These recipes are provided by Whole Foods Market with locations in Rochester Hills, Troy, West Bloomfield and Ann Arbor.

Spiced Applesauce Cake with Candied Pecans
A spiced apple cake that’s perfect for early fall.

For the cake
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 cups unsweetened applesauce
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tbls ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsps baking powder
2 tsps real vanilla extract
1 cup pecan pieces, lightly toasted
1-1/2 cups chopped apple (peeled)
For the Candied Pecans and Glaze
1/2 cup pecan halves
2 tsps melted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup organic apple juice
1/4 cup brown sugar

For the cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease the bottom and sides of a 10-inch springform pan with a little butter. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup sugar, tap to cover sides and bottom. Set aside. Beat remaining butter and sugar in a bowl on medium speed for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy, scraping sides as needed. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. In another bowl, sift together flour, spices, salt and baking powder. At a slow speed, alternate adding flour mixture and applesauce to butter mixture until well combined. Stir in nuts and chopped apple by hand. Pour batter into sugared pan. Bake in center of oven for 1 hour and 45-50 minutes or until inserted tester comes out clean. Transfer to a rack to cool.

For the pecans: Toast pecan halves in the oven for 5 minutes and immediately toss with butter, then with sugar. Let cool on a plate.

For the glaze: In a small saucepan over medium high heat, simmer apple juice and brown sugar until it thickens and reduces by at least half. Brush on top of cooled cake and arrange candied pecans on top.

Serves 10-12

The above recipe is provided by Susan Bellinson of Whole Foods Market with locations in Rochester Hills, Troy, West Bloomfield and Ann Arbor.