Apples and honey are the traditional foods served to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year because their sweetness is symbolic of the sweetness one hopes to enjoy in the year to come. But you don't have to be Jewish to enjoy this light spice cake, which captures the very essence of a sweet September afternoon. Honey is hydroscopic; it absorbs water from the air, so the cake becomes moister and more flavorful as it ages. So don’t feel you have to eat it all at once, even though you might want to. It's at least as good for breakfast as it is for dessert.
(Makes 1 Bundt-type cake to serve 8-12)
1 3/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, preferably Saigon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 cup honey
1 cup canola or corn oil
1 cup applesauce
2 eggs

1.) Preheat the oven to 350. Rub the inside of a kugelopf or bundt pan with oil, then sprinkle the inside of the pan with flour and bang out the excess.
2.) In a medium size mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and spices. Ina separate bowl, whisk together the honey, oil and applesauce, then whisk the eggs into the applesauce mixture one at a time to create a smooth emulsion.
3.) Add the dry ingredients all at once to the applesauce mixture then whisk just until the lumps are gone. Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan and bake the cake until it puffs in the middle and begins to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 30 minutes. A wooden skewer inserted in the center of the cake should come out clean.  
4.) Turn the cake out onto a cooling rack and let it cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Serve warm or wrap when cool and serve the next day.