Applesauce and Sugar-Free Applesauce Loaf

Homemade applesauce is too easy to make to not make.  You'll need a food mill with a medium disk, or a good strainer.  Follow this link for a recipe for 'Summersauce', applesauce with strawberries.  In this post, you'll find a photo of a food mill and some basic applesauce blabber.  If you're ill-equipped, you can always peel and core the apples and cook them.  They'll turn to mush and you can stir them vigorously, pretending all the while they're authority figures. They could be, say, State Troopers. Like the ones on the Taconic Parkway.  But State Trooper Sauce won't have as much soul. Skin adds soul.

To make applesauce, take some apples - like 4-6.  You can mix varieties or make it pure. My last batch was just golden delicious.  Core them and coarsely chop them.  Put them into a pot and add about 1-2 inches of liquid  ... water, or you can use apple cider. Add a small cinnamon stick. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook until the apples are soft.  Now, it's your call.  You can leave this unsweetened, or sweeten, to taste. You can use Red Jacket Orchard's Apple Cider Molasses to sweeten your applesauce.  These are personal choices and I wouldn't dream of getting in the way.

My friend Michael won't eat anything with processed sugar.  A couple of years ago, he asked me to bake something for him. It was a challenge for me to produce a sugarless cake that wasn't vile.  You know, sugar isn't just a sweetener, it's a tenderizer.  So, I went looking for a decent recipe I could play with.

Here it is!

Michael loves it, and although this one's for him (Michael helped me pack up for my upcoming move - the third time he's helped me move!), I hope you'll give it a try.  Use your homemade applesauce if you have some. Store bought will work too.

Applesauce Cake  Sugarless but still delicious

1 1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce 1/2 c. flavorless oil 1 egg, size large, room temperature 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract 2 c. all purpose flour 1/4 tsp. kosher salt 2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg 1/2 c. walnuts, toasted cooled and chopped and dried cherries, chopped (the dried cherries are great in this recipe) Procedure: Preheat oven to 325º F.  Grease a large loaf pan Combine applesauce, oil, and beaten egg.  In a separate bowl, combine and mix all dry ingredients.  Mix nuts, raisins, and dates. Add to dry ingredients to coat them.  Add wet ingredients and mix well by hand but do not beat.  With all ingredients blended, pour into the well greased loaf pan. Fill very full as cake does not rise. Bake at 325º F. for about 50 minutes.