Jamaican Ginger Cake

The first great thing about this cake it how easy it it. Mix everything in a bowl, bake and then sprinkle with icing sugar and serve. I love finding cakes which don't need any kind of icing or fancy decoration, because it's so much less work :) The rich taste of this cake doesn't need any icing, glaze or drizzle - it's perfect just how it it. The second great thing about this cake is that it tastes like a million dollars in your mouth. It's got a double it of ginger - fresh and ground - and luscious molasses to give it that dark and sticky quality. The flavours are reminiscent of gingerbread, but the consistency is soft, moist and sticky. It looks plain and unassuming, but I think it's probably my favourite of all the cakes I've made for all the countries I've featured (that's a big call, but I'm making it!).

Jamaican Ginger Cake
Adapted from Feast Magazine Issue 35 (September 2014)

Ingredients
160g vegan margarine or butter
200g dark brown sugar
90g castor sugar
2/3 cup apple sauce
4-5cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
100g blackstrap molasses
100ml oat or soy milk
300g plain flour (I prefer wholemeal, but you can use either)
1/2 tsp bicarb soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp allspice
Pinch salt
Powdered sugar, to serve

To Make
1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees C. Lightly grease a 22-23cm cake tin and line with baking paper.
2. Beat margarine and both sugars together using electric beaters for about 5 minutes, until smooth and thick.
3. Add the apple sauce a bit at a time and beat in. Then beat in the molasses, grated fresh ginger and milk. Fold in the flour, bicarb soda, baking powder, salt and spices.
4. Pour into the prepared cake tin and bake for 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Cool slightly in the pan and then invert onto a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
5. Sprinkle the cool cake generously with powdered sugar. If you like an extra ginger hit, mix a pinch or two of ground ginger in with the powdered sugar that you sprinkle on the top.
6. Eat it. Preferably with a cup of tea.

Makes 1 x 23cm diameter cake.