It's really THAT easy...

It's been a while since I posted any new recipes. Sunday I spent most of the day with my trusty laptop and while I was jumping around I found a recipe for "mix in the pan" cakes that claimed to be as good as a boxed cake mix AND as easy.

That's a claim I wanted to put to the test.

Since I still had applesauce in my freezer I decided on the applesauce version, leaving the chocolate one for another day.

"Mix in the Pan" Applesauce Cake

Here's what you need:


1 2/3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice I used a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg & cloves since I didn't have any allspice.
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup applesauce
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vinegar I used apple cider vinegar cause it's what I had.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Measure all the dry ingredients (flour, brown sugar, baking soda, spice(s), and salt) into the 8-inch UNGREASED square pan. Mix all the dry ingredients together.

Pour the wet ingredients (water, applesauce, oil, and vinegar) into the flour mixture and stir until all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed together, but do not beat or over-mix.

Bake for approximately 35 minutes or until a toothpick or knife inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. (It was 40 minutes in my oven.) Serve plain or dust with powdered sugar.


I couldn't wait to cut into it so it was still hot when I did. It crumbled a bit because I didn't let it cool properly. Didn't bother me a bit. The cake still tasted good and I'm not above eating crumbs.

The only I might change next time is to add more applesauce and less oil. And I might add some raisins. Or walnuts. Or raisins and walnuts. Or chopped apples. Or...well as you can see I could do a million things with it but the basic recipe is good and just as easy as it said.

Wondering what I had for dinner? Check this out. Let's just say my kitchen smelled delicious yesterday.