FIRST PRIZE APPLESAUCE CAKE

Steps:

• 1. Grandma baked this cake often. Early one morning she had just finished making the frosting, and the cake was cooling, when grandpa came into the kitchen and said Bessie, grandma's milk cow, came in without her calf and he had to go look for the calf. He handed grandma the milk pail and asked her to milk the cow. She gave me the egg basket and we walked to the barn. Grandma sent me up the ladder into the hay loft to gather the eggs of the chickens that had 'flown the coop.' They would lay their eggs between the bales of hay, and as she settled on her one legged stool and began to milk Bessie, I reached in between the bales and wrapped my hand around what I thought was an egg and when I pulled my hand out it was wrapped around a black snake. I screamed and threw the snake as I fell backwards into the haystack below. The snake landed on Bessie. She bellowed and kicked and grandma fell off her stool with the milk pale in hand and the milk poured all over her. I scrambled out of that pile of hay, and screaming and crying, I ran to my grandmother and got under her dress. The snake slithered away, Bessie ran out the barn door, and Grandma gathered herself together and carried me inside the house and sat me on the table. She grabbed a hand towel, wiped her face and mine and after handing me a spoon of frosting, she began frosting the cake and the whole while singing, "Bringing in the Sheaves." Still crying I began singing along with grandma as I licked the spoon and sobbed. Soon the tears diminished and with grandma's hugs life was good once again.
• 2. Sift the first 7 ingredients together In a medium bowl. Combine the oil and sugar in a large mixing bowl, and with an electric mixer, beat until well blended. Add the hot applesauce and blend thoroughly. Add the dry ingredients and blend well. Stir in the walnuts and raisins. Grease and flour two 9 inch cake pans, pour in the batter and bake in hot oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees and continue baking for about 15 minutes longer. Remove the cakes from the oven and cool on a cake rack for 5 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pan and complete cooling on the racks. After the cake is completely cool fill and frost with Caramel Frosting.
• 3. CARAMEL FROSTING Melt the butter in a sauce pan over low heat and stir in the brown sugar and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat; while stirring constantly boil hard for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the milk. Return the pan to the heat and return to a full boil. Remove from the heat and cool to lukewarm. Stir in the confectioner sugar and beat until smooth. If frosting is too thin, add a little more confectioner sugar. If the frosting is too thick add a little more milk. Frost the top of the bottom layer. Add the top layer and frost the top and sides.