A couple of weeks back I had a bowl full of wrinkly apples that weren’t going anywhere. I decided to make applesauce by simply simmering the cored (peels left on) apples in a couple of tablespoons of water and apple juice until they were soft. Then I ran it through the blender and had perfect applesauce. I had so much applesauce though that I had to think of other things to make – so I made applesauce cake for our dinner guests. It was soft, moist, filled with wintery spices and not too sweet. My kids couldn’t keep their hands off it!
This past week I found a heart shaped cake pan that I didn’t remember I had. So, just in time for Valentine’s Day, I decided to make the applesauce cake again, but this time in little single serving hearts. Not too sweet, but a nice treat for a very sweet day! Perfect for breakfast or dessert. Happy Valentine’s Day!
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups packed light-brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 large eggs
2 cups homemade Applesauce, or store-bought chunky applesauce
Nonstick cooking spray
Confectioners' sugar (optional)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger.
In another bowl, with an electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, and honey until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined. With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture; beat just until combined. Mix in applesauce.
Generously coat a nonstick heart shaped pan, muffin pan bundt cake pan with cooking spray. Spoon batter into pan; smooth top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean (but slightly wet), 20 to 30 minutes for muffins or hearts, 50-60 minutes for bundt cake.
Cool on a wire rack 10 minutes. Turn out of pan onto a cutting board or baking sheet; invert cake(s) onto rack, top side up. Cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving, if desired. I made a heart stencil with paper.
A couple of weeks back I had a bowl full of wrinkly apples that weren’t going anywhere. I decided to make applesauce by simply simmering the cored (peels left on) apples in a couple of tablespoons of water and apple juice until they were soft. Then I ran it through the blender and had perfect applesauce. I had so much applesauce though that I had to think of other things to make – so I made applesauce cake for our dinner guests. It was soft, moist, filled with wintery spices and not too sweet. My kids couldn’t keep their hands off it!
