June 4th is National Applesauce Cake Day - so, a recipe!

[yaralindi]

This is one of my own recipes. It is quite popular at the few social gatherings Dee and I attend and is quite appropriate for any of you that officially celebrate National Applesauce Cake day with a full on party. Let the cooking begin!

Jalapeno Applesauce Cake with Chili Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

• Jalapeno Applesauce (see below)
• Two Applesauce Cakes (see below)
• Chili Cream Cheese Frosting (see below) (Or use 3 cups store-bought cream cheese frosting

Preparation

1. Make Jalapeno Applesauce.
2. Use Jalepeno Applesauce and make two (2) Applesauce Cakes.
3. Allow cakes to fully cool.
4. While cakes cool, make Chili Cream Cheese Frosting.
5. Once cakes are cooled, spread frosting on first layer, top with second layer and frost entire cake.
6. Best served at room temperature with vanilla ice cream or apple chutney.

Jalapeno Applesauce (If jalapenos are not your thing, simply omit)

Ingredients

• 5 Granny Smith Apples
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 jalapeno pepper – seeded and diced
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 2 tbsp honey
• pinch of salt
• Juice from half a lemon

Preparation

1. Peel, core and cube apples and place in pot.
2. Add all other ingredients to pot and cook on low heat.
3. When apples have softened (approx 15 minutes or more), remove cinnamon stick and remove from heat.
4. Mash with a potato masher, blender or hand mixer until its has a slightly chunky consistency.
5. Cool to room temperature.

Applesauce Cake (This recipe uses two of these cakes)

Ingredients

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 cup turbinado sugar (I use Sugar in the Raw)
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tsp light rum
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup plus 1 tbsp Jalapeno Applesauce

Special Equipment

• 10 inch springform pan

Preparation

1. Place oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Butter pan and set aside.
3. Whisk together flour, baking soda, spices, and salt in a bowl.
4. Beat together sugar, butter, and rum with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until combined well.
5. Add egg and beat until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes with a stand mixer or 5 to 6 minutes with a handheld.
6. Reduce speed to low and add dry ingredients, mixing until combined well.
7. Add applesauce and mix until combined well.
8. Spread batter evenly in springform pan and bake until a wooden pick or skewer comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.
9. Cool cake in pan on a rack 10 minutes, then remove side of pan and cool completely.

Chili Cream Cheese Frosting (Makes 3 cups of frosting.)

Ingredients

• 1 tsp ground ancho chile pepper
• ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar, or more as needed
• 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
• ½ cup butter, softened
• ½ tsp clear vanilla extract, or to taste

Preparation

1. In a bowl, sift the ground ancho chile, cayenne pepper, and cinnamon with the confectioners' sugar.
2. Beat in the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until the frosting is smooth.
3. Mix in the vanilla extract.

[Strange Elf]

I think I will have to make a Spicy Applesauce Cake using regular homemade applesauce.

I don't think the jalapeno would go down well with the family, so will give this interesting recipe a miss .

[yaralindi]

I think I will have to make a Spicy Applesauce Cake using regular homemade applesauce.

I don't think the jalapeno would go down well with the family, so will give this interesting recipe a miss .

LOL, I fully understand SE. You're not the first to make this comment. I will say that you can barely taste the jalapeno since there is only one in each of the cakes. When I add spices I add them as an accent to the main ingredient; in this case apples. I don't like spice cake with a hint of applesauce. The applesauce alone has a tiny kick but when mixed in with all of the cake ingredients that kick mellows considerably and all you get is a hint of jalapeno flavor.

What surprised me about this recipe is how well the chili frosting works. It too has a very mild kick but the texture of the frosting and the sweetness of it, combined with the slightly more zingy taste of the applesauce cake and its texture and subdued sweetness really works. Of those who have agreed to try it, none have said they dislike it though a few only ate the one bite I suggested they try.

[daughter_of_kings]

I have reservations about the jalapeno, too. And the chili frosting.

On the other hand, one of my former grad students made jalapeno bacon cupcakes, and they were surprisingly good, so maybe...

[yaralindi]

You should try candied jalapenos. They are amazing.

[agape4rivendell]

Chili cream cheese makes me sneeze.

Jalapeno brings me to my knees.

But applesauce

Now that's a delight.

I might stand a tiny scrumptious bite.


Recipes looks awesome, and I think I might give it a go the next time I decide to go into my kitchen. I don't like it there. Too many crack the pots and such.

Thanks for sharing it. Agape