middle of that soft and deliciousness should be forbidden.
Completely
I asked the question on my Facebook page and would love to know your opinion! What do you think?
When making this One Bowl Applesauce Cake, the best part, besides the taste, is the fact it is indeed, one bowl. From start to finish, you just put everything in a large bowl and mix it. No need to separate the flour from the wet ingredients. You can dump everything in and use a hand mixer and mix away.
Gotta love the ease of preparation!
I use my trusty hand mixer that I have had for over 20 years. I would think it's on it's last mix, but it still works. This mixer I linked to has a storage container with it and mine does not. It would be nice to have a storage container because my children put away dishes and I'm telling you, the beaters are never, ever in the same spot. Maybe a container would keep everything together! :-)
One Bowl Applesauce Cake
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 ½ cup applesauce
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup shortening
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup raisins optional
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup margarine
- 2 T lemon juice
Instructions
- Put all ingredients together in a large bowl EXCEPT powdered sugar, margarine and lemon juice
- Mix with hand mixer or KitchenAid mixer for 30 seconds on low and 3 minutes on high.
- Pour batter into a greased angel food cake tube pan or 9x13 cake pan.
- Place in a preheated 350* oven Tube pan: 50 minutesCake pan: 50-55 minutes until test done
- For Lemon Frosting:Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium/low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and whisk in powdered sugar and lemon juice. Pour over cooled cake. Serve
Donna Latham
Is the applesauce sweet or unsweetened?
Kim
You can use either. We usually only have unsweetened at our house, but I have used both.
Amy
Can you sub butter for the shortening? I'd like to make this tomorrow morning for church, but that's the only ingredient I don't have.
Kim
Sorry I am seeing this too late for Sunday church! I have never subbed butter for the shortening in this recipe, so I don't feel like I can answer that with confidence. I have in other recipes. If you tried it with the butter, let me know how it turned out for you!
This is my favorite cake and I have such great memories of my mom making it for us. I hope you enjoy it! :-)
Penny
Excellent cake! Super easy to make. Very moist. Perfect snack for a cool Fall day. House is fragrant with the scent of apples and cinnamon. Good dessert for potlucks, too. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I will make this again and again.
Kim
Thank you! This my Mom's tried and true recipe. It was a favorite of mine growing up. I'm so glad you like it!