Applesauce Cake (... for I am sick with love)

"Sustain me with cakes of raisins, refresh me with apples...." 

-Song of Solomon 2.5

Cake- disregarding perhaps the Song of Solomon (and Marie Antoinette)- is not an essential thing. It's a beautiful thing. When you walk into the house and there is a sheet pan with a knife next to it and a rectangle cut out- it does not scream "Cake!"- no matter how luscious it is. It's so worthwhile to go the extra distance- buttering 2 pans instead of one, slathering some cream on one layer, and topping it with another, more cream, some jam, some chocolate shavings... a handful of paper-thin apple slices dried in the oven and scattered like the fall leaves tumbling outside the window. Put it on a cake stand. You can even serve lentil soup for dinner and no one will notice- because they will be saying "Oh! Cake!" Does cake deserve anything less?

Applesauce cake with raisins is a perfect example of a cake longing for this treatment. Instead of a lunch box afterthought, it's a festive, elegant dessert- the kind you clear the table for before you present it after dinner. 

Here it is:

First, line two 24 cm/9" round cake pans with baking paper- butter lightly, dust well with flour, and give them a good tap upside down over the sink. Take a handful of currants and sprinkle some rum over them- heat gently so they soak up the rum. Then grate a piece of fresh (peeled) ginger- the size of your thumb.

Then, in a small bowl:

300 g/ 2 1/2 C flour- (using half whole wheat- as long as it is soft/pastry flour- adds a sweet nutty flavor.)

5 ml/ 1 teaspoon baking powder

2.5 ml/ 1/2 teaspoon each salt and baking soda

a little ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove (careful with the clove- it can overpower very quickly)- we can tweak it in the final mix.

In a large bowl, beat:

225 g/1 C butter 

400 g/2 C brown sugar (you could start with a little less and, depending on the sweetness of your applesauce, tweak it later.)

then add: 

4 eggs, one at a time, beating until blended in. 

Measure out 500 g/2 C applesauce.

Now we'll add half of the dry ingredients, then half the applesauce, then rest of the dry ingredients, then the rest of the applesauce, and the rum-soaked raisins. Taste for spices and add more if it needs it.

Spread the batter in the prepared pans (and if you have a kitchen scale out- go ahead and weigh them to see that the batter is even between them), and bake at 175 c/ 350 f  for about 15 minutes, switch racks, and bake another 10-15 minutes, until the cake springs back and a toothpick comes out clean.

While the cake's in the oven, you can make these:

They tumble over the cake like fall leaves.

Slice a whole apple as thinly as you can on a mandolin/slicer- don't worry of they don't all come out whole- they shrink in the oven anyway. Lay them in a single layer on a metal dish, and let them dry and brown in the oven alongside the cake. They will not be completely dry, but have a lovely color on the edges.

before...

after (about 10-15 minutes- keep watching)

Even without the apple leaves, the cake is impressive with a tall crown of whipped cream, sweetened as you like and with a little vanilla or rum to scent it. Make sure the cake is completely cool before you assemble it. If you can let it sit for an hour or two in a cold place before serving, the cream will sink into the layers a bit and soften them. It is a wholesome thing in truth, but you'd never know it.

That's a little golden syrup drizzled over the top-
 maple would be nice, too.