This Vegan Gingerbread Cake is perfect for breakfast with a mug of coffee or an afternoon snack with a cup of tea. It’s deliciously spicy and soft and light. Easy one-bowl dessert that can be made even during the busiest holiday season.
I was supposed to post something else today just not to have two cake posts in a row, but I can’t wait to share this creation. It’s a variation of my Pumpkin Spice Vegan Cake but although it’s similar it’s still very different. The aroma of this Vegan Ginger Cake permeated the air in my kitchen for a few days. Every time I’d go downstairs to get a cup of coffee or tea I could smell the wonderful spicy ginger and warming cinnamon. I made this cake twice last week it was so good. And I ate them both almost entirely by myself. My husband isn’t into sweets too much and he’s not a huge fan of gingerbread spices either. So, I ate at least three quarters of both of the cakes. I feel a little bit guilty, but not really as I am planning on making this cake again and again and again.
Gingerbread flavour wasn’t popular in Russia during holiday season. We had our own version of Gingerbread but it was more peppery than gingery. It was also eaten all throughout the year, not just during winter. December for me smelled like mandarin oranges. Back when I was little, when Russia was still Soviet Union and store shelves were bare, those small orange jewels were a wonderful holiday treat – rare and precious. We even hung clementines on the christmas tree as decorations. Cinnamon was primerily a fall spice and ginger was foreign and unfamiliar. Now that I’ve lived in Canada for almost two decades, gingerbread means holidays. I started listening to Christmas music last week and we just put up our Christmas tree and this Vegan Gingerbread Cake was a perfect accompaniment to the songs and twinkle lights.
The recipe is super easy to make – just mix everything in a bowl and pour into an oiled and floured cake pan. It totally goes onto my Mom-recipe list. I use unsweetened apple sauce instead of eggs and some oil; it also adds some sweetness. Brown sugar and molasses add a distinct punch of flavour and colour. Ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves mingle together in the batter and make the kitchen smell like home and childhood and magic. I started making vegan cakes a few years ago and I haven’t looked back. I really don’t miss butter or eggs or milk in them – if made properly they are moist and soft and absolutely delicious!
View my video of me making the One-Bowl Vegan Gingerbread Cake. I even did my nails for the first time since I had the baby!
This Vegan Gingerbread Cake is perfect for breakfast with a mug of coffee or an afternoon snack with a cup of tea. It's deliciously spicy and soft and light. Easy one-bowl dessert that can be made even during the busiest holiday season | Imagelicious
Makes 1 8-inch cake
- 1 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon ginger *
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon *
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg *
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves *
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup fancy molasses
- 1/2 cup apple sauce (unsweetened)
- 1/2 cup water
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Preheat the oven to 350F.
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In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients and mix well making sure that there are no lumps.
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Add all the wet ingredients and mix until flour disappears.
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Grease and flour an 8-inch cake pan.
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Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for about 50-55 minutes or until cake is baked through and there are no crumbs sticking to a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cake for testing doneness. Note: my oven usually takes longer for everything, so start checking after 40 minutes or so.
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Dust with icing sugar and eat either warm or cool. It stays soft and moist for a couple of days if it lasts this long.
* You can use your favourite gingerbread spices instead of what I listed. You'll need 1 tablespoon of the spices or a bit more if you'd like a more pronounced gingerbread flavour.
Спасибо, Юля! Еще и его попробую, у меня все имбирные кексы от тебя – фавориты зимней выпечки)
Спасибо Алена 🙂 Надеюсь, что понравится! Это на данный момент мой любимый кекс… легкий, не сильно вредный 🙂
Yup…this is my kind of breakfast. I could eat this anytime of the day. Gingerbread is tops on my holiday list.
Now that my christmas tree is up I should make this cake again!
I like how you literally filed it under "Mom recipe". Perfect for the holidays, now I want to make it too!! 🙂
Hey Janet – yep, it’s a totally mom recipe 🙂 I made it a few times and it takes only a few minutes to mix together! I hope you try it since it’s vegan
I love gingerbread flavors! This cake looks amazing! I am definitely putting it on my holiday baking list!
I hope you try this! So easy and so delicious (and if not healthy, then at least not too bad for the holidays, which means you get to eat more of the bad stuff 🙂 )
I remember my mom making gingerbread when we were kids – it was more like a cake than a bread. We would top hot gingerbread with honey butter. So good!! This just reminded me that I miss it and need to make some this month 🙂
I hope you try this recipe – it’s definitely one of my favourites right now!
Gingerbread is one of my favorite holiday flavors. Your cake looks so moist and delicious!
Thank you! It is surprisingly moist for a cake that uses very little oil and no butter or eggs
That looks so gorgeous Julia I can almost smell the ginger bread spices.
Thanks so much 🙂 My kitchen smelled like Christmas for days!
Do you drain the apple sauce at all? Usually in vegan baking you do, but I am not sure with this recipe since it doesn’t mention it.
Hello Heidi – I don’t drain the apple sauce. I use this brand, I get it at Costco: http://applesnax.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Applesnax-22oz.jpg
Is there anything else I can use in place of fancy molasses? ( having trouble finding some!)
Do you have access to any other kinds of molasses? Molasses is what is usually used in Gingerbread- it adds a characteristic flavour. If you can’t find any kind of molasses, then use this recipe, it has more sugar and more water instead of molasses, just use gingerbread spices instead of pumpkin spices: http://www.imagelicious.peppercorncreative.com/blog/pumpkin-spice-vegan-cake
Would Blackstrap molasses work?
I’ve never cooked or baked with blackstrap molasses. According to this article (http://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-deal-with-blackstrap-70853) it is quite bitter. If you are ok with buying it, then maybe use a tablespoon of blackstrap molasses and add a bit of brown sugar to compensate for the bitterness? I’m guessing here as I haven’t actually used that kind of molasses. Do they have Cooking molasses? That one is interchangeable with fancy molasses I think. It’s usually in the baking aisle, near sugar
Blackstrap molasses is the only kind I’ve ever used, and I’ve made lots of gingerbread, but this will be my first vegan version. Thanks for the recipe!
I’m not a very experienced baker and I’ve never used any type of Molasses. I will look for the cooking kind!
Which cake is more moist, this one or the pumpkin spice cake? Also, you said to use gingerbread spices. Is that a bottled kind that I can find among the rest of the spices at the store?
They are about the same in terms of moistness. You can follow the pumpkin spice recipe but use the actual spices from the gingerbread recipe or use bottled/premixed gingerbread spices, you can usually find them at bulk foods or baking aisles
Can I substitute almond milk for the water?
I haven’t tried myself, but I don’t see why not.
thank you for this delicious recipe. For once, I had all the ingredients on hand. Very easy to make and excellent flavour.
I’m really glad you liked it! Thank you for your feedback!
Very tasty recipe. I included some wheat bran, oat bran, whole gold flax seed, lemon zest, zested fresh ginger and substituted apple cider for the water.
I love your changes! Did you reduce sugar a little bit since apple cider is a bit sweet?