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Festive Holiday Applesauce Cakes

Oh, the memories! My grandmother's famous applesauce cake is sure to warm your holiday spirit with a smile once you take a bite!
5 from 1 vote
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Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Applesauce Cake, Cake, Christmas

Ingredients

  • 1 c currants or golden raisins
  • 1 c raisins
  • 1 c Craisins
  • 1 c sweet pickled watermelon rind, chopped or crushed pineapple, drained-optional
  • 2 c unsweetened applesauce
  • 1 T cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 t cloves
  • 2 t baking soda
  • 4 c all-purpose flour
  • 1 t salt
  • 1 t baking powder
  • 1 c black walnuts
  • 3/4 c butter, softened
  • 2 c granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs- room temp
  • 1 T vanilla

Instructions

  • Combine the fruit and add boiling water to cover it by about an inch or so. Stir and allow it to sit until fruit has plumped up. DRAIN. (This first step may be done the night before allowing the fruit to plump up nicely. Otherwise, do this earlier in the baking day to ensure that it's in proper form before adding to the batter.)
  • In a separate bowl, combine the cinnamon and cloves with the applesauce. Then whisk in the baking soda and allow it to foam up.
  • Whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder.
  • In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Blend in the eggs and vanilla.
  • Mix in the applesauce mixture.
  • Add about 2 tablespoons of the flour mixture with the black walnuts and toss to coat.
  • Chop the watermelon rind finely, if using. Combine it with the DRAINED fruit to equally distribute. Then, sprinkle about a 1/4 cup of the flour mixture over the fruit and toss to evenly coat.
  • Add the remaining flour mixture gradually to the butter/applesauce batter and blend slowly until combined well.
  • Stir in the black walnuts first. Then, mix in the fruit mixture with a wooden spoon.
  • Preheat oven to 300°F.
  • For all of these, I used a large, slightly rounded scoop of batter which is approximately 1/4 cup. If using a larger pan, you will need to approximate a longer baking time. My guess would be an hour for a large fluted pan, based on the fact she listed an hour as her cook time and that was for a large tube pan, as I remember.
    Cupcake- large scoop ~25 mins
    Small fluted- large scoop~22 mins
    Large fluted- 3 large scoops~35 mins
    Mini-loaf- 5 scoops~45 mins