Begin by making the cake. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves until well blended. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, applesauce, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract together with the paddle attachment until combined. Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture to the mixing bowl and beat until the batter is smooth. Turn off the mixer and stir in the raisins and pecans. Evenly distribute the batter between 2 well-greased and lightly floured 8-inch cake pans and bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Flip out onto a wire rack to cool.

While the cake is baking/cooling, you can get started on the frosting. The first step to this frosting is making the caramel. In a small thick-bottomed saucepan, mix together the water and 1/3 cup of the granulated sugar until well blended. Bring to a boil over medium-low heat and continue boiling until the mixture turns a light caramel color, only stirring once every four minutes. This could take anywhere between 8 to 15 minutes, the speed will depend upon the heat of your stovetop. Remove the pan from the heat and quickly stir in the heavy cream, brown sugar, and 1/4 cup of the butter until incorporated. Be careful as the mixture will spit and hiss a bit. If the sugar begins to clump up when you're stirring do not fret, just stir as best as you can for about 30 seconds and then put the pot back on the heat and bring it back to a boil again over medium-low heat. Once it is boiling again stir until the sugar chunk dissolves and the mixture is smooth. Once it smoothes out, stir it every two minutes and allow the mixture to simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the stovetop and stir in the salt. It will look thin but it will thicken slightly as it cools. Set aside and allow to cool.

In a medium-sized thick-bottomed saucepan, whisk together the flour and milk over medium heat. Continue whisking and heating the mixture until it gets slightly thicker than elmer's glue, (this took me about 8 minutes). Whisk in the vanilla extract and then set the mixture aside to cool to room temperature. Once the mixture is completely cooled, beat the remaining cup of butter and 1 and 1/4 cups granulated sugar in an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment at medium-high speed until light and fluffy and whipped-looking, which should take about 3-5 minutes. Add the cooled flour/milk mixture and continue beating for another 2 minutes. Then drizzle in the salted caramel sauce while it is mixing and beat for 1 minute. Set the frosting aside. Once the cake has cooled completely, frost it and serve.