Green Tomato Cake

My mother had a lot of green tomatoes at the end of the season and I was looking for something to do with them. This sounded tempting. My 16-year-old nephew thought the cake looked good and asked what was in it. I told him to taste it then I would tell him. He tried it, liked it, then I told him. He was amazed. The original recipe called for 1 cup oil but I substituted applesauce for half the oil. The cake turned out very well. Delicious, moist, tasty.... truly wonderful cake.

• Ready In: 1 hr 50 mins
• Serves: 20

Ingredients

• 1⁄2 cup  oil
• 1⁄2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2  cups sugar
• 3  eggs
• 3  cups all-purpose flour
• 2  teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1⁄4 teaspoons baking soda
• 2  cups green tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1⁄2 cup maraschino cherry, drained, cut in half
• 1⁄2 cup raisins, dredged in flour
• 1  tablespoon vanilla extract
•  fudge  icing
• 1⁄4 cup milk
• 1  cup brown sugar
• 1⁄2 cup butter
• 1  cup confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F Butter a 9x13-inch pan or two 9-inch cake pans.
2. In a large bowl, beat oil, applesauce, sugar, and eggs.
3. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Add tomatoes and cherries. Stir and then blend into oil and egg mixture in three additions. Add vanilla extract and stir. Add raisins.
4. Bake 45 minutes for 9x13-pan or until cake tester comes out clean. Remove from oven; let stand on wire rack to cool.
5. FUDGE ICING: In a small saucepan, bring milk, brown sugar, and butter to a boil. Boil 5 minutes. Remove from heat; add icing sugar all at once. Beat until shiny and ice the cake. Decorate it with fresh fruit and nuts, if desired.