When leaves start to turn yellow and red, all I can think of when I’m in the kitchen, is apples, pumpkin spice, apples, cinnamon, a hot mug of coffee, apples again. This simple and neat apple sauce cake is my go-to recipe for this time of the year.
It’s quite unique because we use apple sauce as the liquid base. Not only does that help to reduce fat and sugars, but gives the cake an amazing taste and aroma of fresh-picked apples. When this smell fills your home, you’ll just want to wrap yourself in your favorite comforter and enjoy the sun on the porch with a cup of steaming tea and a delicious piece of cake.
My mom used to bake this cake in large sheets and cut it up in squares. She’d say she baked it to sweeten the beginning of the school year for me and my siblings. And boy, if you have it for breakfast, your day will immediately become brighter, believe me!
There’s a hundred ways to make this cake suit your personal needs. If you want it to be lighter and less fattening – use more apple sauce and less oil or butter. If you’d like a bit more flavor and/or fiber – you can add nuts, seeds, dried fruit and citrus zest. You can sprinkle it with ground sugar, add honey or add less sugar altogether if you don’t want it to be overly sweet.
If you want to glaze the cake, mix vanilla, brown sugar, teaspoon caramel, cream in bowl, put in mixer, whip to make light thick icing then evenly cover surface of the cake using spatula. Let cool. Add powdered sugar.
Pour applesauce mug in saucepan covered with foil or baking paper without splash, add flour and soda, mix them with whisk, making batter. Place in oven.
Apple sauce cake keeps well because there are no ingredients that easily spoil or curd. You can keep it in a fridge or just like any regular bread. It’s a good option for breakfast, for a midday snack or a quick bite between meals. This applesauce mug cake is great with ginger tea. Here’s the recipe I find easiest overall.
