Homemade Applesauce Cake

Every Christmas, we enjoy watching The Homecoming which introduced the Walton’s and I always wonder how Mama Walton made her Applesauce Cake.  Here’s my version of Livvie’s Applesauce Cake:

• Servings: 6
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• 4 medium tart apples*
• ¼ cup pitted dates
• 1-¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ tsp. baking soda
• 1/8 tsp. baking powder
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. allspice
• ¼ cup canola oil
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup chopped nuts

Whipped cream or topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Grease and flour an 8 inch baking pan

Peel and quarter the apples.  Place in a medium saucepan.  Add water to cover the bottom of the pan and cook on medium low heat until the apples are soft, adding a little water as necessary to keep mixture from sticking.  This will take 15-20 minutes.  Let cool.  Measure ¾ cup of apples into a food processor.  Cut the dates into quarters and place in the food processor along with the cooked apples.  Pulse several times to finely chop the dates and smooth out the apples.  *You can substitute ¾ cup of unsweetened applesauce for the cooked apples.

Place the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and allspice in a bowl, whisk together and set aside.

In a separate medium bowl, place the oil, sugar and egg – whisk until smooth.

Stir the date mixture into the oil/sugar/egg mixture, add flour mixture and stir until flour is absorbed.  Stir in chopped nuts.

Spread batter in the prepared baking pan and bake @ 350 degrees  F for about 45 minutes until a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Cool cake in pan on a rack.

6 servings.  Serve with whipped cream or topping.