WW Recipe of the Day - Easy Slow Cooker Applesauce Spice Cake
Since Martha has been having such a good time making baked goods in her slow cooker, I figured it was time for me to give it a try.
I do love to bake, but I've only ever used an oven.
I've decided that my initial attempt to bake with my slow cooker should be something really easy, like this applesauce spice cake.
I found the recipe in Slow Cooker Revolution Volume 2 (affiliate link) and it didn't look too complicated. Plus, I actually had all the ingredients, so that always helps 🙂
Well, if all goes well, we'll end up with a nice and moist, lightly spiced applesauce cake that we can enjoy for dessert or as a mid-day snack.
How Many Calories and WW Points in this Crock Pot Applesauce Spice Cake
This recipe makes a relatively small cake that is supposed to serve 6. I figured it'll be perfect then for 2 - with plenty leftover for snacking later on.
Each serving (⅙th) of the cake has 271 calories and:
12 *SmartPoints (Green plan)
12 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)
12 *SmartPoints (Purple plan)
7 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
To see your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, Click here!
To reduce the Points, try substituting Truvia Baking Blend (affiliate link), or your favorite low calorie sugar substitute for the sugar.
As expected, the cake was dense and very moist. It was dense because I used whole wheat pastry flour in place of the all-purpose flour that is called for in the recipe.
I did have a couple of (relatively minor) issues while cooking this cake.
I decided to use my Ninja 3-in-1 Cooking System (affiliate link) for this and didn't really take into account that it seems the Ninja may cook a little hotter than traditional crock pots.
I asked Martha about this and she thinks it's because the Ninja has a metal insert - as opposed to the stoneware used in most, if not all other slow cookers.
It seems the metal insert probably heats quicker and cooks faster as a result.
The other issue had to do with soggy paper towels that came into contact with the top of the cake and I had to peel off (shown above), which kind of ruined it.
But only visually, it still tasted really good. And this little mishap was easily overcome with a sprinkle of powdered sugar before serving 😉
I guess I either didn't use enough paper towels to absorb all the moisture under the lid, or I didn't place them properly.
Again, I asked Martha and she recommended that I double (or even triple) them up next time.
Are You Ready To Slow Cook Yourself Slim?
So, we enjoyed the taste of this slow cooker applesauce cake and certainly want to try to do more slow cooker baking.
Next time though, I think I'll use my regular slow cooker, until I get more comfortable with my Ninja.
If you've made this Crock Pot Cake, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. And stay in touch on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.
Easy Slow Cooker Applesauce Spice Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch ground nutmeg
- Pinch ground cloves
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce, at room temperature
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- Confectioners' sugar
Instructions
- Grease 6-inch springform pan (affiliate link) and then line with parchment paper. Add about 2 cups (½ inch deep) water to slow cooker and place aluminum foil rack in bottom of crock.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.
- In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, applesauce, egg, vanilla and salt until smooth and lump-free. Slowly whisk in melted butter until well mixed.
- Stir flour mixture into moist applesauce mixture, just until incorporated.
- Pour batter into prepared springform pan (affiliate link) and smooth top with spatula. Lightly tap filled cake pan on counter to eliminate any air pockets.
- Set cake pan on aluminum rack in slow cooker, cover and cook on LOW 3 to 4 hours, until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.
- Remove pan from crock and cool completely on wire rack, about 1 to 2 hours.
- Run small knife around edge of cake to loosen from pan, then remove pan from cake. Remove cake pan bottom and toss out parchment paper.
- Transfer cake to serving dish and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, slice and serve.
Recipe Notes
Source: Slow Cooker Revolution Volume 2: The Easy-Prep Edition: 200 All-New, Ground-Breaking Recipes (affiliate link)
*Points® calculated by WW. *PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT each plan's ZeroPoint Foods (Green plan, Blue plan, Purple plan) using the WW Recipe Builder.
Here's a fun video that shows how to make a vegan apple dump cake in a crock pot:
More Slow Cooker Baked Apple Desserts for Weight Watchers
Easy Slow Cooker Apple Cake with Fresh Apples (*6 PointsPlus | *9 SmartPoints)
WW Cranberry Pear Apple Crisp with Gingersnaps (*6 PointsPlus | *7 SmartPoints)
Crock-Pot Apple Cobbler (*6 PointsPlus | *9 SmartPoints)
Crock Pot Cranberry Apple Cake (*5 PointsPlus | *7 SmartPoints)
Find More WW Friendly Slow Cooker Dessert Recipes
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Martha McKinnon
Peter shared some of this easy slow cooker applesauce spice cake with us. I thought it was delicious. It's the kind of cake I like best - a simple old-fashioned gently spiced not-too-sweet cake. One of the best things about home cooking and baking is that even when the recipes don't turn out perfectly, they are still usually much better than anything you buy already made 🙂