Applesauce cake is one of the great Depression-era baking innovations — applesauce replacing eggs and fat while adding moisture and a natural sweetness that deepened with spices. In NE Ohio, where apple orchards were common and applesauce was often made at home in the fall, this cake connected the abundance of the harvest to the practicalities of the lean years. Mary April's version, rich with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, is a deep autumn cake.