Amish applesauce cake

This cake recipe is from the central Pennsylvania region where I grew up. NO ONE does desserts better than the Amish! The traditional recipe uses shortening, but if you’d like to replace it with butter, that works too. Either way, this ain’t no diet cake, but it’s not too unhealthy either. Lots of the sweetness comes from the applesauce.

Applesauce Cake

1/2 c shortening
1 c sugar (white or brown)
1 egg
1 c applesauce
1/2 t salt
1/2 baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 to 1 t cloves
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t allspice
1 c flour
1 c raisins
1/2 c chopped nuts (I like walnuts, Mike likes almonds…we usually have almonds!)

Cream the shortening and butter together. Add egg and beat until light. Add the applesauce and stir in. If you’ve been using an electric beater, switch to a wooden spoon at this point. Stir in the salt through the spices, mixing well. Stir in the flour, raisins and nuts. Bake in a greased 8 inch pan (round or square) at 350 for 45 minutes.