Yes, you CAN make a cake. Quick frosted applesauce cake

Ciao ragazzi.  Are you feeling a little bit frazzled as the holidays get closer?  And closer?  And closer?   Oh geez, we do this to ourselves every year don't we?   Annalena has done her best to get off that roller coaster, and to a large extent she has succeeded.  She is certain, that there are many of you (or at least some of you) out there who are wondering:  DESSERT.  What do I do about dessert?  Well, honestly, ragazzi, everyone likes ice cream.  And if you haven't put yourself into dessert planning yet, buy something.  Make this when it's all over.  It's an object lesson in how easy it is to bake.  It really, really is.    And, as we shall see, we are allowed to play with recipes.

Last weekend, Annalena made applesauce.  She made enough applesauce to feed a small country.  That was not intended, it really did just happen. See, Annalena loves apples when they are cooked.  Raw, not so much.  So when she gets apples, she makes something. And when she hasn't gotten around to making something, and the apples are beginning to give her the stinkeye, she makes applesauce.  And gives it away.  Or uses it for other things.  So, on Sunday, when she gathered 5 quarts of applesauce (anybody want some?), she thought:  hmmm... didn't she just see a recipe for an applesauce cake?  In fact, she did.  And she knew.... she just KNEW she had all the ingredients she needed in the house. 

Never assume, unless you know how to play.   Let's see how we do it. 

First, turn on  your oven to 350.  Next, get a 9 inch baking pan (if you aren't sure, measure.  Annalena has told the old joke about how a male baking store clerk will sell a 7 inch pan as one that is 9 inches, and a female clerk will sell an 11 inch pan as 9 inches, so bring a ruler if you don't trust the clerk.  Take that pan, and spray it well, with one of the release sprays:

Now, what you do, is put two cups of unbleached flour, preferably organic (but don't sweat it if your flour is not.  DO get some unbleached all purposes if only have bleached.  Bleached is bad for you, and it doesn't make a good cake), and add to that - these are not typos, tesori,  1 TABLESPOON of cinnamon, and 1 TABLESPOON  of dried ginger.

Unless, when you check your spices, you realize you don't have anymore ginger.  Now, ragazzi, Annalena is ALWAYS  prepared with her spice rack.  Or, more correctly, her spice armada.  She has more spices than you can imagine.  And she knows what she has.  She KNEW she had ginger.  Ten minutes of searching, and she felt like the O. Henry character who could not find an onion for her beef stew (go read it.  You need a break).  So, she checked what she had. 

Allspice.  Yes, allspice.  She had THAT.  Lots of it. So, instead of ginger, in went the allspice.  After the cake went into the oven, Annalena crossed her fingers, but not quite yet.   Next, 1.5 teaspoons (which is half a tablespoon), of salt, and two teaspoons of baking soda (which is NOT baking powder.  Use the soda.  It's important. ).  Mix all of these dried things together:

Add to this, 2 large eggs you've beaten a bit,  1/2 cup of sugar,  1/3 cup of vegetable oil, 1.5 cups of applesauce (use the stuff from a jar if you didn't make any, and no one gave you a gift of some), and then, 1/2 cup of whole milk yogurt, or buttermilk.

Unless you don't have whole milk yogurt, or buttermilk.  To be sure, Annalena had NON fat yogurt in the house, and she had milk.  But ... not the same.  She DID, however, have sour cream.  (Annalena will return to this), and she had just enough for this recipe.  So, into the dry stuff goes all the wet stuff, and you mix it together, until you have a uniform mass.  It won't take long, but the picture below is NOT the end result.  Annalena was just starting here:

Now put this all into your baking pan, put the baking pan into the oven, and go read a book for an hour.  You will get this beautiful creation (Annalena guarantees it)

If you sprayed your pan well enough, this will just pop out when it's cool.  It's sturdy, so don't worry.   You could eat this as is, but let's see a show of hands:  who doesn't like frosting? 

Uh huh.    So, let's make an easy frosting.  We need an 8 ounce package of full fat cream cheese, 1/3 cup of honey (any kind), and 2 tablespoons of sour cream.  (Put the cream cheese out of the fridge when you start the recipe, so it's soft)

Unless you used all your sour cream when you baked your cake.  Look around:  make do. Annalena had creme fraiche.  She used that.   At this point, she could have used plain milk, or yogurt, etc.    This  all goes into a bowl

And with a spatula, just whip this up until it seems very light and fluffy.  Then, spread it on the cake.  

Remember Annalena  told you the cake was sturdy?  So stop worrying.  

This wasn't too much work now, was it?  You wind up with:  

So, carini, play with your food, but make a simple cake.  Make it AFTER Thanksgiving.  Make it for those folks who are sitting around, and who you love.  Make them a little sweetness for breakfast. 

Happy thanksgiving to all.  More than that, though, Annalena salutes ALL the cooks who are bravely going forth, and she wishes all an even HAPPIER,  indeed a blissful, AFTER  thanksgiving. 

Give thanks to the election.  And give thanks to only... two... more... years.