My son’s favorite birthday cake is an Applesauce Spice Cake from a fairly old version of the red-plaid Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook. He always chooses that recipe. He gives me the raised eyebrow look if I ask him what cake he wants near his birthday. Well, he *might* change his mind one year, but that cake so tasty I don’t think that will ever really happen.
Backstory #2: A few months ago, because I keep my facebook friends list very small, I was hurting for Candy Crush Saga tickets. OK, OK — don’t be rolling your eyes! We’ve all got our vices! I LOVE that game. But you have to get tickets from friends or *pay money* to advance past certain points. I don’t love it enough to pay, but I don’t have any problem bribing my kids. (Especially since he and his next-older sister are responsible for the whole thing to start with!)
So I bribed Robert with baked goods once a month. I’ve made my ~aaaah-maaazing~ Pumpkin Bread several times now. He loves that, too. But this time, to change it up, he asked for banana bread.
Banana bread?
Um, I don’t really do banana bread. I mean, I’ve made it; I can follow a recipe as well as the next person, but it’s not one of My Things, you know?
So we had a talk. That’s when he proposed that a quick bread that tasted like his favorite Applesauce Spice Cake would be nice.
I can do that. And since I’m finishing up the baking, taste-testing, and posting on Superbowl Sunday, it will be named…
Go Seahawks Applesauce Spice Bread
Prepare a 9″ x 5″ loaf pan by spreading a thin coating of oil over inside surfaces, or use Wilton Cake Release.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Mix dry ingredients:
2 c. flour (can be part blenderized oats &/or whole grain)
1 c. to 1 1/3 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. plus scant 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. plus 1/8 tsp. ground allspice
Whisk together wet ingredients:
1/3 c. vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 c. to 1 1/2 c. homemade applesauce made with purely apples
up to 4 Tbsp. water, to be added as needed to make a pourable but very thick batter
Once the dry and wet ingredients are each combined, stir them together by hand until well combined. Adjust thickness of batter if it is too thick by adding water; this might be necessary if your applesauce is cooked down pretty far and therefore drier. The batter should pour, but not be liquid enough to be self-leveling if that makes sense!
Bake at 350F for 55 to 65 minutes, until toothpick comes out with moist crumbs and bread is richly colored but does not smell scorched.
Cool in pan 10 minutes. Loosen with thin sharp knife if necessary. Turn onto cooling rack on its side; do not slice for 30 minutes. Best if cooled completely, wrapped or bagged and let age for 12+ hours. Should freeze well although I have not frozen this exact recipe yet.
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AND WE WON! Go Hawks!
Enjoy another taste of Washington wonderfulness with my Go Seahawks Applesauce Spice Bread, world!
Gail
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