• 6 Tbsp applesauce (or more)
• 1/2 C sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 8 Tbsp cold butter
• 2 1/2 C cake flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 2 Tbsp milk

1. Butter a large loaf tin, or a round cake tin.
2. Preheat the oven to 200 deg Celsius.
3. Sieve a little more than 6 tablespoons apple sauce.
4. Mix 1/2 cup sugar with 1 teaspoon freshly ground cinnamon (it makes a great difference in taste) and 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves. Set aside in a bowl.
5. Melt 4 tablespooons of butter and set aside in a bowl.
6. Rapidly cube 125 g (8 tablespoons) cold butter. Mix 2 1/2 cups cake flour well with 3 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Rub the cubed butter into the flour mixture until it resembles mealie meal - use a light, efficient hand, or rather, fingertips. Beat together 1 egg, 2 tablespoons milk and 6 tablespoons apple sauce, and mix it into the flour with a fork. Use your hands to pat it together in a dough.
7. Take a little more than a tablespoonful of the dough, roll it into a ball lightly, dip in the melted butter, then roll it in the spiced sugar. Place it into the loaf pan and do the same, stacking the balls neatly, with the rest of the dough. Pour any left-over butter over the cake and sprinkle with any left-over sugar.
8. Bake it about 30-35 minutes in the preheated oven.
9. Serve some of it warm, but it slices more easily and tastes better the next day. Never easy to slice - sometimes I just break it into the original balls.
10. Enjoy - it's a treat with tea on a cool day.

An apple sauce cake from my mother - fairly simple to make, delicious to eat, not too sweet, great for a lunchbox treat, and it lasts a good two days. Serve with some extra apple sauce, lightly sweetened with honey, and a spoonful of runny cream if you like.