APPLESAUCE
3 medium-sized tart cooking apples, 2 T water
peeled, cored and coarsely chopped 2 tsp strained fresh lemon
½ c sugar juice
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Combine the apples, ½ cup of sugar, water and lemon juice in a small
saucepan and bring to a boil over moderate heat. Reduce the heat to its
lowest setting, cover tightly and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until
the apples can be easily mashed with the back of a fork. Purée the
applesauce through a food mill set over a bowl, or rub it through a fine
sieve with the back of a spoon. Then return the purée to the pan and,
stirring frequently, cook briskly until the applesauce is thick enough to
hold its shape almost solidly in a spoon. Measure 1 cup of the applesauce
and set it aside to cool to room temperature.
CAKE
9 T butter, softened ½ tsp salt
2 T plus 2 c cake flour, not 1 c light brown sugar
the self-rising variety 2 eggs
1 T unsweetened cocoa 1 c coarsely chopped walnuts
1 tsp baking soda ½ c coarsely chopped dates
1 tsp ground cinnamon ½ c seedless raisins
½ tsp ground cloves
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Preheat the oven to 350°. With a pastry brush, spread 1 tablespoon of the
softened butter over the bottom and sides of a 9-inch tube pan. Add 2
tablespoons of the flour and tip the pan from side to side to spread it
evenly. Then invert the pan and rap the bottom sharply to remove the excess
flour. Combine the remaining 2 cups of flour, the cocoa, baking soda,
cinnamon, cloves and salt, and sift them together into a bowl or onto a
sheet of wax paper. Set aside.In a deep bowl, cream the remaining 8 tablespoons of softened butter and 1 cup of brown sugar by beating and mashing them against the sides of the bowl with the back of a large spoon until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add about ½ cup of the flour-and-cocoa mixture and, when it is thoroughly incorporated, beat in about ¼ cup ofmthe cooled applesauce. Repeat three more times, alternating ½ cup of the flour-and-cocoa mixture with ¼ cup of applesauce and beating well after each addition. When the batter is smooth, stir in the chopped walnuts, the dates and the raisins.
Pour the batter into the tube pan, spreading it and smoothing the top with a rubber spatula. Bake in the middle of the oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Turn the cake out on a rack to cool to room temperature.
ICING
2 c light brown sugar ½ c heavy cream
8 T butter, cut into ½-inch bits 1 tsp vanilla extract
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To prepare the icing, combine 2 cups of brown sugar, 8 tablespoons of
butter bits and the cream in a 2- to 3-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil over
high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Then cook briskly, uncovered
and undisturbed, until the syrup reaches a temperature of 240° on a candy
thermometer, or until about 1/8 teaspoon of syrup dropped into ice water
immediately forms a soft ball.Pour the hot syrup into a mixing bowl, add the vanilla, and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture is light and creamy. Quickly spread the warm icing on the top and sides of the cake with a metal spatula. If the frosting becomes too stiff as you procede, dip the spatula into hot water. Makes one 9-inch tube cake.
