Spice Cake (with vegan option*)

Yield 8 servings

Recipe from The Modern Vegetarian

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

Here’s a delicious treat, just right for a casual dinner party, a picnic or a lunchbox. Bank up some prep time by measuring out the dry ingredients twice and storing the extra dry mix so you can make this again especially quick later on.

½ cup plain, unflavored soy milk

½ cup pure maple syrup (not pancake syrup!)

6 Tablespoons molasses

6 Tablespoons canola oil or melted unsalted butter (Use oil if you wish this to be vegan.*)

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons cider vinegar

1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

2 Tablespoons ground ginger

2 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Lightly oil an 8-inch square baking pan and dust it with a bit of flour.  In a large bowl, whisk the soy milk, maple syrup, molasses, oil (or butter), vanilla, and the vinegar.  In a medium bowl, sift together the flours, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cloves, nutmeg, and the pepper.  Fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture with a rubber spatula, taking care not to over mix.  Pour in the baking pan and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  Allow the cake to cook, in the banking dish, to room temperature before slicing. 

Finishing Touch Options: 

·       Dust the cake with some powdered sugar (vegan)

·       Serve with Lemon Curd

·       Serve with a dollop of sweetened whipping cream

·       Serve with a dollop of Sweetened Thick Yogurt Cream**

**To make Sweetened Thick Yogurt Cream, place coffee filter in a sieve and set it over a bowl.  Put a cup of plain Greek yogurt in the coffee filter and let the yogurt set for at least 2 hours.  The whey (the liquid) will fall through the sieve into the bowl leaving a thick cream in the filter. (You can discard the whey or use it in other recipes.) Put the cream in another bowl and add 1 Tablespoon or so of real maple syrup or honey.  Mix thoroughly.  Chill until ready to serve.