From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This simple recipe makes one of the best applesauce cakes I've ever tasted. The cake was originally featured on Food52 where it was drizzled with a caramel glaze. I prefer to serve it with a butter cream icing or, better still, warm and naked from the oven with a scoop of good ice cream alongside. Because there are usually just two of us to enjoy a cake like this, I make cup cakes rather than a single large bundt. What's not eaten is frozen and saved for another day. The recipe for the cake as it was featured on Food52 can be found here. My abbreviated version appears below. The only change I've made to the original ingredient list is to substitute nutmeg for the allspice. My palate is especially sensitive to allspice and I replace it with nutmeg or mace whenever I can. I hope you'll give this cake a try. It is quick, easy and delicious. I know that those of you who try this will be very pleased.

Applesauce Spice Cakes...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Food52

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 large eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1-1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce

2/3 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1) Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour 10 Texas-size muffin cups. Fill remaining two cups with three tablespoons each water.

2) Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, pepper and spices and set aside. In a large mixing bowl or bowl of a standing mixer, beat eggs with both sugars until light. Mix in applesauce, oil and vanilla until smooth.

3) Using a spatula, fold in dry ingredients, being careful not to over-mix. Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 25 to to 30 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in center of cupcakes comes out clean. Cool cakes for 10 minutes before turning out. Cakes can be served warm with ice cream or frosted when completely cool. Yield: 10 servings.

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