When I was a kid, my Mom, Judy Osborn, baked lots of little applesauce cakes for Christmas. As I recall, she baked them in little loaf pans and frosted them with a white frosting. She may have decorated the cakes with maraschino cherries. I can’t find my mother’s recipe right now, but this week the column features a recipe that probably came from a Betty Crocker cookbook.

Applesauce Cake

– -2 ½ cups sifted Gold Medal flour

– 2 cups sugar

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– ¼ teaspoon baking powder

– 1 ½ teaspoons soda

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– 1 ½ teaspoons salt

– ¾ teaspoon cinnamon

– ½ teaspoon cloves

– ½ teaspoon allspice

– ½ cup soft shortening

– ½ cup water

– 1 ½ cups unsweetened applesauce

– 2 eggs (1/3 to ½ cup)

– ½ cup chopped walnuts

– 1 cup raisins, cut up

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two layer pans, or a 9 x 13-inch oblong pan. Sift dry ingredients together in a bowl. Add shortening, water, and applesauce. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed on a mixer or about 300 vigorous strokes by hand. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl constantly. Add eggs. Beat 2 more minutes, scraping the bowl frequently. Stir in walnuts and raisins. Pour into prepared pan(s). Bake layers 35 to 40 minutes, oblong 45 to 50 minutes, or until cake tests done. Frost with a white icing or Easy Penuche Icing (below).

Easy Penuche Icing

– ½ cup butter

– 1 cup brown sugar (packed)

– -¼ cup milk

– 1 ¾ to 2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in brown sugar. Boil and stir over low heat for 2 minutes. Stir in milk, stirring constantly. Cool to lukewarm. Gradually add in confectioners’ sugar. Place pan in ice water and stir until thick enough to spread.

*Note: Mom used applesauce that she canned in the fall, using apples from our trees. You can purchase applesauce or make your own by quartering and coring 6 to 8 tart apples, adding ¼ cup water, and cooking (covered) until they are mushy. Stir occasionally. Press through a sieve or food mill.

If you have recipes that you would like to share with readers, please call me at 824-8809 or write to me at Box 415, Craig 81626.