It makes a lovely big cake. I baked it in my sister's 9 by 13 inch pyrex dish. She didn't have a metal pan that size. Beggars can't be choosers!
It was a really easy cake to make as well. You just put everything into the bowl of your mixer and beat away until its all smooth! Make sure your butter is really soft however, or it won't beat in well.
You also don't beat in the raisins and nuts. You stir them in at the end. That way they stay a nice size. It bakes really quickly as well.
Not much more than half an hour. I used storebought unsweetened applesauce, but you could also use homemade applesauce. I would not use sweetened applesauce.
I think a pinch of cloves would also go very nicely. You don't need a lot. Just a pinch. Cloves can be very overpowering, but again, they go with apple very well.
Someone on the Land O Lakes site had adde Chai Tea Spice. That sounds interesting.
I also added a bit more in the way of raisins. We love raisins in everything. Which reminds me. I need to bake a raisin pie one day for my dad. He would love that.
I need to be careful however as we are both diabetics, and my sister is on the edge. Raisin pie might tip us all over the top. But boyo boyo . . . its a real favourite! Maybe for Christmas.
But again, well worth the effort. Really well worth the effort. This frosting is to die for, and goes so very well with that moist and spicy cake.
I used walnuts instead of pecans. My father loves walnuts. So do I. Again, I always toast my nuts. It doesn't take long. Only about 10 minutes in a hot oven. Let them cool before you use them.
One thing I am really struggling with at the moment is proper lighting. It is all a matter of timing. I was just on the edge today. I will get it right eventually!
Or I will look for a light box. We will have to wait and see. I think in the warmer months it won't be so much of a problem as we have lighter days.
I couldn't help myself. Once I had cut a piece to take a photograph, I needed to eat it. LOL I am so naughty I know.
I have to tell you it is really good. REALLY REALLY GOOD!
If you are looking for a nice and moist, homey kind of cake to bake this weekend, you can't get much better than this one!
Brown Butter Frosted Applesauce Spice Cake

Ingredients
- 2 cups (280g) allpurpose flour
- 2 cups (390g) sugar
- 1 1/2 cups (325g) unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 cup (120g) butter softened
- 2 large free range eggs
- 1 1/2 tsp soda
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 3/4 cup (115g) raisins
- 1/2 cup (60g) chopped toasted walnuts
- 1/3 cup (75g) butter
- 3 cups (390g) sifted icing sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 2 to 3 TBS milk
- 2 TBS chopped toasted walnuts (to garnish)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 189*C/350*F/gas mark 4. Butter a 9 by 13 inch baking dish or tin really well. Set aside.
- Measure all of the cake ingredients into a mixing bowl and beat together until smooth, with the exception of the raisins and nuts. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Stir in the raisins and nuts. Scrape into the prepared baking dish. Smooth over the top.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until golden brown, risen and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. The cake will have begun to pull away from the sides of the pan slightly. Cook completely before making the icing.
- To make the icing heat the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, cooking and stirring until the buttter just starts to turn golden. Stir constantly. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely.
- To make the icing combine the browned butter, icing sugar and vanilla in a bowl. Beat at medium speed,adding the milk gradually and scraping the bowl, until the frosting is smooth and spreadable. Spread onto the cooled cake and sprinkle the toasted nuts over top. Serve cut into squares.
Did you make this recipe?
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
When my children were growing up, I always tried to have some fresh cookies or a freshly baked snacking cake waiting for them when they got home from school. Yes, they were rather spoiled.
My mom hardly ever baked. She was a working mother from when I was 11 years old. If we had baking in the house, other than the holidays, we had to bake it ourselves.
There were tons of home-baked treats at Christmas. The rest of the year, for the most part, our treats came from a box. Yes, we ate and enjoyed boxed cookies.
Even they were counted and regulated. My mother had been overweight when she was growing up and so she was very careful about what we, as children, put into our mouths. Over-indulgences were not encouraged at all.
I will put my hand up and admit to having next-to-no willpower when it comes to baked goodies. Or potato chips. That is why more and more I am small-batching things.
When I have less of these things in the house. I am not tempted as much. There is far less for me to indulge in. I also only buy small serving bags of potato chips, etc. Again. Portion controlled and an occasional treat.
You only have to look at me to recognise that I am not suceeding. LOL Yes, I am a real butterball of a woman. I think at the age of 65 I have given up the idea that I will ever be thin again.
All I want to be now is happy and reasonably healthy. Baking in smaller batches helps me to do just that!
Skillet, pie dish ramekins or dropped, these are one very delicious cookie. Every mouthful brings you a lush surprise and combination of flavours and textures.
I do so like surprises don't you? The potato chips and pretzels stay surprisingly crunchy as well. I loved that.
I also like to present things as close to natural as possible. I hate highly edited, colour enhanced food photographs. I want reality. I hope you do too.
In any case you need to bake these cookies! They are excellent!!
Sweet & Salty Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (60g) butter
- 1/4 cup (50g) soft light brown sugar, packed
- 1 large free range egg yolk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup (46g) all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup (20g) old fashioned oats
- 1/8 tsp each baking soda and salt
- 2 TBS broken toasted pecans
- 2 TBS shredded sweetened coconut
- 1/4 cup (45g) semi sweet chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup (30g) roughly broken pretzel twists
- 1/4 cup (25g) broken ruffled plain salted potato chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 165*C/325*F/ gas mark 3. Line a large baking sheet with baking parchment. Set aside.
- Cream together the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Stir in the egg yolk and vanilla. Combine well.
- Sift together the flour and baking soda. Add to the creamed mixture along with the oats and salt.
- Stir in the pecans, coconut, chocolate chips, potato chips and pretzel bits. Mix well to distribute everything evenly throughout.
- Using a cookie scoop or a TBS drop onto the baking sheet leaving some space in between.
- Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, until set and the edges have not yet browned.
- Let cool on the baking sheet for five minutes before removing to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container.
Did you make this recipe?
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
I know tomorrow many of you have refrigerators bulging with turkey leftovers. Some of you will be scratching your heads and trying to come up with new and interesting things to do with them.
Here are some tasty ideas this morning to help you use up some of those scrummy
leftovers. Of course you could just have a reheat of the leftovers, but
it's also nice to dress them up in a few different ways too!
You Brits and Canucks might want to bookmark this page as Christmas is less than a month away and you 'll be wanting to figure out what to do with your Christmas Turkey leftovers then!
Turkey & Stuffing Casserole. A hearty casserole that is healthy and deliciously low in fat and calories, served with it's own gravy.
This is one of my favourite things to do with leftovers.
Of course you can have a plain old turkey sandwich, but why not dress it up a bit and serve it open faced on a rustic piece of bread, topped with some leftover cranberry sauce, some of the leftover stuffing heated and crumbled on top of the cranberry, then the heated sliced turkey and some heated leftover gravy ladled over top. Delicious with a few sliced pickles and some potato crisps on the side!
My mom always made Turkey Pot pies. We loved them! You can follow the outlined recipe below, which is only a rough guideline of what to do. You can adapt it to whatever it is you have in your fridge.
*Turkey Pot Pie*
Serves 4 to 6
Printable Recipe
2 mugs full of leftover turkey, chopped
2 mugs full of leftover cooked vegetables, chopped
(peas, carrots, corn) If you haven't got any, then you can
use 2 mugs of frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
a handful of roasted potatoes, chopped
1 mug full of leftover turkey gravy
1 mug full of milk
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
1 tsp summer savoury
salt and black pepper to taste
Pastry to cover
milk and beaten egg yolk
Mix together all the ingredients except for the pastry in a large bowl, seasoning to taste with salt and black pepper. Spread into a large round, or oval shallow casserole dish. Roll out your pastry to cover and place over top, venting to allow steam to escape. Brush with a bit of milk and beaten egg yolk. Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes in an oven which has been preheated to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Serve warm.
I think one of the most popular things to do over here in the UK with the leftover turkey is to make a Turkey Curry, but how about Curried Turkey Salad! Yummo!!
Serves 4
salt
fresh ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups good mayonnaise (330g)
1/3 cup dry white wine (80ml)
1/4 cup mango chutney (55g)
3 tablespoons curry powder
2 large celery ribs, medium diced
1/4 cup chopped spring onions (2 spring onions)
1/4 cup raisins (37g)
1 cup whole roasted salted cashews (150g)
Combine the mayonnaise, wine, chutney, curry powder and 1 1/2 tsp salt in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Combine the turkey with enough dressing to moisten well. Add the celery, spring onions and raisins. Mix well together. Cover and chill for several hours to let the flavors blend. Add the cashews and serve.
Serves 4
This may not look like much, but this is absolutly delicious!
2 celery ribs, trimmed and chopped
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
2 TBS butter
8 ounces stuffing crumbs, or crushed croutons (2 cups)
1/2 tsp rubbed sage
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp marjoram
pinch ground nutmeg
1 TBS parsley flakes
salt and black pepper to taste
1 large free range egg, beaten
375ml of warm chicken broth (1 1/2 cups)
2 cups of chopped cooked turkey
To serve:
Creamed peas and carrots (optional)
Melt the butter in a frying pan. Add the onion and celery. Saute without colouring until soft, stirring frequently. Set aside to cool.
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 inch pie dish. Set aside.
Tip the bread crumbs into a bowl along with the sage, thyme, marjoram, nutmeg and parsley flakes. Mix together well. Stir in the broth, beaten egg and sauteed vegetables. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the turkey. Mix well. Spread this mixture into the buttered pie dish.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until set and lightly browned.
Serve cut into wedges along with some creamed peas and carrots spooned over top if desired. A tossed salad goes very well with this.
Serves 4
Delicous served over crackers, biscuits, toast, fish cakes or my tasty Stuffing Pie.
2 TBS butter
2 TBS plain flour
1 pint of milk
salt and pepper to taste
cooked peas and carrots to taste
(I like a larger ratio of sauce to veg, but some people like more veg than sauce)
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Whisk in the flour. Slowly whisk in the milk. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until thickened. Reduce the heat to low and allow to simmer for about five minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the vegetables and heat through.
Serves 4 to 6, depending on appetites
Printable Recipe
A delicious casserole which is easy to put together and helps to use up leftovers from your roast dinners.
4 cups of prepared stuffing, divided
4 cups of coarsely chopped leftover cooked turkey (about one pound)
3/4 cup of good quality mayonnaise, divided
1/4 cup of whole berry cranberry sauce
2 cups of leftover mashed potatoes
1 1/2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ Butter an 8 inch square casserole dish. Spoon half of the stuffing mixture into the bottom of the dish and spread it out to cover. Sprinkle with the turkey pieces. Whisk together 1/4 cup of the mayonnaise and all of the cranberry sauce. Spread this mixture over top of the turkey. Beat together the remaining mayonnaise, the mashed potatoes and the mozzarella cheese. Spoon this over top of the turkey, spreading it over to cover. Sprinkle the remaining stuffing over top.
Bake for 40 minutes, or until bubbling and heated through. Allow to stand for 10 minutes or so before serving. Delicious!
Printable Recipe
Serves 4
Printable Recipe
This is a delicious salad which contains no less than 3 of the super foods!! Turkey breast, avocado and tomatoes! Bacon and cheese aside, I reckon it is pretty good for you!
2 TBS white wine vinegar
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
3 TBS good quality mayonnaise
4 TBS olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
8 slices of thick cut bacon
1 head of iceberg lettuce, cored and thinly sliced
2 small avocados, peeled, stoned and cubed
4 small plum tomatoes, chopped
8 ounces cubed turkey breast (1/2 pound)
First make the dressing. Whisk together the vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, mayonnaise, oil and a pinch of pepper in a large bowl until smooth. Stir in a quarter of the cheese.
Fry the bacon in a heavy frying pan over medium heat until crisp. Drain well on paper towels, then crumble.
Add the lettuce to the dressing and toss to coat evenly. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Divide the lettuce amongst 4 chilled plates. Arrange the avocados, tomatoes and turkey on top. Sprinkle with the bacon and the remaining cheese and serve.
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
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