Spiced Applesauce Cake for One

Even if Autumn is a just beginning, you can force the issue with this little cake. I’m so glad it made two little cakes! Yummmm.

For the Cake:

9 TBLSP all-purpose flour (1/2 cup plus 1 TBLSP)

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch ground nutmeg

Pinch ground ginger

Pinch of ground cloves

½ cup unsweetened applesauce

6 TBLSP brown sugar

2 TBLSP canola oil

1 TBLSP white or apple cider vinegar

Slosh vanilla extract

2 TBLSP raisins

2 TBLSP chopped walnuts

For the Icing:

6 TBLSP powdered sugar

1 ½ TBLSP maple syrup

1-3 TBLSP water or non-dairy milk

Make the Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease a 4-inch baking pan. A single-serving casserole will do just fine, too. Mine went nicely into TWO four-inch pans, which meant I get cake tomorrow too! Yay!

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.
2. In another small bowl. Whisk together the applesauce, brown sugar, oil, vinegar, and vanilla.
3. Add the wet mixture to the dry, and stir until just barely combined. Don’t overmix or you’ll get a tough cake.
4. Fold in the raisins and walnuts. Plop the batter into the prepared pan, making sure that the top is even. 
5. Bake for 35-40 minutes, rotating the cake once about halfway through. Keep baking until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let the cake cool completely in the pan before removing. It will go faster if it’s up on a wire rack.

Make the Icing:

1. In a small bowl, whisk the sugar and maple syrup together until it’s very smooth.
2. Add the water or non-dairy milk 1 TBLSP at a time until it’s a smooth and thick icing that’s still pourable.

Assemble the Cake:

1. When the cake is completely cooled, run a knife around the inside edge of the pan to loosen it. Unmold the cake and set it on your serving plate. You might want to put little rectangles of parchment paper under it so you can pull them out later and not have icing on your plate, but don’t worry about it too much.
2. Lightly drizzle some of the glaze over the top of the cake. If you want it sweeter, coat the top more thoroughly. There’s plenty of icing for both little cakes and some for the cook, too!