Applesauce Cake with Caramel Frosting

As seen on YouTube  Wyse Guide

Ingredients

For the applesauce cake

• ½ cup butter room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup dark brown sugar lightly packed
• 2 eggs
• 1 ½ cups applesauce
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• 1 ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground cloves
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp salt

For the caramel frosting

• ¼ cup butter
• ½ cup dark brown sugar lightly packed
• 2 tbsp whole milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup powdered sugar sifted
• ¾ cup walnuts toasted and chopped

Instructions 

For the applesauce cake

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Grease a 9×9 cake pan with nonstick spray. Line with parchment and spray again. Then set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3 minutes.
• Add the eggs one at a time, mixing in between each until incorporated.
• Mix in applesauce. The batter will seem very loose and curdled, but that is completely normal.
• Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt. Mix until just combined, 2 minutes.
• Remove bowl from mixture and use a spatula to scrape the bottom of bowl, ensuring the batter was mixed evenly.
• Pour into prepared pan and bake until a toothpick or skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 35-45 minutes. While the cake is cooling, make the frosting.

For the frosting

• In a 4-quart saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, and milk. Melt on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Continue to cook until the mixture begins to boil and boil lightly for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and cool for 10-15 minutes.
• Add vanilla and sugar. Whisk until smooth and thick.
• Once the cake is completely cool, frost the cake. Sprinkle with toasted walnuts if desired.

Notes

• To maintain freshness, this cake freezes well in an airtight container up to one month.