Applesauce Spice Bars

I wanted to make these Applesauce Spice Bars because it is one, both hubby and I would love and love it, we did.   

By now, you probably are aware that my hubby does not like any glaze, frosting, icing or sprinkles on his cake.  He was in the kitchen as I was taking, the ingredients for the glaze out, to put it on the cake.  His question was simply, “Do you have to do that?”  Well, in this case, yes, I did.
 
The big moment – Lights, Camera, Action – Hubby takes a bite…….. Silence.  "Good."  (His father used to say, “not bad.”  We have come a long way. )

What do you mean good?  You hate glaze.  Hubby looks at me and looks at the pot, where I kept some of the glaze, for me.  “Put the rest on it,” he said.

This really confused me.  I go on to explain how there is plenty on the cake and it does not need any more.  He explained, he wanted more glaze.  So, all the glaze went on the cake and hubby’s hand took a second piece.  I think, he discovered, glaze is not all that bad.

Hats off to Dorie Greenspan who got my hubby to eat cake with glaze.

Applesauce Spice Bars – Dorie Greenspan’s    Pages 117-118, Baking: From My Home to Yours

 Ingredients:

Bars:

1-1/4 cups gluten-free flour mix
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon dark rum (optional)
1 baking apple, such as Rome or Cortland, peeled, cored and finely diced or chopped
1/2 cup plump, moist raisins (dark or golden)
 1/2 cup chopped pecans

For the Glaze

2-1/2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2-1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Method:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter a 9-x-13 inch baking pan, line the bottom with parchment paper, butter the paper and dust the inside of the pan with flour. Tap out the excess flour and put the pan on a baking sheet.

THE BARS:

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt.In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the butter over low heat.

Add the brown sugar and stir with a whisk until it is melted and the mixture is smooth, about 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat.

Still working in the saucepan, whisk in the eggs one at a time, mixing until they are well blended.

Add the applesauce, vanilla and applejack, if you’re using it, and whisk until the ingredients are incorporated and the mixture is once again smooth.

Switch to a rubber spatula and gently stir in the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear, then mix in the apple, raisins and nuts.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.

Bake for 23 to 25 minutes, or until the cake just starts to pull away from the sides of the pan and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Transfer the baking pan to a rack and let the cake cool while you make the glaze.


THE GLAZE:

In a small saucepan, whisk together the cream, sugar, butter and corn syrup. Put the pan over medium heat and bring the mixture to the boil, whisking frequently.

Adjust the heat so that the glaze simmers, and cook, whisking frequently, for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

Turn the bars out onto a rack, remove the paper and invert the bars onto another rack, so they are right side up.

Slide the parchment paper under the rack to serve as a drip catcher, grab a long metal icing spatula and pour the hot glaze over the bars, using the spatula to spread it evenly over the cake. Let cool to room temperature before cutting.

Cut into 32 rectangles, each about 2-1/4 x 1-1/2 inches.

Storing: In a covered container, the bars will keep for about 3 days at room temperature. This can't be frozen with the glaze.