My grandmother and mother made these cakes for years. They are moist but don't contain eggs. Applesauce is the secret ingredient. I sold these at bake sales for years and we had many customers who returned every year just to get one.
Ingredients
- all-purpose flour: 4 cups
- white sugar: 2 cups
- unsweetened cocoa powder: 0.25 cup
- cornstarch: 2 Tbsp
- baking soda: 2 tsp
- salt: 1 tsp
- ground cinnamon: 2 tsp
- ground cloves: 2 tsp
- unsweetened applesauce: 3 cups
- vegetable oil: 0.75 cup
- raisins: 1 cup
- pitted dates: 1 cup (chopped)
- candied mixed fruit: 1 pound
- walnuts: 2 cups (chopped)
- walnut halves: 0.5 cup (optional)
- candied cherries: 1 cup (halved, optional)
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch tube pan and one 9x5 inch loaf pan.
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Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and cloves into a large bowl. Stir in the applesauce and oil, then mix in the raisins, dates, mixed fruit and 2 cups of walnuts. Pour into the prepared pans. Pans should be about 3/4 full if using mini pans, or an assortment.
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Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the crown of the cake comes out clean.
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Cool cake and decorate with walnut halves and candied cherry halves.
