This evening I was suddenly struck with inspiration to bake, so I found a recipe for some pumpkin gingerbread, something I’ve had on my mind to bake for a few weeks now. I found this mouth-watering pumpking gingerbread with spiced buttercream recipe, and was pleased to see its inspiration is from a site I regularly frequent, Fat Free Vegan. I somehow have convinced myself that becaue the ingredients are vegan and use healthier alternatives to sugar and other processed foods, that the results will be healthier.
In any case, I made the following modifications to the recipe:
- add 1/4 cup of chopped crystallized ginger
- use 1/2 cup of agave nectar in substitue for the white sugar
- add a hugely heaping tblspn of organic cocoa powder
- add 1/2 tblspn of ground flax seed (compensation for extra liquid in the agave nectar)
- alternative flours instead of white flour (I used a half quinoa and half amaranth, I believe)
- no icing
A warning: it’s quite spicy, and the crystallized ginger is a strong flavour. I’m not actually sure I like it. I do like the rest of it. I also thought I should have added something orange / citrusy to it, perhaps some orange zest, but it’s quite tart with just the ginger. Anyway, a suggestion to consider.
You can see the result in my photo. The scent was absolutely marvellous as it cooked, and Misha was particularly grateful to me for taking the initiative to make a delicious treat (it’s been a long, shut-in few days of both of us coding our butts off).
Edit: I’m thinking this would go really well with a dollop of the Highbush Cranberry Syrupy Stuff I made last fall.