Vegan Gingerbread
Yesterday there was a little rainstorm in the afternoon, so I came inside and stirred up some vegan gingerbread. I made a huge mess. Molasses and syrup dripped off the edges of the counter, and sugar sparkled on the floor as the lightning flashed. Of course there were cats all around. Carl stared at me while I worked (his eyes are so big they look like goggles), and Buntin played privately under the table with her okra (sometimes she acts like she’s embarrassed of her okra games). . . and pretty soon the whole house smelled of gingerbread.
For breakfast this morning I had a piece of gingerbread topped with a huge blob of vegan whip cream, and Rob reminded me of something funny Sophie said when she was little. Rob had made gingerbread, and Sophie said she wanted some. She said she had had gingerbread many times before in her long and storied life (she was four). Of course, the gingerbread was too much for her; it was too spicy. (She was such a fussy eater.) But she didn’t want to admit she had lied about being so experienced. So she said, thinking fast, covering for her little self, “Um, actually, Rob, I like brown gingerbread, not black gingerbread. This is black gingerbread, Rob.”
It was not.
Vegan Gingerbread
Ingredients:
1 Tbls ground flaxseed
3 Tbls water
1/2 cup vegan butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp orange extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup light molasses
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 cup hot water
Directions:
Blend the flaxseed and three tablespoons of water with an immersion blender until frothy. Beat the flaxseed mixture and sugar together. Melt the butter and let it cool. Beat it with the flaxseed and sugar. Beat in the orange extract. In another bowl, sift together the flour, soda, spices, and salt. Whisk to blend and set aside. In a third bowl, whisk together the molasses, syrup, and hot water. Add the sifted and liquid ingredients alternately to the butter/flaxseed/sugar mixture until well blended. Pour into a greased baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve with vegan whip cream on top.
