Applesauce Cake

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cardamom
• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups light brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups homemade applesauce or store-bought chunky applesauce
• confectioners’ sugar, optional, to taste, for topping

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Generously coat a nonstick 9-inch tube pan with cooking spray.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, the baking soda, the salt, the cinnamon, and the cardamom together.
4. In another bowl, beat the butter, the brown sugar, and the honey together with an electric hand mixer.
5. Add the eggs, one at a time, to the butter mixture and beat after each addition until they are well-combined.
6. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until it is just combined.
7. Beat the applesauce into the batter.
8. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the top.
9. Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, but slightly wet, about 50 minutes-1 hour.
10. Cool the cake on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
11. Turn the pan onto a cutting board or baking sheet and invert the cake onto the wire rack, top-side up.
12. Let the cake cool completely.
13. Dust the cake with the confectioners’ sugar, slice, and serve.