Viola Jones writes (1988), “I have always used a tube pan. Period!” And, although cloves are in the recipe, she says, “I don’t like.” The earliest record of this recipe dates from 1925 - On his 25th birthday, Stewart Jones (born 1900) received a cake made from this recipe from an elderly neighbor lady. He liked it so much that Viola obtained the recipe and it has become a staple in the Jones’ cooking tradition ever since.

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup golden applesauce
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup nuts, chopped

1. Mix the raisins with 1/4 cup of the flour. Mix well and set aside.
2. Cream the butter, add the sugar and mix well. Add the applesauce and mix well.
3. Set the raisins and nuts aside. Mix the remaining dry ingredients together.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar mixture stirring just enough to blend thoroughly. Add the raisins and nuts stirring just enough to incorporate the additions.
5. Grease tube or Bundt pan and dust with flour. Pour in the mix. Bake in a preheated 325°F oven for about 1 hour or a little less. Check with toothpick near the end of the baking time.
6. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting the pan over the serving plate. Decorate with a drizzle of white creamy frosting and some plump raisins.

We have made Viola’s cake at our home in Alaska and entered some in the Alaska State Fair. We gave the prize ribbons to Viola, a memento she treasured.