Whole Wheat Applesauce Cake
Dense and moist thanks to the applesauce and molasses, this not-too-sweet cake is great for snacking. It makes a lovely dessert to share with friends. No frosting necessary.
Everyone should have a good snack cake recipe, an everyday cake that you can feed your kids after school, or eat as a mid-morning snack with your coffee. A cake that acts like a muffin.
This is that sort of cake.
Dense and moist thanks to the applesauce and a hint of molasses, this not-too-sweet cake is extra satisfying (and flavourful) when made with whole wheat or spelt flour.
It can be a great dinner party stand in too, served with vanilla ice cream.
PrintWhole Wheat Applesauce Cake
Ingredients
Scale
- 3 cups flour (1/2 whole wheat or spelt)
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1 ¼ tsp cardamom
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 2 cups packed light brown sugar
- ¼ cup Crosby’s Fancy Molasses
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups applesauce
Instructions
- In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and spices.
- In another bowl beat butter, brown sugar and molasses until fluffy.
- Add eggs, one at a time.
- Gradually add flour mixture, beating just until combined.
- Blend in applesauce.
- Spoon into a 9 inch tube pan that has been greased and floured. Smooth the top.
- Bake at 350 F for 50 min to an hour, until the cake is pulling away from the side of the pan and a tester comes out clean.
- Run a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen it from the pan.
- Cool on a rack for 10 minutes then remove from the pan.
Cool completely before serving.
Lawna Stewart
Can I substitute olive oil for butter? 3/4 cup instead of 1 cup butter, or 1 for 1?
Lawna
Crosby Molasses
Hello Lawna, I guess 3/4 cup of olive oil instead of 1 cup butter sounds like a good ratio. -Marie from Crosby’s Kitchen
Greta Franti
OVERFLOWED 9″ Pampered Chef bundt pan. Mess in the oven, smoke in the air, but the cake was saved by fast removal of smoke alarm, turning on fans, opening windows and mediation of spill. Perhaps the volume of batter only works in a true angel food tube pan? Pan volumes vary from 9 cups to 12 cups, depending on the height of the sides and circumference of the center tube. Measure the pan you used and tell me what your actual pan volume is. The batter that did stay in the pan only fell a little at the center but got baked through. It tastes great.
Mary
The molasses, can it be blackstrap in place of fancy.
Thank You
Crosby Molasses
Hi Mary, Yes, you could substitute blackstrap for fancy molasses since the recipe only calls for 1/4 cup molasses.
Ruth McAllister
Maybe 40 minutes. Look forward to trying this soon. Hmmm, maybe chopped candied ginger in the cake instead of walnuts.
Crosby Molasses
Candied ginger…great suggestion. I’ll have to write that one down.
Ruth McAllister
Would this also fit a 9×13 pan? I might add a cup of chopped walnuts to the recipe, too. Yum! Thank you!
Crosby Molasses
Hi Ruth, I think it’s worth trying it in a 9″x13″ pan and walnuts would be a delicious addition. I’d start checking for doneness at about 30-35 min, what do you think?
Nora
i WISH THERE WOULD BE CALORIES ETC ADDED TO YOUR RECIPES.
Crosby Molasses
Hi Nora,
Eventually I hope to have calorie count a standard part of our recipe posts because we get lots of requests for that kind of information.