apple sauce + banana bread + chocolate chips + vanilla frosting = cake

So everything is in this cake. Okay, not everything, but a lot of different ingredients that you wouldn't necessarily bake together. Something like....bananas + chocolate chips + homemade cinnamon apple sauce. Sound good? It is.

So I didn't start out making cake...I originally wanted to make homemade apple sauce because I had three apples in the fridge that had been there for about two weeks. Yeah, time to use those puppies up.

Peeled apple. How lovely.

So into this went three apples, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 tsp. cinnamon, and a little bit of water. But there was way too much brown sugar, so I recommend using about half the amount. I wasn't patient enough to let the apples cook down enough till they were "saucy", but they were cooked decently enough. IMPORTANT NOTE: Water is key to successful applesauce sauciness. Without it, you will burn the apples, and that is not good. So add a little to start, and then keep adding it as need be.

Next up on the baking agenda was a dessert for a dinner with my friends, Raluca and Yvan. I was going to make chocolate chip cookies and then cut them out into out initials (yeah, yeah, cutesy-tootsy, I know), but there wasn't a single sprinkle of white sugar in my house! I know, blasphemy, right?! So the overripe banana in my freezer inspired me to make banana bread, since that uses brown sugar - no white sugar needed. But then....I realized I had no loaf pain. Fail, again. But lo and behold, I had a 13x9 pan. Voila....banana cake.

And wow, was it good. I mean, don't want to toot my own horn or anything, but......yeah. Really good. :)

Applesauce Banana Bread Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups mashed overripe bananas
1/3 cup cinnamon apple sauce
About 1/2 cup chocolate chips

4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
2-4 tbsp. milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13x9-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs, mashed bananas, and applesauce until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 20-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool.

Prepare frosting. In a medium bowl, mix whisk together powdered sugar, butter, milk, and vanilla until frosting consistency. Set aside

Cut cake into two equal parts. Place one part on the bottom of a plate. Cover with half the frosting. Top with remaining cake layer. Frost with remaining frosting. DEVOUR.