Applesauce cake with Oatmeal Streusel

So awhile back, my friend Shannon gifted me a great big jar of applesauce from her last big batch, and I used some of it for some awesome baked oatmeal, but I was even more excited to try out an applesauce cake recipe with the remainder!

This cake is lightly sweet, very moist, and oh-so-fragrant from the ample oat-cinnamon streusel lining the bottom and rippling through the middle of the cake. It kept very well for several days in an airtight container, and if anything, developed more apple-y character and moistness over time! It is a splendid anytime cake and very versatile.

Applesauce Cake with Oatmeal Streusel (adapted from Cake Keeper Cakes)

Ingredients:

Streusel-

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits or grated and chilled

Cake-

2 & 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 & 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups unsweetened applesauce

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Instructions: 

For the streusel, combine the oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and chilled butter in a bowl and work all the ingredients together with your fingers quickly, until everything becomes a damp crumbly mess and the chunks of butter are no larger than pea-sized. Refrigerate until later.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 12-cup bundt pan with butter or shortening and dust with a couple tablespoons of flour, knocking it around the entire surface of the pan to coat and dumping out the excess flour.

Sift together all the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, spices, salt) into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. In a separate bowl, whisk together the applesauce, eggs, melted butter, vanilla, and oil. Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix together with mixer until just combined. 

Retrieve the streusel from the fridge. Pour half the batter into the prepared bundt pan and sprinkle the surface with half of the streusel mixture. Repeat with the remaining batter and streusel. Bake at 350 degrees for ~1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool cake in pan for 10-15 minutes, then invert it onto a wire rack or your serving/storage container and allow to cool completely. 

Leftover cake can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container or plastic wrap for up to 5 days. Or store in fridge/freezer.