Vernon Applesauce Fruit Cake might become a tradition for me. It joins a wide number of recipes named after cities and regions. Maybe it’s time to move beyond Nanaimo Bars.
Around Remembrance Day, I start planning and preparing for Christmas season. If you make fruit cake now, there are 4 to 6 weeks remaining for fruit cakes to “ripen” and flavours to be enhanced.
I was drawn to Vernon Applesauce Fruit Cake in an old, undated Christmas Recipe Book from Edith Adams Cottage, published by the Vancouver Sun. The recipe uses applesauce instead of eggs and that appealed to me because one of my family members is following an egg-free diet.
I made applesauce from scratch using six apples. I used butter instead of shortening, dried cherries instead of candied cherries, and spelt flour instead of wheat flour. I lined the loaf pans with parchment rather than brown paper.
The result? Amazing! Delicious! I recommend this one. The recipe made three loaves and I will be surprised if they last to Christmas. They are just so good. I love fruit cake as a trail snack during cross country skiing and for enjoying with a quiet cup of coffee.
