Ingredients:
2 cups applesauce
2/3 cup butter or substitute
1 cup strained honey
1 cup brown sugar
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon soda to sauce
1 teaspoon baking powder to flour
A little salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon cloves
Raisins, nuts, figs, dates or coconut may be added.
I’ve heard tell that recipes were once called receipts. The above recipe was written in a little receipt book which belonged to my Grandma Lee. She was evidently quite familiar with cake-baking, so only bothered to list the ingredients, not the steps to processing the recipe, nor the baking temperature or baking time for the Applesauce Cake. If you compare this recipe with a modern recipe, it does look familiar. I was impressed that Gramma Lee used whole wheat flour at a time in U.S. history that white flour was considered fine flour, the flour to use for cake baking, certainly.
Recipe note: I simply can’t leave you hanging without directions for making this recipe! I don’t have the original instructions, but the following will work.
Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a rectangular pan, 13x9x2 inches.
Beat all ingredients on low speed, scraping bowl constantly, 30 seconds.
Beat on high speed, 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour batter into pan.
Bake until wooded pick inserted in center comes out clean, approximately 1 hour, 15 minutes.