The holiday season might be over, but any time is good for gathering with friends, colleagues, and family to share in the blessings of time spent together.

As we catch up on each other’s lives, we inevitably want something delicious to share. This spiced ginger cake makes for a tasty, warming treat that you can enjoy as a snack in the afternoon or as a beautiful dessert after a meal. It’s light in texture but full of flavour from the fresh ginger and spices.

Spiced Ginger Cake
makes 2 – 8” round cakes or 18 cupcakes

3/4 c molasses
1/2 c applesauce
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c maple syrup
1/2 c neutral oil (like avocado)
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 c buckwheat flour
1 Tbl ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground ginger
3/4 tsp allspice
8 grates nutmeg
pinch salt
1 c water
2 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 Tbl grated ginger
2 eggs, room temperature, whisked

Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Butter and line the bottom and sides of your cake pan with parchment paper or your cupcake tin with liners.
In a medium bowl, mix together the molasses, applesauce, sugar, maple syrup, and oil.
In another bowl, sift together all-purpose and buckwheat flours, cinnamon, cloves, ground ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and salt.
In a small saucepan (or tea kettle), bring 1 cup water to a boil.
Add the hot water to a small bowl along with the baking soda.
Mix the hot water into the molasses mixture, then stir in grated ginger (a microplane is perfect for grating the ginger).
Gradually whisk the dry ingredients (flour and spice mixture) into the wet ingredients (molasses mixture).
Add the eggs, and continue mixing until everything is thoroughly combined.
Pour the batter into prepared cake pans, and bake about 35 minutes (about 20 minutes for cupcakes), until top of cake springs back lightly when pressed or until a toothpick inserted into centre comes out clean.
Cool cake for at least 30 minutes.
Run a knife around edge of cake to loosen it from pan. Invert the cake onto a cooling rack, and peel off parchment paper.
Let cool completely before icing.

Note: buckwheat flour adds an earthiness to the cake, if you prefer you can use straight all-purpose flour instead.

This cake is delicious on its own without icing. It is lovely and warming with a mug of coffee or tea, or even a glass of port as an after-dinner treat. While it doesn’t need icing, this cream cheese icing takes it from afternoon delight to centre of the table divine.

Cream Cheese Icing
makes 2 1/2 cups

1 pkg (225g) cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 c butter, room temperature
3 c icing sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 Tbl lemon juice

In a medium bowl, add cream cheese and butter.
Using a hand mixer, whip butter and cream cheese until combined and smooth.
Gradually add icing sugar and whip (starting on low so as to not have icing sugar fly everywhere) until fully incorporated and smooth.
Add the vanilla extract and lemon juice and whip again until smooth.