There’s a short list that is always associated with holiday desserts; pumpkin pie, apple pie, cranberry tarts and gingerbread cake. I love the complexity of a Gingerbread Cake; sweet and spicy with a tender crumb. If you love the taste of ginger, Gingerbread Cake is the way to go. It’s the perfect holiday cake to bring to Thanksgiving dinner parties and relatives’ houses as it travels well. In fact, molasses naturally preserves the flavor and texture of the cake, keeping it moist for days.
Gingerbread Cake is often served with dollops of fresh whipped cream, but really, it doesn’t need all that extra dairy anyway. I like this particular cake with a generous dusting of confectioner’s sugar, but my kids love it with soy ice cream. This is also another one of those recipes that literally takes five minutes to make. Usually by the time my oven is preheated, the cake is ready to go into the oven. I love fast and easy recipes that can be made on a whim for your family as a delicious treat after dinner, or given to friends, family and teachers over the holidays. Whomever you decide to make it for, I promise it will go on your Holiday Dessert short list as well.
DAIRY, EGG AND NUT FREE GINGERBREAD CAKE
Yield: 1 8-inch cake
1/2 c. dairy free shortening (I like to use Crisco)
1/3 c. granulated sugar
3/4 c. molasses
3/4 c. plus 1 T. hot water
2 1/3 c. unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspooon ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
Confectioner’s Sugar for Dusting
Soy ice cream, for serving
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the shortening, sugar, molasses and hot water. In a separate medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda and salt with a wire whisk. Add to shortening mixture, and beat on medium-high for 2-3 minutes, scraping the bowl occassionally.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees and spray an 8 inch glass baking dish with dairy free baking spray. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until an inserted cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely in pan, and serve dusted with confectioner’s sugar and with soy ice cream.
What a great, yet easy recipe! I will have to make this soon!
My mother in law makes an amazing gingerbread cake that we all love! Thanks so much for posting one that the WHOLE family can enjoy. I’m trying it out this afternoon!!!
My daughter loves the taste of ginger. She will LOVE this cake. Thanks Kelly!
This was one of the first recipes I made when I got my Food Allergy Mama’s cookbook in the mail. It is excellent. My Mom said it was also excellent reheated in the microwave days after baking. YUM!
Thanks for sharing, I’m goign to give this a try!
Thanks for sharing Liz! I am so excited for the rest of you to try this soon! Today my kids were off from school, and this gingerbread cake and clementines were our morning snack. So yummy…
[...] From Food Allergy Mama [...]
Thanks, this was delicious! My whole family ate it, including my husband, my egg-dairy-peanut avoiding 2 yr old and 3 non-allergic kids. (Rarely does everyone like my attempts at vegan baking.) It wasn’t dry and stayed together well. I am definitely going to buy the book and read your blog.
So glad your entire family enjoyed the cake Julie! Now you’ll have another dessert for the holidays!
I’ve never had gingerbread cake before – this was delicious! We used cookie cutters to cut the pieces into fun shapes and served it with some coconut milk ice cream. I’ve put it on our Christmas Day menu. Thanks for another great recipe!
Thanks Katie! We all LOVE this cake!! It’s easy and perfect for the holidays. We like it even as a snacking cake.