Applesauce Cake With Cream Cheese and Honey Frosting

Applesauce Cake With Cream Cheese and Honey Frosting

This super-simple cake, which requires one bowl and one cake pan, comes from Julia Turshen's cookbook "Now & Again," and it's so easy to make you find yourself doing so often, especially throughout the fall when apples are on your mind. (It'd be especially great for Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year, or for novice or time-pressed Thanksgiving bakers.) The cake's texture and appeal are similar to those of banana bread; if you like, you can stir a large handful or two of raisins, nuts or both into the batter just before you scrape it into the pan. And although you can use homemade applesauce for this, know that store-bought is just fine.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups/255 grams all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon ground ginger
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 eggs

    beaten

  • 1/2 cup/100 grams sugar
  • 1/2 cup/120 milliliters buttermilk or plain yogurt
  • 1 1/2 cups/400 grams unsweetened applesauce
  • 1/3 cup/80 milliliters canola or other neutral oil
  • 6 ounces/170 grams cream cheese

    at room temperature

  • 2 tablespoons sour cream
  • 1/4 cup/60 milliliters honey
  • Pinch of kosher salt

Directions

  1. 1

    Make the cake: Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray the bottom and sides of a 9-inch round cake pan with baking spray and line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper. 

  2. 2

    In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, salt and baking soda. Add the eggs, sugar, buttermilk, applesauce and oil and whisk gently just until everything is combined. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the batter into the prepared pan and then smooth the surface so it is even.

  3. 3

    Bake the cake until it is just barely firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Set the cake aside on a wire rack to cool to room temperature.

  4. 4

    Use a dinner knife to loosen the edges of the cake from the pan sides and then invert it onto a work surface. Peel off and discard the parchment. Invert the cake one more time onto a serving platter.

  5. 5

    Make the frosting: In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, sour cream, honey and salt and whisk together aggressively until the cream cheese is slightly aerated (you can also do this with a handheld electric mixer or in a stand mixer).

  6. 6

    Spread the frosting over the top of the cake and don’t worry too much about making this perfect. A not-too-perfect cake is so much better than a perfect cake. Cut into wedges and serve. Leftovers can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Applesauce Cake With Cream Cheese and Honey Frosting

Applesauce Cake With Cream Cheese and Honey Frosting

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