White Gingerbread recipe

[greenmama]

Tonight the woman from Dachshund Rescue is coming over to do a home visit and make sure our house is an acceptable place to raise an abandoned doxie. I know we are fine, but I will schmooze her anyway by making this:

White Gingerbread

In a bowl mix

·         1 cup applesauce

·         2 cups sugar (cut to 1 cup?)

·         2 tsp nutmeg

·         Dash vanilla

Add to this:

·         4 cups flour (half white, half whole wheat)

·         Pinch salt

·         Tsp baking soda

·         1 1/3 cups buttermilk (or milk with a slug of vinegar)

Blend and turn into greased 9 by 13 pan

·         Sprinkle 1/3 cup sugar on top

·         Bake at 350 for 30 minutes (took 45 for me, just in an ordinary pan.)·        

This is an adaptation of a recipe my mom gave me on, of all things, a refrigerator magnet.  The original version had an entire cup of oil in it and all white flour--tastes yummy indeed, but very hi-cal and in my opinion overly sweet.  I've played around with the recipe and above is my new and improved take on it.  The applesauce actually does really good things to the consistency of the cake--less crusty, moister, and keeps longer.  And while the whole wheat does alter the lightness of the cake, it's a worthwhile change. 

Once I tried this after brewing the milk in black tea and using a greater variety of spices; it was very nice, but IMO the nutmeg-only version is the best. (Despite being a gingerbread recipe in which there is no ginger at all.  Whatever, right?)

And by the way, doubling this recipe is the perfect size for a bundt cake.  Has to bake longer, though.
peace,
J