Description
A vintage applesauce cake recipe with a butterscotch sauce drizzle that brings back happy memories, while making new ones too.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Cake
- 1 3/4 cups cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cloves
- 1/2 nutmeg
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 package (8 ounce) pitted chopped dates (could substitute raisins or dried currants)
- 1/2 cup pecans chopped
- 1 cup hot applesauce
For the Butterscotch Sauce
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/2 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Measure out cake flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg into a large bowl and sift three times.
- Cream butter with an electric mixer until fluffy.
- Add sugar and cream together.
- Add egg and mix.
- Add pecans and dates. Mix to combine.
- Alternate adding a little bit of the sifted flour and spices with a little bit of applesauce, starting and ending with the applesauce. Mix until just combined each time you add.
- Pour ingredients into a buttered and floured tube cake pan.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes. Mine was done right at 50 minutes when I tested it with a toothpick into the center.
- Allow the pan to cool for 10-15 minutes before loosening the edges with a knife and inverting cake to a cooling rack.
- Tastes best served warm with butterscotch sauce and vanilla ice cream.
For the Butterscotch
- In a small saucepan, melt butter on medium heat. Add brown sugar, heavy cream and salt. Bring the sauce to a low boil and keep it boiling for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from heat. Add vanilla extract and stir to combine.
- This sauce will thicken slightly as it cools, and will thicken significantly if refrigerated. Pours best at room temperature.
Notes
Butterscotch Sauce adapted slightly from Smitten Kitchen