Apple Compote Spice Cake

My mom used to make apple compote whenever my father would bring spotted apples from the grocery store. From a generation who understood food scarcity, we were brought up to never throw a morsel away. This meant my father would bring all the spotted fruits and vegetables which would not sell at his grocery store and Mom would create something extraordinary to feed the entire family. Apples were amongst those fruits and we would get them in large quantities. She would soak them in water to wash them, cut them in quarters and cook them with the peel, core and everything. The final product always turned out pink as the peels would give out some of their colour. She would use a tomato mill and puree the cooked apples to make the most wonderful apple compote or applesauce. Refrigerated, it became a staple dessert for the entire family for a long period of time. We would eat it with a tea cookie and it soon became one of our favourite desserts for many of us in the family. The quality and great variety of different apples in Quebec make the late fall season very special. My mother would also make different cakes with applesauce and here is my version with of course the addition of different flavours to spice it up ! This cake is moist and tender with just the right amount of spices to prepare you for the upcoming Holidays.
I highly recommend it.

INGREDIENTS
For the cake
2 Cups – 250 Gr. All purpose flour
2 Teaspoons – 10 Gr. baking powder
1/2 Teaspoon – 3 Gr. Baking soda
1/2 Teaspoon – 3 Gr. Salt
1 Teaspoon – 5 Gr. Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon – 1 Gr. Ground Ginger
1/8 Teaspoon – 1 Gr. Ground cloves
113 Gr. unsalted butter at room temperature
1 Cup – 195 Gr. light brown sugar (if you do not have brown sugar, use regular sugar with a tablespoon of molasses)
1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Large Eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 Cups – 365 Gr. unsweetened applesauce

Frosting
140 Gr. Cream Cheese at room temperature
3 Tablespoons – 42 Gr. butter at room temperature
1/4 Teaspoon Vanilla extract
1 Teaspoon Ground cinamon

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat your oven to 180 Celsius – Butter a 20 or 22cm square cake pan. Butter and flour the pan to ensure the cake comes out easily. You may also use an oil spray.
Sift and whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt & spices.
In a bowl of a stand mixer, stir in the butter and brown sugar and beat at high speed for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time until fully incorporated, the stir in the applesauce. The mixture may look a little curdly, but with the addition of the flour the cake will bake perfectly. At low speed, mix in the flour until just combined.
Spread the cake batter in your pan evenly and bake for 35-40 minutes.

FROSTING
Beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla with an electric mixer at high speed until fluffy. Sift the confectionners sugar and cinnamon and beat at medium speed until incorporated. Spread the frosting over the top of the cooled cake.

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