Old Fashioned Apple Sauce With Caramel Icing

Author Notes

Having fabricated a giant batch of absurdity this fall (unpeeled apples, a pinch of table salt, lemon juice, and nil else), I realized last week that what was left would probably ferment if I didn't do something with information technology, and quick. So, I decided to whip up one of my favorite desserts, a spiced absurdity block. Previously, I've made a fresh ginger coat for it that tastes delicious but sort of curdles and doesn't await all that pretty. This time, I found inspiration in a rich, sweet, Southern-stye caramel icing from Craig Claiborne's New York Times Cookbook, which I've made a few times for other cakes. But I wanted a true glaze, non an icing, and then off to the interwebs I went.

Imagine my delight when I came across the perfect recipe on the blog of our very own TheRunawaySpoon! I adapted the measurements slightly, every bit I found I needed a piffling less powdered saccharide to keep my coat runny enough to drizzle, and information technology turned out to be the perfect complement to this tender, spiced and just slightly sweet cake. Give thanks you, TheRunawaySpoon, for your help.

Note: If you lot're serving this cake to demanding or hyper-observant guests (What? Did I say that?), you may desire to glaze the block right on the plate you plan to use to serve it, forgoing the rack. Every bit shortly the glaze has even the slightest chance to set, it volition crack if you endeavor to transfer the cake from the rack to a serving plate. —Merrill Stubbs

Examination Kitchen Notes

What's 1 of the best things you can practise afterward hauling a bunch of freshly picked apples domicile from the orchard? Make a bunch of homemade applesauce, of form! And so what'south the best affair you can practise with all of that absurdity? Make this amazing absurdity cake, of course! This is one of our favorite fall-forward cakes that you can likewise definitely make with store-bought applesauce if that's what yous have on hand, just homemade puts it over the top. The cake is super-easy to put together: Just cream the eggs with sugar, add the absurdity, oil, vanilla, fold into the dry out ingredients, then allow the cake broil abroad in the oven. The glaze takes a fiddling more accurate timing, merely TheRunawaySpoon, who developed the recipe, gives great visual cues and you should have no problem getting it to the perfect consistency. Information technology's what helps make this recipe a showstopper of a dessert. But if you lot don't take the time or don't feel like making the glaze, the cake is wonderful all on its own. Merely grit with powdered sugar before serving.

Y'all'll honey the taste and texture, as well as the fact it's both comforting and sugariness. Per the comments, the cake is likewise very forgiving with spice substitutions, and many have added chopped apples to the batter, which gives information technology even more fall-like flavor. One fifty-fifty used cranberry sauce instead of applesauce to dandy success! Feel free to experiment with what works all-time for yous and let us know how it turns out. —The Editors

Test Kitchen-Approved

Watch This Recipe

Applesauce Cake With Caramel Glaze

Prep time xxx minutes
Cook fourth dimension 50 minutes
Serves 10

Ingredients

Cake
Unsalted butter, for the pan
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
2 teaspoons cinnamon
one ¹/₂ teaspoons baking soda
i teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¹/₄ teaspoon finely basis blackness pepper
¹/_four teaspoon ground allspice
2 big eggs
1 cup granulated saccharide
¹/₂ cup packed lite chocolate-brown saccharide
1 ^one/_two cups unsweetened (preferably homemade) applesauce
²/₃ loving cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla excerpt

Caramel Coat
^one/₂ cup packed light brown sugar
¹/₃ cup (or more) heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks
^one/_four teaspoon kosher salt
ⁱⁱⁱ/₄ cup (or more) sifted powdered carbohydrate

Directions

Make the cake: Estrus the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 12-loving cup Bundt pan. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, ginger, table salt, black pepper, and allspice. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, trounce the eggs, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and airy. Mix in the absurdity, oil, and vanilla until smooth.
Using a spatula, fold in the dry ingredients, being careful not to overmix. Cascade the concoction into the prepared pan and broil for most 45 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center of the block comes out make clean. Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan fix on a wire rack before turning it out and letting it cool completely on the rack—make sure the cake isn't at all warm before yous brand the glaze.
Make the glaze: If desired, identify a piece of foil or parchment nether the wire rack to grab any drips before yous offset the glaze. In a medium saucepan, combine the brown sugar, cream, butter, and salt and gear up over medium heat. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly, and boil for 1 infinitesimal exactly. Remove from the heat.
Permit cool for a couple of minutes, so gradually whisk in the powdered sugar until you have a thick but pourable consistency (y'all may not need all of the sugar). If the mixture seems too thick, add together a splash of cream to sparse information technology out a little. Immediately pour the glaze over the cake, moving slowly and evenly to embrace equally much surface area as possible. Allow the coat prepare before serving.