Grandma's Old Fashioned Applesauce Cake Recipes

There are few recipes more honest and satisfying than a good old fashioned applesauce cake recipe. Born out of the resourceful kitchens of the 19th and early 20th centuries, this humble cake was a way for home bakers to use up a surplus of fall apples and stretch pantry staples into something truly special.

During the two World Wars, when butter, eggs, and sugar were rationed, applesauce cakes became even more beloved because the applesauce itself could stand in for fat and sweetener, producing a moist, tender crumb with less of what was scarce.

What makes these recipes so enduring is their beautiful simplicity. A handful of warm spices, a cup or two of thick applesauce, and the kind of straightforward instructions that didn't need fussy techniques or fancy equipment. All that's needed is a sturdy mixing bowl and a dependable oven.

Every family seemed to have their own version tucked inside a recipe box or scrawled on a stained index card, and no two were quite alike. Some called for raisins and molasses, others for chocolate and nuts, but all of them filled the house with that unmistakable spicy apple fragrance that says "home" like nothing else can.

On this page, I've gathered a collection of treasured applesauce cake recipes spanning decades — from a vintage recipe box find dating back over half a century, to my Mom's own 1920s recipe scrapbook favorites. Along with them, you'll find an easy old fashioned applesauce recipe so you can make your own from scratch, because homemade applesauce truly does make all the difference.

So close your eyes for just a moment and imagine you're in Grandma's farmhouse kitchen. The oven is warm, the apples are simmering, and something wonderful is about to come out of that pan. Now, let's get baking.

Grandma's Old Fashioned Applesauce Cake Recipe

Submitted by J. Anthony

Slice of Homemade Applesauce CakeMake an Old Fashioned Homemade Applesauce Cake
(Source: ©Anjela30/Depositphotos.com)

This is the kind of cake recipe that makes you grateful for old recipe boxes and the generous souls who save them. With its classic trio of cinnamon, cloves, and allspice, plus a generous handful of chopped walnuts for crunch, this cake strikes a beautiful balance between spicy warmth and apple sweetness.

It bakes up in a simple 13x9-inch pan, making it perfect for potlucks, church suppers, or any time you need to feed a crowd without a fuss. Serve it plain right from the pan for a casual weeknight treat, dust it with powdered sugar for something a little prettier, or top it with your favorite frosting when the occasion calls for it.

Grandma's Old Fashioned Applesauce Cake

I recently acquired two recipe boxes full of vintage recipes going back 50 to 60 years ago. This old fashioned applesauce cake recipe was one of them. Grandmas traditional applesauce cake is easy to make and perfectly spiced with cinnamon, cloves and allspice. It's moist and delicious on its own or when frosted or served with your favorite ice cream. —J. Anthony

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
1 large egg (1/3 cup)
1 1/2 cups applesauce (thick and unsweetened)
2 1/2 cups sifted flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 cup water
1 cup walnuts (chopped)

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Cream shortening and sugar till fluffy.
  2. Beat in egg, then applesauce.
  3. Mix and sift flour, baking soda, salt, and spices together.
  4. Stir in alternately with water.
  5. Bake 45 to 50 minutes at 350°F, minimally, in greased and floured 13 x 9 x 2-inch oblong pan.
  6. Cool on cake rack.
  7. Serve plain, dusted with sugar, or frosted.

NOTES:

Serve your applesauce cake from the pan or you might prefer to first line pan with parchment paper and lift cake onto a serving tray after baking.

You could also use the same batter to make a batch of delicious applesauce muffins instead of a cake.

Old Fashioned Applesauce Recipe

The Book of Household Management (1861)

No collection of applesauce cake recipes would be complete without a good applesauce to start from. This recipe comes from Mrs. Beeton's famous Book of Household Management, first published in 1861, and it's as simple and pure as applesauce gets — just apples, a touch of sugar, and a bit of butter cooked down until tender.

There's a reason this method has endured for over 160 years: it lets the natural flavor of the apples shine through. Use sweet apples for a mellow sauce or tart ones for a brighter flavor with a bit more punch — either way, the homemade result will make your cakes taste noticeably better than anything you could buy at the store.

Ingredients:

1 Pound fresh apples (sweet apples or tart, your choice)
1-1/2 ounces sugar, or to taste (about 3 tablespoons sugar)
1 Ounce butter (1 tablespoon soft butter, well rounded)
A little water, if necessary

How to Make Applesauce From Scratch: Peel, core, and slice the apples, put the apple slices into a saucepan with the sugar, butter, and a very little water, and cook them until tender. Add more sugar if necessary for good flavor, before serving.

Mom's Best Old Fashioned Applesauce Cake Recipes

Mom's Recipe Scrapbooks (1920s)

These next four recipes come straight from Mom's recipe scrapbooks, those wonderful collections of newspaper clippings, handwritten cards, and recipes shared over the phone that home cooks assembled throughout the 1920s and beyond.

Each one has its own personality — from a simple spiced loaf to a rich chocolate version — and together they show just how versatile and forgiving applesauce cake can be. Pick the one that speaks to you, or better yet, try them all and discover your new family favorite.

Homemade Applesauce Cake With Spices

Vintage Applesauce Cake With SpicesOld Fashioned Applesauce Cake With Spices
(PD Source: Unknown Vintage Magazine)

Of all the recipes on this page, this one is perhaps the most carefully written, with precise instructions that read like one of Grandma's baking lessons. It's a beautifully balanced single-loaf cake with a warm quartet of spices: cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and just a whisper of cloves.

The method of sifting the dry ingredients separately and folding them in produces a particularly tender crumb. Pair it with the Butter Frosting recipe that follows for a lovely, old-fashioned presentation with a hint of orange flavor that complements the apple and spice beautifully.

1-3/4 cups sifted flour
1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg, well-beaten
1 cup unsweetened applesauce

Set oven for moderate (350°F). Grease and flour a loaf pan, 9x5x3 inches.

Sift together flour, spices, salt, and baking soda into small bowl. Cream shortening in large bowl. Add sugar gradually; continue beating until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat well. Stir in applesauce. Add sifted dry ingredients; stir only enough to blend. Pour batter into pan.

Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched with fingertip. Remove from oven and cool in pan 5 minutes. Remove cake from pan and finish cooling on a rack. Serve plain or frost with Butter Frosting.

Butter Frosting

Blend together 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar, and 1/4 cup butter. Gradually add about 2 tablespoons cream. Stir until smooth. Add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla flavoring, 1/2 teaspoon orange flavoring, and a few drops each yellow and red food coloring, if desired. Mix to blend well for easy spreading.

Traditional Applesauce Spice Cake

This recipe has a wonderful old-time feel to it, and you can tell it was written by someone who baked by instinct as much as by measurement. It's the only recipe in this collection that calls for brown sugar and molasses, giving the cake a deeper, almost gingerbread-like richness.

The addition of mixed peel, a traditional ingredient you don't see much anymore, adds little bursts of candied citrus flavor that play beautifully against the warm spices. It's a heartier, more rustic cake, and it's absolutely lovely with a cup of strong tea on a chilly afternoon.

1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup butter
1 cup raisins
1/4 pound mixed peel
1-1/2 cups hot applesauce
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Nutmeg to taste
2-1/2 cups flour
2 level teaspoons baking soda dissolved in the hot applesauce
3 tablespoons molasses are sometimes added.

Mix all ingredients in large mixing bowl, pour batter into a prepared (greased) loaf pan and bake in a moderate oven (about 350°F) till done. Dust with powdered sugar to decorate.

Old Fashioned Applesauce and Raisin Cake

This is the most pared-down recipe in the collection: no eggs, no vanilla, no fuss. There's something to be said for its confidence. With just eight ingredients and barely a sentence of instruction, it trusts the baker to know what to do.

The generous two cups of raisins and the full cup of butter make this a rich, dense, fruit-studded cake that slices beautifully and keeps well for days. It's a wonderful candidate for baking ahead when you're expecting company, and it tastes even better on the second day as the flavors meld together.

2 cups sugar
1 cup butter, or lard
2-1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups stoned raisins

Bake in prepared cake pan in a moderate oven (350°F) till done. Makes a delicious cake.

Vintage Chocolate Applesauce Cake

Now here's a delightful surprise: chocolate and applesauce together in one cake. If you've never tried this combination, you're in for a real treat. The cocoa adds a subtle depth that doesn't overpower the apple and spice flavors but rather rounds them out into something wonderfully complex.

With nuts, raisins, and a touch of vanilla, this is the most elaborate recipe in the collection and the one most likely to have people asking, "What's in this? It's delicious!" It bakes at a slightly lower temperature than the others, so be patient and let it take its time. This is a cake worth the wait.

8 tablespoons butter
1 cup white sugar (3/4 cup if using sweetened applesauce)
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup applesauce (unsweetened)
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon each cinnamon and salt
1/2 teaspoon each nutmeg and allspice
2 tablespoons cocoa powder (or 1 ounce chocolate chips)
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup raisins
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (dissolved in hot water)

Cream butter and sugar thoroughly in large bowl, add egg and vanilla beating well.

Combine flour, salt, spices, and cocoa in small bowl. Then add flour mixture alternately with applesauce to large bowl, beating after each addition.

Add nuts and raisins last with flour. Mix in baking soda dissolved. Bake in greased loaf pan for 1 hour at 325°F.

A Note on Similar Recipes

If you're reading through these recipes and thinking a couple of them look a bit alike, you're not wrong! The Traditional Applesauce Spice Cake and the Old Fashioned Applesauce and Raisin Cake share a very similar foundation. They both are butter-rich, raisin-studded spice cakes with no eggs and minimal instructions.

The key differences are that the Traditional version uses brown sugar, mixed peel, and optional molasses for a deeper, more complex flavor, while the Applesauce and Raisin Cake uses white sugar, a larger quantity of applesauce, and more baking soda, resulting in a slightly lighter crumb. They're cousins, not twins, and each is worth trying to see which one wins your family's heart.

Old Fashioned Applesauce Cake: Frequently Asked Questions

What Does Adding Applesauce to Cakes Do?

Applesauce adds healthy sweetness and fiber, reduces calories compared to butter or vegetable oil, and its water content ensures your cakes are always moist and fresh.

What's the Best Applesauce to Use in Cake?

Homemade applesauce is always the best, but if you must use a prepared store-bought kind, choose one with a chunky texture.

What Can I Substitute for Applesauce?

You can substitute mashed bananas or even mashed sweet potatoes in an old fashioned applesauce cake recipe, and your cake will turn out delicious.

However, to make the batter consistency similar to applesauce, try adding a little more water and slightly less banana or sweet potato.

How to Test When Applesauce Cake Is Done?

A simple toothpick can substitute for a cake tester. Simply insert it in the center of the cake and if it comes out clean, it's done.

How to Best Serve Applesauce Cake?

Grandma used to cut it in generous pieces and serve it plain, warm from the baking dish. Top with a dusting of powdered confectioners' sugar, if desired.

You can also serve your delicious applesauce cake topped with a cinnamon cream cheese frosting, basic vanilla icing, caramel sauce, or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

How to Store Applesauce Cake?

This moist cake can be stored for up to five days when sealed in a freezer-safe container to preserve its moistness and freshness.

To freeze for up to 3 months, cool your cake to room temperature on a wire rack, then cover completely in plastic wrap, and then seal in aluminum foil before placing in freezer. Allow cake to thaw overnight before slicing and serving.

Enjoy Grandma's Old Fashioned Applesauce Cake Recipes

Old Fashioned Applesauce CakeEnoy Old Fashioned Applesauce Cake Tonight
(Source: © bhofack2/Depositphotos.com)

Enjoy a delicious piece of moist applesauce cake in apple season or anytime, but make sure to store this easy-to-make cake in a covered container so it doesn't dry out. Applesauce cakes are famous for being moist and flavorful, especially when made with homemade applesauce using an old fashioned recipe.

This delicious cake will not only make your dinner party special, but it's also the perfect treat for when you want to enjoy a quiet cup of coffee with a friend. Even after a big meal, you'll always find room for a generous slice. We're talking comfort food folks, pure and simple! Why not choose an old fashioned applesauce cake recipe and make one tonight?

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don-bell-archivist

Don Bell, Founder & Archivist, Old Fashioned Dessert Recipes. Don has spent over two decades preserving heritage dessert recipes from handwritten family notebooks, vintage cookbooks, and recipe scrapbooks. His collection spans hundreds of authentic, old fashioned recipes presented exactly as originally written.


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