Glazed Applesauce Pecan Snack Cake (no eggs)

Being blessed with several containers of applesauce,

I went in search of an easy applesauce cake or bread recipe.

I'm all about easy and quick recipes.

I like to know there's something yummy

baking in the oven

while I'm surfing the web or working

on my ever-growing

 pile of laundry,

but I don't want to spend a lot of time

on a recipe with tons of ingredients

that I probably

don't have anyway.

...

Yesterday the girls and my hubby went sledding (again!)

and so I decided to use

up some of

the applesauce I'd been blessed with.

I thought it'd be nice to

come home to a warm house

smelling like sugar and cinnamon. 

I found an easy  recipe here

and  tweaked it

according to my preferences.

The result was wonderful!

(That's right - no eggs!)

...

Quick. Simple. Easy.

Here's my tweaked version.  Make it soon!

Glazed Applesauce Pecan Snack Cake

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

pecan pieces, optional

.

Preheat oven to 350º.   Grease and flour a 9 inch square baking dish.  In a medium bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, and salt.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Dissolve baking soda into applesauce and mix into creamed butter.  Add flour mixture. Mix until smooth.

Pour batter into prepared dish.  Sprinkle pecan pieces over cake batter.  Bake at 350º for 30 -40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean.

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 T milk

2 T melted butter

.

Mix together and drizzle over slightly cooled cake.

.

CLICK  FOR PRINTABLE RECIPE

Pecan Pie Bars

My mother-in-love's country yard is filled

with flowers and trees.

 

Once upon a time, these flowers

gave her much pleasure, but gone are the

days of working in the flower beds 'til dark.  At 74 and not in

the best of health,

she doesn't have as much energy

to work like she once did. 

 

Among the Crepe Myrtles and Peonies stands a big Pecan tree.

Its branches spread across the grassy lawn and provide

wonderful shade on a hot summer day. 

My girls have many fond memories of playing

on the swing set there in the shade of the

big pecan tree on a sunny day and picking up pecans

with Grandma on a

chilly, windy late Fall day.

 

Every year many pounds of pecans are picked up, carried inside and the

process of shelling and cleaning begins.

At 82, Papa's eyesight is failing him and he sits in his easy chair

and shells the  pecans by feeling them, then

passes them to Grandma or one

of the grandkids to do the cleaning. 

Once they're throughly cleaned, most likely

with a toothbrush, they're put  in bags and into the freezer. 

Sometimes she'll grab out a few and stick them in the oven to roast.

Once placed on the table, the bowl is emptied

in record time.

 

~{o}~

 

This year, she sent home a large bag of shelled, chopped pecans

for my daughter to use in Pecan Pies

for Thanksgiving.

I used what was left in making these tasty bars which I

shared with friends and coworkers.

If you like Pecan Pie, you'll love this yummy bar version.

I've been making it for many years and

it's definitely a "tried and true" recipe.  

Hope you enjoy!

 

 Pecan Pie Bars

Crust:

1 (18.25-ounce) package butter-flavor cake mix
1/3 cup margarine or butter, softened
1 egg

Filling:

1 cup  sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 eggs
1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13-by-9-inch pan.

Combine the cake mix, softened butter and 1 egg.  Press mixture into bottom of prepared pan and a little up the sides to hold the filling.  Bake for 20 minutes, then remove from oven.

In the meantime, using a large bowl or your Kitchenaid mixer, combine  sugar, corn syrup, vanilla and 3 eggs at low speed until well mixed.   Beat 1 minute at medium speed or until well-blended.

Stir in pecan pieces.

Pour filling mixture over warm base. Bake an additional 30 to 35 minutes or until filling is set.  Cool completely. Cut into bars. Store in refrigerator.

--->>>---oOo---<<<---

 

 

 

 

[caption id="attachment_1098" align="aligncenter" width="257" caption="Papa & Grandma Golden"][/caption]

Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

So simple yet so delicious!

~

What to to with 2 nice bunches of very ripe bananas, but bake?!  This cake is made with a recipe I've been using since the early 90's.   It is very simple, with few ingredients, but it is so delicious and moist!

.

I usually top it with a Brown Sugar Glaze, but since I had cream cheese, this time I decided to make a traditional Cream Cheese Frosting for the cake.



.

BANANA CAKE

1/2 cup shortening or butter (I used softened butter)

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup (2 med) bananas, mashed

1 1/4 cups self rising flour

.

Cream shortening (or butter) and sugar until fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.   Add flour to mashed bananas and mix well.  Next, add the banana and flour mixture to the cake batter.  Stir well.  Pour into greased pan.  Bake at 350º for 45 minutes or until cake is browned on top and springs back to the touch.

.

***NOTE- I used a 7 x 11 glass baking dish and the cake rose to the top of the dish and was fairly thick.  The layer could be sliced and a filling added to make a 2 layer cake.

.

Cream Cheese Frosting

½ cup butter
1 (8 oz.) package of cream cheese
½ teaspoon of vanilla

 3 ½ cups of powdered sugar

.

In a medium sized mixing bowl cream the butter and cream cheese together.  Add the vanilla.  Slowly add the powdered sugar.  When you are adding the powdered sugar, use a low speed on the mixer.   After you have it all in, put up on a medium to high speed.   Mix the frosting until it is fluffy.

Make sure your cake is completely cooled and spread the cream cheese frosting on it. 

.
 

 

Special Cake with Fudge Sauce

The strawberries were gone too soon.

But, there was still plenty of Aunt Mary's Special Cake to be eaten.  I recalled my Mom's  famous Skillet Cake and Fudge Sauce that I always requested for my birthday.  This recipe is not like hers, but it was quite yummy and was gone very soon.  I even had to make another batch to finish off the Special Cake.  My oldest daughter couldn't get enough of it.  I think she had it for supper one night along with another piece (or two) for dessert!

I just kinda threw this together and here's my sketchy instructions.

Microwave Fudge Sauce

1 square of semi-sweet baking chocolate
1/3 stick butter
1/4 cup cream or sweet milk
powdered/confectioner sugar (as much as needed for taste and consistency - I think I used a cup or more)

Place chocolate, butter, and milk in a microwave dish.
Cook on high for 2-3 minutes.  Stir until chocolate is melted and sauce is smooth. Begin to add confectioner sugar, stirring after each addition until desired sauce consistency is achieved.

Aunt Mary's Special Cake with Strawberries

Several years ago I had a chance

to go through Aunt Mary's little recipe box.  I copied down the recipes that I thought I might like to make and read through those that I remembered her making.  There was Date Nut Cake, Chess Pie, Pecan Crisp Cookies and even a recipe on stationery sent from a friend along with a greeting and personal  note.  One that stood out to me was hid near the back of the box, with no name other than Cake.  Not wanting it to get lost in my files I renamed it "Special Cake". 



Over the years, I've made Special Cake several times, usually during the summer to go with strawberries and fresh whipped cream.  My oldest daughter happens to love Strawberry Shortcake. 



I made it again this weekend and decided to use my new bundt pan (can you call it a pan if it's ceramic?) from Williams-Sonoma that was a gift from my dear youngest brother.



My cake wanted to stick a little and didn't brown as well as the one on the cake pan lable, even after baking for 45 minutes.  I took a slice of it and cubed it up for Strawberry Shortcake Trifle. 



Don't you just love spring?  Spring brings us those delicious little red bits of delectable fruit we call strawberries.  Aunt Mary brought me a Special Cake recipe to use with that delicious fruit,  along with many wonderful memories.



Happy Spring and happy Strawberry Shortcake Season!

Read more about Aunt Mary's life and recipes