| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 1 hr 2 min |
| Prep: | 12 min |
| Cook: | 50 min |
| Yield: | 6 to 8 servings |
Ingredients
- Butter
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar, for dusting
Instructions
- For the cake: Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cocoa powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice.
- In a large bowl, beat the sugars, oil, applesauce, eggs, and vanilla extract to blend. Add the dry ingredients and stir until just blended. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake for 10 minutes. Unmold the cake and place on a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar and cut into slices for serving.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 415 |
| Total Fat | 21 g |
| Saturated Fat | 2 g |
| Carbohydrates | 54 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Sugar | 34 g |
| Protein | 4 g |
| Cholesterol | 43 mg |
| Sodium | 209 mg |
Reviews
Made as written, mine cooked through but the spices were somewhat bitter. Might have been the unsweetened cocoa, not sure. Love Giada, but won’t be making this one again.
made this following the recipe , oil in cakes make them so moist and I use it often turned out great!!!
As many other people said, I swapped oil and apple sauce. However, I felt like the cake could have taken a bit more oil. I may follow the recipe next time to compare, if I ever make it again. The cake is full on fall flavor and I loved the combination of all the spices that went in. No apple taste at all- I think applesauce just enhances the flavor of spice more.
One of my favorite cakes to bake; it’s been a massive hit with friends and family!
Perfectly seasonal and absolutely delicious! Like the others, I swapped the amounts of oil and applesauce, and also added 1/8th tsp of cloves – total cooking time was 50 minutes in my oven and cooked all the way through without a problem. This is 100% going into fall recipe rotation.
This came out perfectly. So good. I made for the first time and also took the advice of swapping the oil and applesauce quantities. Love it!
I cook for our churches kids rock program. We serve as many as 80 kids so I made this cake in a large flat pan, I had to triple it to make 1 pan. It was the biggest hit!! The kids kept coming back for more. I read the previous reviews so I switched the apple sauce and oil amounts, cooked it slightly longer. We couldn’t stop eating it! One of the helpers said it would be fantastic with a caramel sauce over it and I have to agree. Maybe next time we cover it with that. But the powered sugar wS so good to. Will be making this again and again. Thanks for the winner!
I made this for the first time yesterday and it is still moist and delicious today. I read every review and only made 2 changes based on them: I used 1/3 cup veg. oil and 2/3 cup applesauce. So many people said the loaf pan didn’t work that I used an 8×8 square pan (good quality metal) and it tested done at 28 minutes. I may test at 27 mins. next time. I love this combination of flavors! My young granddaughter also gobbled it up today! I did not cut it into serving size till we were ready to eat it and I’m sure this helps with keeping it moist. I am looking forward to making this often. It’s very easy – I’m not sure why it says it’s intermediate level. ( Usually I find the reverse description is true.) (Also consider trying Giada’s Blueberry Banana Bread – it is so good!)
This cake is absolutely delicious. My grandchildren gobble it up. They ask me to make it for them frequently. I have made several alterations that appear to make it much easier to make and bake correctly:
1. I use a 9-inch square pan (mine happens to be metal). Depending on the oven, 28 to 33 minutes seem to be about right for even doneness without the edges getting dry. (The loaf pan was a disaster for me. The bake time was way to short in the recipe, and by the time the middle was done the ends were dried out.)
2. I use 1/2 cup of both oil and applesauce. Just “healthier” and tastes exactly the same.
3. When measuring the ginger, cinnamon, and cocoa, I leave the spoon rounded rather than leveling it off. It is so much easier to not have to level, and the “extra” spices just make the cake that much more tasty.
This cake is truly a delight to make, to smell while baking, and to watch my grandchildren’s faces while they devour it. By the way, the grownups love it, too.
1. I use a 9-inch square pan (mine happens to be metal). Depending on the oven, 28 to 33 minutes seem to be about right for even doneness without the edges getting dry. (The loaf pan was a disaster for me. The bake time was way to short in the recipe, and by the time the middle was done the ends were dried out.)
2. I use 1/2 cup of both oil and applesauce. Just “healthier” and tastes exactly the same.
3. When measuring the ginger, cinnamon, and cocoa, I leave the spoon rounded rather than leveling it off. It is so much easier to not have to level, and the “extra” spices just make the cake that much more tasty.
This cake is truly a delight to make, to smell while baking, and to watch my grandchildren’s faces while they devour it. By the way, the grownups love it, too.
This cake was deliIcious! These are some of the changes I made:
-I used 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1/2 regular flour
-I used all brown sugar
-I switched the oil and apple sauce amounts and used 2/3 cup apple sauce and only 1/3 cup oil
-I also used a bundt cake pan instead of a loaf pan
-I used 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1/2 regular flour
-I used all brown sugar
-I switched the oil and apple sauce amounts and used 2/3 cup apple sauce and only 1/3 cup oil
-I also used a bundt cake pan instead of a loaf pan
I did not experience the under cooked or dry problems some of the other people on here did. The flavor was great. It baked in 40 mins. It was moist on the inside and a little crispy on the outside (some people might not like that though). Nice one Giada 🙂