Vegan Ginger Cake

I'm not vegan, but my family and I supported our local flower festival by running the refreshments stall for a day, and we wanted to be able to offer a cake that was vegan friendly (and of course then can also be eaten by anyone with a dairy or egg intolerance/allergy). So, I consulted a vegan friend of mine about converting a ginger cake recipe that has been in my family for years (in fact my sister, Tasha, posted about it a few weeks ago, so it will be mostly familiar to folks who read both our blogs), and I thought I'd share what turned out to be a very successful conversion. The vegan version of the cake tasted the same as the non-vegan version and had the same consistency, which is already a sticky recipe. :)

So here is the Duncan recipe for ginger cake converted to be suitable for vegans (I've made it clear what has been changed in the recipe list):

Yes, this is a picture of the non-vegan ginger cake, but they look identical and I forgot to take a piccie before the vegan one got eaten. ;P

Vegan Ginger Cake

Equipment

• 1 large saucepan
• 1 small (milk) saucepan
• 1 bowl
• scales
• spatula
• 2 2lb loaf tins (approx 21x11x7cm | 8x4x3inches)
• loaf tin liners or grease proof paper or baking parchment
• small hand whisk or fork

Ingredients

• 8oz | 230g | 2/3 cup Black Treacle (Molasses)
• 8oz | 230g | 1 cup Soft Non-Dairy Baking Spread (this could be butter in the original recipe, but we've always used baking spread, which is lighter)
• 8oz | 230g | 1 1/4 cup Dark Brown Sugar
• 1 tbsp Golden Syrup
• 1/2 pt (UK) | 285ml | 1 1/3 cup soya milk (or other non-dairy equivalent) (original recipe was plain old cow's milk)
• 1/2 tspn Bicarbonate of Soda (Baking Soda)
• 12oz | 340g | 2 3/4 cup self-raising (rising) flour
• 4 tbsp ginger (yes that really is table spoons not teaspoons)
• 2 tspn cinnamon
• ½ banana (this was one large egg in the original recipe)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 150C | 300F | Gas Mark 2.
2. Put the loaf tin liners in the loaf tins or line the tins with you lining of choice. (You really don't want to try and get this cake out of an unlined tin - it is very soft and moist ;)).
3. Put the treacle, soft spread, brown sugar and syrup into the large saucepan.
4. Heat gently until these all melt together, stirring at times to make sure it all mixes.
5. Measure out the flour, ginger and cinnamon into a bowl and put aside for later.
6. Mash the banana and put it with the soya milk into the small saucepan and beat the banana into the milk using a small hand whisk or a fork.
7. Add the flour, ginger and cinnamon to the treacle mixture in the saucepan and stir together.
8. Stir gently in circles to mix in flour then beat vigorously until all the lumps are gone.
9. Heat the soya milk/banana mixture gently to blood temperature (easiest way to measure is to stick your little finger in every now and then and when it feels like it isn't cold it's at the right temperature :)).
10. Add the bicarb to the soya milk mixture and stir.
11. Add the soya milk mixture to the treacle mixture and stir together.
12. Stir as quickly as you can, but take it easy. (There will be bubbles showing as the bicarb activates)
13. Pour the cake batter into the two loaf tins.
14. Put the cakes in the oven and bake for 45 mins - 1hr (stick a skewer into the middle of the cake to check it is done, if not let it cook a little longer).
15. Take out of the oven and allow to cool in the tins until cool enough to handle, then turn out onto a wire cake rack to finish cooling.