Happy Healthy Holiday: Applesauce Cake

With the holidays in full swing, it's so tempting to give up on healthy eating -- but here is a perfectly wonderful Applesauce Cake that is so delicious you'll barely notice the wholesome ingredients.

This is a big cake, so drag out your bundt pan or the old tube cake pan your grandmother used for her angel food cakes. You'll have plenty for a big party or the family Christmas dinner. Old cookbooks called this type of recipe "Cut and Come Again Cake," because the flavors improve with keeping.

The Aunt who taught me this recipe was meticulous about measuring ingredients and following directions to the letter. Fortunately, Auntie isn't likely to be surfing the Internet (and a certain niece had better not tell her) but I love this cake because it is so easily adaptable. Out of applesauce? Use a can of crushed pineapple. Dairy Intolerant? Replace the butter with canola oil. No sale this week on brown sugar? Use honey and increase the baking soda by half a teaspoon. Not fond of raisins? Throw in chocolate chips!

I also take the cake a step further than Auntie, by moistening the baked cake with liquor or a simple syrup. It's a trick that works with nearly any home-baked cake and fruit / nut cakes in particular.

Recipe: Applesauce Cake

3/4 c. butter (canola oil may be used)
1 c. fine raw sugar
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
2 1/4 c. applesauce (natural style)
3/4 c. shredded carrots
3 c. whole wheat or spelt flour
1 1/2 all purpose unbleached flour
3 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. each cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice
1 1/2 c. broken pecans
1 1/2 c. golden raisins
1/3 - 1/2 c. liqueur or fruit syrup
1 c. powdered sugar
2 or more Tbs. liqueur or fruit juice

Grease and flour (or spray) a  bundt or tube cake pan
Cream together butter and sugars.
Add eggs and beat well.
Combine dry ingredients and set aside 2 tablespoons.
Add dry ingredients, alternating with applesauce and carrots.
Dust nuts and raisins with reserved flour, stir into batter.
Turn into prepared pan.
Bake 1 hour and 20 minutes at 350 degrees, or until a knife inserted halfway between center and edge of pan comes out clean.

Turn pan upside down over rack to cool. Use a 2nd rack to turn cake rightside up.
Cool on rack set over a large plate.
Pierce cake thoroughly with skewer or long fork.
Slowly drizzle liqueur or fruit syrup over warm cake.
When cake is completely cool, make glaze with powdered sugar and a spoonful or two of liqueur or fruit juice. Drizzle over cake, catching drips on plate beneath the cooling rack.

Simple Fruit Syrup
Combine 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup apple or pineapple juice in small saucepan. Bring to boil and reduce by half. Cool slightly before slowly pouring warm syrup over pierced cake.

Options:
- Omit powdered sugar glaze. Store cake in tightly covered container in cool place and repeatedly drizzle it with liqueur or syrup for two or three days. Keeps a week or more.
- Add dried cranberries or cherries instead of or in addition to the nuts and raisins.
- Omit allspice and nutmeg; add 1 c. chopped candied ginger.
- Replace pecans and raisins with cut almonds and candied pineapple bits.
- Replace pecans and raisins with walnuts and chocolate chips.
- Replace carrots with shredded zucchini

So don't give up on healthy eating just because of the holidays, when you can have your (Applesauce) cake, and eat it too!