Applesauce Cake -- The One I'll Make Next Year, After Another Fast

Yom Kippur came and went. I fasted. I prayed. I sat in the synagogue next to Marvin, who did not fast because the neurologist said fasting is inadvisable with his medication, and I accepted this because I am not going to sacrifice my husband's health for a ritual, even a ritual I consider sacred. Marvin sat through the service — not all of it, David came and sat with him for the afternoon service while I stayed — and he was quiet and seemed to understand, on some level, that this was a serious day, a day of different weight. Or maybe he just liked the music. Either way, he was there, and I was there, and we were in the synagogue together on Yom Kippur, which we have been for thirty-seven years, and the continuity of that matters. The continuity is the point.

The break-fast was at our house. Fourteen people. The bagels were fresh — I drove to the bagel place in Cedarhurst at five a.m. before services, because twenty-five hours of fasting deserves a fresh bagel, not a day-old bagel, and this is a hill I will die on. The lox was good. The coffee cake was Sylvia's recipe — sour cream, cinnamon, pecans, a streusel top that shatters when you cut it. Jennifer brought a fruit salad. Rebecca brought Thomas and wine. Everyone ate with the particular fervor of people who have not eaten for twenty-five hours, which is to say without restraint or apology, which is how food should be eaten after any kind of deprivation: gratefully, completely, without leaving anything on the plate.

After everyone left, I sat in the kitchen and ate a piece of coffee cake slowly, by myself, in the quiet. The house smelled of coffee and fish and the lingering sweetness of the cake. Marvin was asleep in his chair. I thought about what I had prayed for — not specifics, I don't pray for specifics, I pray for the strength to handle whatever comes — and I thought: another year. We made it to another year. The book is still open. The page is still being written. The coffee cake is Sylvia's and it is perfect and I am here to eat it. That is enough. That has to be enough.

Sylvia’s recipe is not mine to share — it belongs to her, and to the handwritten card it lives on, and to whatever she decides to do with it. But in the spirit of what that coffee cake does — the way it anchors a break-fast table, the way it asks nothing of you except to sit down and eat slowly and be grateful — this Applesauce Cake is the one I’d bring to someone else’s table. It has the same warmth, the same cinnamon thread running through it, the same quality of tasting like someone made it because they loved the people who would be eating it. You can bake it the day before services and it will be waiting for you when you come home, which is exactly the kind of faithfulness food is capable of.

Applesauce Cake

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour | Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup raisins (optional)
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
• For the streusel topping:
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/3 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

1. Preheat and prepare. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan and lightly flour it, or line with parchment paper.
2. Mix dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Set aside.
3. Make the streusel. In a small bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon for the topping. Work in the cold butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the pecans and refrigerate until needed.
4. Cream butter and sugars. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the softened butter with the granulated and brown sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
5. Add eggs and wet ingredients. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then add the applesauce and vanilla extract. The mixture may look slightly curdled — this is normal.
6. Combine wet and dry. Reduce mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, mixing just until no dry streaks remain. Fold in raisins and nuts if using. Do not overmix.
7. Assemble and bake. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Scatter the cold streusel topping over the surface. Bake for 40–45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the streusel is golden.
8. Cool and serve. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes before cutting. Serve warm or at room temperature. The cake keeps well, tightly covered, for up to 3 days — and is arguably better on day two.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 320 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 13g | Carbs: 48g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 210mg