Applesauce Snack Cake

Total Time: 1 hr Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 9
• 3/4 cup dried apple, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 cup apple cider
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce, room temperature
• 1 large egg, room temperature, lightly beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Recipe

• 1 adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 325°f
• 2 cut 16" length parchment paper or aluminum foil and fold lengthwise to 7" width; spray 8" square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and fit parchment into dish, pushing it into corners and up sides, allow excess to overhang edges of dish.
• 3 bring apples and cider to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat; cook until liquid evaporates and mixture appears dry, about 15 minutes, cool to room temperature.
• 4 whisk flour and baking soda in medium bowl to combine; set aside.
• 5 in second medium bowl, whisk sugar and spices; measure 2 tbsp of sugar-spice mixture into small bowl and set aside for topping.
• 6 in food processor, process cooled dried-apple mixture and applesauce until smooth, about 20-30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl as needed; set aside.
• 7 whisk egg and salt in large bowl to combine.
• 8 add sugar-spice mixture and whisk continuously until well combined and light coloured, about 20 seconds.
• 9 add butter in 3 additions, whisking thoroughly after each.
• 10 add applesauce mixture and vanilla, whisk to combine.
• 11 add flour mixture to wet ingredients; using rubber spatula, fold gently until just combined and evenly moistened.
• 12 turn batter into prepared pan, smoothing out top with rubber spatula.
• 13 sprinkle reserved 2 tbsp sugar-spice mixture evenly over top of batter.
• 14 bake until wooden skewer inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes.
• 15 cool on wire rack to room temperature, about 2 hours.
• 16 run knife along cake edges without parchment to release; remove cake from pan by lifting parchment overhang and transfer to cutting board.
• 17 cut cake and serve.
• 18 variations:
• 19 ginger-cardamom applesauce snack cake.
• 20 follow recipe for applesauce snack cake omitting cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves; whisk 1/2 tsp ground ginger and 1/4 tsp ground cardamom into sugar in step 3; measure 2 tbsp sugar-spice mixture into a small bowl, add 1 tbsp finely chopped cyrstallized ginger and set aside for topping in step 5.
• 21 applesauce snack cake with oat-nut streusel.
• 22 follow recipe for applesauce snack cake through step 2; in step 3, measure 2 tbsp brown sugar, 1/3 c chopped pecans or walnuts, and 1/3 c old-fashioned or quick cook oats; work in 2 tbsp softened unsalted butter by rubbing mixture between fingers until fully incorporated; pinch mixture into hazelnut-sized clumps and sprinkle evenly over batter before baking.