Vanilla Spiced Applesauce
This year I am welcoming this crisp cooler air with open arms. I just pulled out my box of sweaters and sweatshirts this weekend and have been rocking a hoodie all weekend long. One of the things Hubby and I do every year to ring in the new season is to go apple picking. It’s become a tradition to do this with my brother and his family.
We’re lucky enough to live about 30 miles form my brother. The rest of my family is out in the Midwest where I grew up. Every year, they bring their kids and it’s fun to look back at last year’s apple picking adventure to see how my little niece and nephew have grown.
After we got home with our bag of apples, Hubby made his first request of the season for applesauce. He loves homemade applesauce and I tend to only make it in the fall. My favorite recipe to make is this Cranberry Applesauce but I was in the mood to mix things up this time around. I had a few vanilla beans in the cabinet and decided to make this Vanilla Spiced Applesauce.
Hubby enjoyed the flavor and I loved the little black specks. Vanilla beans are probably one of my favorite ingredients out there.
One Year Ago: Homemade Cinnamon Applesauce
Two Years Ago: Chicken Tikka Masala
Four Years Ago: Tiramisu Cupcakes
Five Years Ago: The Cone Method and Mussels
Don’t forget about my Power of Pink Challenge – make something PINK by the end of the month to raise Breast Cancer Awareness!
Vanilla Spiced Applesauce
Homemade applesauce spiced with vanilla beans, anise, and cardamom.
Yield: 10-12 servings
Ingredients:
8 apples, diced into large chunks
3 vanilla beans
2 whole star anise
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cardamom
1 cup water
1/4 cup brown sugar
Directions:
Place the apples in the bottom of a dutch oven or large pan.
Slice the vanilla pods in half lengthwise. Scrape the seeds from the pods with the back of a knife. Place seeds and pods in pan.
Add remaining ingredients and set over medium-high heat until the water starts to boil.
Stir applesauce mixture, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low. Allow to simmer for 20 minutes until apples have broken apart. Use a potato masher to help mash the apples if you'd like.
Allow applesauce to cool and remove star anise pods and vanilla bean pods.
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
it looks delicious!
Beautiful cake! I can’t get over the ending either, too soon!
beantownbaker — December 26th, 2013 @ 10:56 am
Right! It happens every year, but I feel like this year flew by especially quickly.
Wow – super gorgeous!! I’m so glad you love this cake as much as I do! Happy Christmas and almost New Years, doll!!
beantownbaker — December 26th, 2013 @ 10:58 am
Happy Holidays to you too!
This cake looks so beautiful and I bet it tastes divine 🙂 can’t wait to try it!
definitely perfect for new years! i can’t believe this year is almost over, either- crazy!
this is perfect for our holiday-the Florida strawberries have been so sweet – thank you
beantownbaker — January 2nd, 2014 @ 1:31 pm
I wish I lived somewhere where the strawberry season was longer than a few weeks…
I was just thinking, what if we made this w/pink champagne?
beantownbaker — January 2nd, 2014 @ 1:30 pm
I think it would be great with pink champagne!
I know what you mean we grew up and lived in Michigan all our lives. When our kids were little I would take them to the farms to pick blueberries, raspberries and apples. The strawberry season was always short or not at all due to the wet springs we so often had. But we did get farm fresh ones at our local farm market. I now live in Central Florida where I’m learning so much about fresh grown foods. We live a few blocks from Oviedo where DUDA farms are. They are known especially for their celery but so many other fresh veggies. We have a few local farms where you can pick strawberries and blueberries. The gulf coast really has a lot of strawberry farms. On Tuesday our local Publix store had Florida fresh strawberries on sale. I just cleaned them last night (I think my husband took about 1/2 of them to work) We are fortunate, but I still miss Michigan and all the farming communities in our area.
beantownbaker — January 4th, 2014 @ 10:38 am
Wow – I bet things in FL are very different than Michigan! We can usually get strawberries at the farmers market as well. But again, it’s SUCH a short season. Last year we missed it completely. I’m still adjusting to the different seasonal timing in Ohio vs what it was in Boston. We always make a point to pick strawberries, blueberries, peaches, and apples. Peaches and strawberries are two of my favorite summertime fruits.
Woah, thanks a bunch for sharing!
I made this cake for my girlfriend’s surprise birthday party, and it was freaking delicious. Granted this was my first cake I have ever baked, but there wasn’t enough frosting to cover the whole thing and keep part of the actual cake from showing through. I don’t even like cake, and this was bomb!
This CAKE IS THE BOMB!!!!, I found this online in 2014. I showed it to my twin sister, I said, I won’t this for our B-Day, but we didn’t have it until September 2015, and again this year. So delicious, my son Loves it as well, we’re making it tomorrow December 28th 2015 for his birthday. Yummmmy!