Pumpkin Gingerbread

My first impression of this cake was that it was just a tad dull. However, it improved after sitting overnight and it kept well for several days. The flavours became a little more settled and developed. It's a bit like pumpkin pie in a moist cake form I would say, and nothing wrong with that. I can see serving it with a little ice-cream if you want something more decadent. I, on the other hand, ate it plain for breakfast. Excellent with tea. In fact, if I was going to serve it with ice-cream, the ice-cream would be Mapleton's chai flavoured ice-cream. Oh yeah.

12 servings
1 hour 30 minutes - 20 minutes prep time


3 1/2 cups soft whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon allspice berries, finely ground
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt

1 cup Sucanat, or dark brown sugar
1/3 cup mild vegetable oil
3 extra-large eggs
2 cups puréed pumpkin
1 1/2 cups applesauce
1/4 cup light molasses

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of a 10" springform pan with parchment paper. Mix the dry ingredients, and set them aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat (by hand) the Sucanat and the oil, until the Sucanat is pretty much dissolved. You may wish to let it sit for 10 minutes or so, to encourage this. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Mix in the pumpkin, applesauce and molasses.

Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, until well blended. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, and smooth it out. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.





Last year at this time I was pretty darn busy too, and I didn't make anything.