Difficulty: Easy
Serves 8
Gingerbread cookies are a classic Christmas treat but you know what? They can be kinda time-consuming to make. With Christmas just days away, finding the time to bake and decorate cookies isn’t really on the cards. But instead of doing away with the cookies altogether, I’ve stolen classic gingerbread flavours and turned them into a super easy cake!
Topped with a basic lemon cream cheese frosting, these babies have all the festive energy of gingerbread cookies, with just a fraction of the time-spend.
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup soy milk
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 cups plain flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- Pinch of salt
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
Frosting
- 1/2 cup vegan cream cheese
- 1/2 cup vegan butter
- 1 squeeze lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup icing sugar
- 1/2 cup crystallised ginger, chopped
- Rind of one small lemon, finely grated
Method
- Preheat your oven to 180°C and grease a 26cm x 16cm rectangular baking tin.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the soy milk and apple cider vinegar before setting aside to curdle.
- In a large bowl, sift together the plain flour, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt, before mixing through the brown sugar and caster sugar.
- Whisk the vanilla extract and vegetable oil into the soy milk mixture and gradually pour the wet ingredients into the dry, while mixing with a wooden spoon.
- Once the batter is smooth, evenly pour into your lined baking tin and smooth out on top.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the middle.
- While the cake cools, make your frosting by beating together the cream cheese, butter, lemon juice and vanilla until thick and creamy.
- Sift in the icing sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy.
- Spread onto the completely cooled cake before topping with chopping crystallised ginger and lemon rind.
Looking for more festive desserts? Try my Peppermint Bark Pudding, Little Christmas Pavlovas and Gingerbread Christmas Cookies.
