I’m totally hooked on my vintage cookbooks, and am slowly working my way through my 1931 New Cake Secrets. Everything in it is so simple and comforting. It all gets eaten. The ingredients are things that are found in a standard pantry like mine.
Also, it all kind of tastes like the MidWest – which is to say, it reminds me of the stuff my grandma used to make.
Pretty sure I’m going to need a diet cookbook soon, but I’m okay with it. I wonder how ladies dieted in the 1930’s? Hmmm…
Apple Sauce Cake
adapted from 1931 edition of New Cake Secrets
1 3/4 cups Swansdown Cake Flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup raisins or currants
1 cup nuts (I used walnuts)
1 cup applesauce
sift dry ingredients together three times.
Cream butter thoroughly, add sugar gradually, and cream together until light and fluffy. Add egg, raisins or currants, and chopped nuts. Add flour in small amounts, alternating with applesauce. Beat after each addition until smooth. Pour into greased loaf pan. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.
I ended up baking the cake about ten extra minutes. It’s done when the top springs back to the touch.
The cake is very sweet, with a wonderful apple pie flavor. It’s very moist. Served warm, it would be a great base for vanilla ice cream and maybe a drizzle of caramel. Chunky applesauce or shredded apples would be a nice addition.
This is my contribution to Weekend Cooking, hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Why not swing by and see what other simple pleasures await?