Community Cookbook: Make applesauce cake with June O'Dell from Jackson

June O’Dell of Jackson is no stranger to the kitchen. Growing up in Patton, Mo., she learned to cook with her mom Glenda, who gardened, canned and made three homecooked meals a day. O’Dell says that living in the country, they didn’t just run to the store and buy stuff, so most of it, they grew themselves. Whether picking strawberries — not her favorite job — or cracking beans, she and her younger sister, Susie, were part of it all.

“Being a stay-at-home mom sounds glamorous,” says O’Dell of her mom’s role, “but it’s not. She did everything. It was all from scratch. And we had to help.”

After graduating from Meadow Heights High School, O’Dell spent time in the kitchen at the Sedgewickville Auction Market, serving lunch and sometimes supper to the attendees at the sales barn. While they were auctioning cattle, she deep-fried chicken, made soup and chili throughout the winter, and baked homemade pies every Tuesday for almost eight years.

Later, she took cake decorating classes.

“My kids were young, and I liked to do it,” O’Dell says. “Wedding cakes, anniversary cakes — [my friend and I] made hundreds of them. Living in Patton, people would order from us rather than driving to Cape or Jackson.”

O’Dell says she used to spend Thursday baking cakes, Friday decorating cakes, and Saturday delivering and setting them up. But when she began traveling for her job with the Workforce Development Board, a federal agency that assists the underemployed, the cake business became too much.

Eventually, she and her husband Robert moved to Jackson. After retiring from her job in 2021, O’Dell found herself back in the kitchen.

“Robert was still working. My sister was working. I had no one to run around with,” O’Dell says. “I didn’t have hobbies. My kids were grown. And I was used to being with people every day.”

When a neighbor suggested working as a substitute in food service for the Jackson R-2 School District, O’Dell signed up. Past experience in food service made this an easy transition for O’Dell, who says she enjoys the friendships she has made and the opportunity to get out of the house a few times a month.

At Cape County Cowboy Church, where she and Robert attend, O’Dell serves on a food team for Thursday night fellowship. Every six weeks, her group plans and prepares a meal for 100 people. O’Dell brings at least three coconut cream pies, and there are never any leftovers. While she thought about sharing that recipe here, O’Dell says this applesauce cake is special, too.

“It was my mother’s recipe, which I’m sure was my grandmother’s recipe,” O’Dell says. “Mom made it when we were [living] at home. She passed a few years ago at the age of 91, and I have her [handmade] recipe book.”

The recipe book is a small notepad filled with handwritten and clipped newspaper recipes. Some are loose, and others are glued in. The papers are turning brown, some are splattered and others are barely hanging on. O’Dell says it was like her mother’s Bible. She always used it.

O’Dell says the applesauce cake is one of many recipes in the book. It has simple ingredients and keeps for a few days on the counter. Because of the applesauce, it stays moist. And while the nuts and raisins can be omitted, she keeps everything else the same.

“If it calls for shortening, I use Crisco. I’ve never tried off-brand,” O’Dell says. “My kids and grandkids don’t like the raisins, but Robert eats anything.”

Applesauce Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1⁄2 cup shortening (Crisco)

1 1⁄2 cups applesauce

2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon allspice

1 cup raisins

2 cups flour (all-purpose)

1⁄2 cup nuts (optional)

Powdered Sugar Icing:

1 1⁄2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

Add water to a spreadable consistency.

Directions:

Mix cake ingredients together and pour into a 9x9-inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 45 minutes. Allow to cool before adding icing. Sprinkle with nuts, if desired.