Applesauce Spice Cake

I made this as a "healthy" alternative for Lacey's birthday cake. It uses apple juice concentrate instead of refined sugar. Lacey liked it, except for the dates. I doused mine in caramel sauce and topped it with vanilla ice cream. It was pretty yummy that way, too.

3 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped dates
1 1/2 cups ground almonds (optional)
2 Macintosh apples - peeled, cored and finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour 9 x 13 baking pan.

Beat the eggs until they drop like ribbons from the beaters. Continue beating and add the oil in a thin stream. Beat in the 1 cup applesauce and the 1 cup unsweetened apple juice concentrate then mix in the flour gradually until well blended. Add the baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground almonds, dates, and apples. Fold together until well mixed.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees F about 40 minutes or until the cake tests clean with a knife or toothpick. Cool completely before frosting.