Fresh Ginger and Maple Cake (Bread)

Today while I was making the Chinese raddish cake in preparation for Chinese New Year, I all of a sudden wanted to bake a loaf of cake/bread. I ran out of bananas so I couldn't make my banana bread. As I just recently got into this whole baking craze, I bought quite a few baking spices - cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger - and so much more. So I have decided to make a spiced cake loaf. I was never a baker, and my cakes always turned out rather blah. This would be a good chance to test myself and see if I can come up with a new cake/bread recipe based on my banana bread.

Using only the ground spices won't make the cake very interesting. I saw fresh ginger, they are going in. I saw maple syrup and apple sauce - these 2 made it onto the list as well. I grated a big fat nob of ginger and used apple sauce in place of the veggie oil - which according to many blogs and food sites, they are interchangeable in baking. Your cakes will still turn out moist but none of the fat. I also used brown sugar to add more sweetness and depth to the flavor. Then of course, your usual cake mix - flour, egg, baking soda, etc.

30mins in a 350F oven, my kitchen was filled with the warm aroma of ginger, cinnamon and cloves. Not bad I thought.



Now comes the taste test - i liked the taste - it got a kick to it since i used fresh ginger. The cake was moist enough but the taste was not as rich as if you used oil or butter. And the texture got a bit chewy after the loaf was cooled. Was it because I didn't use any fat in the recipe? Not enough eggs? In any case, this was a good start to a homey & comforting quick bread recipe. Still need improvements of course. In the mean time, I will be devouring this loaf of fresh ginger and maple bread tomorrow morning - heating it up and serving it with a nob of butter & fig jam.

You gotta have the fat.