Gingerbread

When I was little, my mom used to make the most wonderful gingerbread with a large dollop of homemade whipped cream on top. She always used fresh ginger which gave it a deliciously spicy punch. It was moist and dense and just sweet enough, with a rich molasses undertone. This gingerbread almost satisfied that nostalgia for my mom’s gingerbread. It uses ginger in four ways–powdered, juice, fresh, and crystallized–for real ginger lovers. I was planning to whip up some coconut milk cream for the top, but I’ll have to work on that recipe because it was a fail. Oh well! After we tasted the gingerbread, though, we all agreed that it didn’t really need whipped cream anyway.

The Recipe

Makes 1 9×9 square cake

1/2 cup earth balance or vegan shortening

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup vegan white sugar

1 cup applesauce

3/4 cup boiling water

3/4 cup molasses

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp powdered ginger

1/2 cup minced crystallized ginger

1 Tbls ginger juice

1 tsp fresh ginger grated finely

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 9×9 baking dish. Blend the shortening and sugar together. Add the applesauce. Add the boiling water and molasses. Add the ginger juice and fresh grated ginger. In a separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and combine thoroughly. Stir in the crystallized ginger. Pour into pan and toss it (gently) into the oven. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until a knife or toothpick comes out clean. Cool enough to eat it and cut into large squares.