

Applesauce-Cocoa Cake
This is a moist, dark cake. If you choose to add the spices, the flavor will take on an air of mystery. It is almost a spice cake, understatedly chocolate, with a touch of orange, and all the luxurious qualities of an applesauce-nut cake.
This recipe is minimally sweet, so if you prefer a sweeter dessert, you can increase the sugar to 2 cups or use sweetened applesauce.
1/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) soft butter
1 1/2 cups (packed) brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated orange rind
3 cups unbleached white flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1/2 teaspoon allspice (optional)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
1 cup finely ground walnuts (use a food processor fitted with a steel blade or a blender, with brief spurts)
1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup yogurt or sour cream
1] Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a standard-sized tube pan.
2] In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.
3] Stir in vanilla and orange rind. Set aside.
4] In a separate bowl, sift together all dry ingredients (including the optional spices or not). Stir them into the ground walnuts.
5] In a third bowl, whisk together the applesauce and yogurt or sour cream until well blended.
6] Add the dry mixture and the applesauce mixture alternately to the butter mixture (dry-wet-dry-wet). Stir just enough to blend after each addition.
7] Turn the batter into the prepared tube pan. Bake 45 to 55 minutes at 350 degrees. The cake is done when a sharp knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
Preparation time: 25 to 30 minutes to prepare; 45 to 55 minutes to bake. Yield: 1 large cake. (Katzen, Mollie. Still Life with Menu Cookbook: Fifty New Meatless Menus with Original Art. California: Ten Speed Press, 1988, pg.124.)
1 comments:
Samuel looks like he is having a lot of fun helping you Karli!! Maybe he will turn out to be quite the Chef like his Daddy?!
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