This no-fuss chocolate cake recipe isn’t overly rich, but it’s moist and flavorful. It’s a great choice for when you need to make dessert for a crowd but you don’t want to spend a lot of time cooking. 
Sunday night dessert is an institution around here. I’m not sure how it happened, other than that my husband’s sweet tooth requires copious amounts of sugar when we’re home on the weekends.

It’s one of the few times he steps into the kitchen and cooks, and he gets a lot of enjoyment from looking up dessert recipe ideas. In fact, several years ago I showed him how to “pin” a recipe that he thought looked yummy so we could make it later, and the next time I looked at my account I saw that he had pinned 20 or 30 recipes after that first one! Apparently, I created a monster. At least it’s a monster who creates tasty desserts.

Last Sunday we were once again going through our routine of brainstorming what we wanted for dessert that night when I remembered this recipe for chocolate chip applesauce cake that I hadn’t made in quite awhile. I got it from a church recipe swap in college, and I have fond memories of making it with my roommates on many a Sunday evening (okay, so maybe I can’t blame all of the Sunday dessert tradition on my husband). It was a good excuse to invite some boys over to our apartment.

I love this simple cake for so many reasons.

First of all, the ingredients are really basic. Nothing fancy here.

Second, you can throw everything into ONE bowl together, so it keeps the dishes to a minimum (a BIG plus for this dish-washing averse girl).

Third, the flavors are awesome. It’s got a strong chocolatey taste, but it’s not so rich that you feel sick by the time you’ve finished your slice. Plus, the pockets of melted chocolate from the chocolate chips add enough sweetness that you don’t need to frost it! This again means fewer dishes and fewer calories (not that I’m claiming this is health food by any stretch of the imagination).With about 10 minutes of effort, plus some time in the oven, you have a full 9×13 cake perfect for feeding a crowd.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Applesauce Cake

Notes: This no-fuss recipe is great for when you need to make dessert for a crowd but you don’t want to spend a lot of time cooking. Besides, you want to make this when you have a lot of people around to eat it…otherwise you will find yourself with an empty pan and a realization that you ate the whole thing on your own.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 Tablespoons cocoa
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine (melted)
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups applesauce
• 2/3 cup chocolate chips
• powdered sugar (for garnish)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix all the ingredients–except for 2 Tablespoons of sugar and chocolate chips–in a large bowl until well combined.
3. Pour batter into a greased and floured 9×13 pan. Sprinkle the top with the extra sugar and chocolate chips.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, with just a few crumbs.
5. Cool in pan for 10-15 minutes, then sift a little powdered sugar over the top to make it look fancy if you want. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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