Applesauce Spice Cake with Browned Butter Frosting

Hello again. It seems I've been too busy celebrating, cleaning up from said celebrating and being sick to keep up with this space. I was just remarking on the phone to a friend the other day that my family had escaped the stomach bug that I kept hearing about. I was sick all that night.
Better now and hopefully ready to get back into the swing of things. Soon I hope to post a few pictures of the gifts I made for my family, but right now I have a favorite recipe I want to share. I spent all yesterday afternoon making desserts for our Bible study last night, and then we didn't get to go. Not disappointed that we have to eat this cake all by ourselves. I love this recipe! The original recipe says to dust with confectioners sugar, but I love it with browned butter frosting, something I discovered a couple years back. Either way this cake is delicious.

Applesauce Spice Cake (adapted from Better Homes and Gardens)

You'll need:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups unsweetened applesauce

Grease and flour your pan. I use one 9-inch round cake pan for this.
Combine dry ingredients and set aside. In your mixer, beat butter and sugars until blended. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat well. Reduce speed to low and add applesauce. Don't be afraid at how the mixture looks; it's supposed to look curdled. Beat in your flour mixture until good and smooth.
Scrape into pan and spread evenly, then bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes.
I have doubled this recipe and used two round pans to make a beautiful layer cake, as you'll see in the photo at the bottom. That was my daughter's 8th birthday cake.
Now for the frosting. I'm not big on frosting, but this stuff is amazing. Really. Try it on pumpkin cookies.



Browned Butter Frosting
1/2 cup butter (I like unsalted)
4 cups confectioners sugar
4 TBS milk (maybe a little more)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Easy: cook your butter over medium heat until it starts to brown, stirring occasionally. There will be little flecks of dark brown in the bottom of your pan. I even let it get really dark this time, still delicious. Let it cool, then beat together with the rest of the ingredients. Add milk and beat until it's a good consistency for spreading.




Now, snuggle up with a hot drink and enjoy!