Applesauce spice cake with cinnamon cream cheese frosting

Hello, cake of my dreams. You are, like, the most fabulous, flavorful, superb, moist cake out there. I have to say, before meeting you I was a chocolate girl all the way. But after seeing your work, I think I have a new love. Oh, you want me to share you with the world? Well, OK, I guess I can do that. You're kind of the messiah of cakes, so I think it's only necessary that I pass on your righteousness.

For the cake:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups  unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup chopped and toasted walnuts

For the frosting:

1 cup confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
5 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F. Thickly butter a 9"x9" pan. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. In a separate bowl, with an electric mixer, beat together butter, brown sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs in one at a time, beating in between each addition. Then beat in applesauce. Turning the beater to low, pour in dry ingredients until homogenous. Last, fold in walnuts.  The batter may look curdled, but this is OK!

Pour batter into pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, until knife come out clean when inserted into the middle. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

While the cake is cooking: In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. In batches of 3, beat in confectioner's sugar and cinnamon, beating until incorporated. Cool frosting in refrigerator for 20-30 minutes. Once cooled, frost cake! Sho gooood.

Recipe from Smitten Kitchen and can be found here!