TWO PANS, TWO CAKES, TWO ICINGS

I spent a little too much time on this cake yesterday.  Not having the 2-quart tube pan that was called for in this recipe, I used a 4-quart.  That resulted in a rather short, but at the same time, good-tasting cake.  I, however, envisioned a taller cake.  One that would look lovely atop the small vintage glass cake stand with a hand-blown dome my sister gave me several years ago.  That meant I had to rig-up my own little tube pan.  I took a French Charlotte Mold with a diameter of 6 1/2-inches and positioned a cannoli form in the center.  I mixed up some more batter and baked cake #2.  This time I got exactly what I wanted.

Once the cake had cooled, I start making the Brown Sugar Icing.  The ingredients are boiled until they register 238˚ (or soft ball stage) on a candy thermometer.  The mixture is then quickly poured into the bowl of a stand mixer and beaten at high speed until spreading consistency.  Everything seemed to be going perfectly fine until the butter separated from the sugar which left me with hard clumps floating in liquid fat.  I puzzled over this for quite a while and finally decided to try it a second time.  Icing #2:  This time I used an instant read thermometer alongside the candy thermometer and discovered the latter was off about 20 degrees (must have been that fall on the kitchen floor several weeks ago).  As much as I love being in my kitchen, not even I want to be in there doing everything twice.  It did, however, end up being a delicious cake; perfect after roast chicken on a very cold winter's night.

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                        APPLESAUCE CAKE with BROWN SUGAR ICING
                                              adapted from Gourmet Magazine

For the cake
• 2 cups cake flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
• 1 cup chopped pecan (or substitute currants as I did in one of the cakes)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup applesauce
For the icing
• 1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1.  Make the cake:  Into a bowl sift together 1 3/4 cups of the flour, the cinnamon, the cloves, the salt, the baking soda, and the baking powder.  In a small bowl toss the pecans with the remaining 1/4 cup flour.  In a large bowl with an electric mixer cream the butter with the sugar, add the egg and the vanilla, and beat the mixture until it is combined well.  Beat in the applesauce, add the flour mixture gradually, beating just until combined, and stir in the pecan mixture.  Transfer the batter to a well buttered and floured 1 1/2- to 2-quart tube or bundt pan and bake the cake in the middle of a preheated 350˚F oven for approximately 45 minutes (it took 60 minutes on my second cake baked in the small Charlotte mold).  A wooden skewer should come out clean when inserted in the center of the cake.  Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes, then turn it out onto the rack to cool completely.
2.  Make the icing:  In a heavy saucepan combine the brown sugar, the cream, and the butter; bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until all of the butter has melted.  Boil until it registers 238˚F on a candy thermometer.  Transfer the icing immediately to the bowl of an electric mixer, beating until if is spreading consistency, and beat in the vanilla. 
3.  Working VERY quickly with a knife dipped in hot water, spread the icing over the cake.  The icing hardens as it cools.