Applesauce Spice Cake

I get nervous about making cakes here in Utah because more times than not the ones I make from scratch have issues--usually with falling in the middle. I've tried all the tricks to adjust for altitude and one that does seem to help is to lower the amount of sugar in the recipe. This recipe originally called for 1 3/4 cup of sugar and I was able to lower it all the way to just over 1 cup. It is still definitely sweet enough, especially with cream cheese frosting on top. I wanted to keep this recipe on hand so next time I am craving a spice cake recipe, I know I have one that works and is quite delicious! I used homemade applesauce in this (well it was practically apple butter because I cooked it for so long) and I assume that it improves the taste of the cake, but just use what you have.


APPLESAUCE SPICE CAKE
(based on this recipe)

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 1/2 cups white and 1 cup wheat)
1 cup white sugar (slightly heaping)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce (homemade is best!)
2 eggs

Directions
Sift or whisk flour, soda, salt, baking powder, and spices into bowl. In a separate bowl cream butter with sugar. Beat in in buttermilk, applesauce and eggs. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Batter will be quite thick.  Pour batter into a greased 9 x 13 inch pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35-40 minutes. Frost when cooled with cream cheese frosting.