Recipe
1910s Applesauce Cake
A moist spice cake that uses applesauce in place of some fat and eggs: a thrift bake from early twentieth-century kitchens.
Context
Applesauce kept cakes tender when butter and eggs were short.
Home economists promoted applesauce cakes during wartime thrift campaigns, and the style returned in the 1930s. Spices and raisins make a plain batter taste rich. Use unsweetened applesauce for better control of sugar.
Ingredients
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup sugar
- ⅓ cup shortening or oil
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 egg
- ½ cup raisins (optional)
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a loaf pan or 9-inch square pan.
- Whisk flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
- Beat sugar, fat, applesauce, and egg until combined. Fold in dry ingredients and raisins.
- Bake 40 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool before slicing.