This recipe immediately grabbed our attention as we flipped through Picture Yourself Cooking with Kids by Beth Sheresh. A warm, fluffy cake has appeal for both kids and adults, and the directions are straight-forward enough that kids can have a hand in every step. Plus, the fact that it includes both oats and maple syrup means we can eat it for breakfast, right?
Ginger Applesauce Cake
from Picture Yourself Cooking with Kids by Beth Sheresh
Not too sweet, with a blend of warm spices and bits of nuts, this cake is wonderful still warm from the oven. A small scoop of ice cream on the side transforms this simple cake into a rich dessert and provides a creamy balance to the ginger.
Makes 16 yummy servings
Active Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Tools: 9” square pan, mixing bowl, electric mixer, or wooden spoon
Nutritional Information per Serving: 191 Calories; 10g Fat (45.9% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 23g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 39mg Cholesterol; 197mg Sodium
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 1/4 cup all –purpose flour
3/4 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
Powdered sugar for sprinkling
1. Preheat the oven to 350-degrees. Grease a 9” square pan. Stir flour, oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves together in a bowl and set aside.
2. Cream butter and sugar together until well combined. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing on a low speed to combine. Once the eggs are incorporated, beat the mixture on high for 3-4 minutes, until it is about double in volume. (You can do this by hand, although it won’t be quite as lofty. Beat vigorously for 3-4 minutes, trading off between bakers if you have more than one assistant in the kitchen.) With mixer on medium, slowly our in maple syrup and mix in thoroughly.
3. With the mixing spoon, gently mix in with the applesauce in two parts, alternating with the dry ingredients. When the mixture is just starting to come together, have your child sprinkle in the nuts while you stir a few more strokes, just until all the flour streaks disappear.
4. Pour into the prepared pan and smooth the surface. Bake for 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry. Let cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
(Image and recipe, including head notes, reprinted with permission from Picture Yourself Cooking with Your Kids by Beth Sheresh.)
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Recipe looks delicious, but I don't see the candied ginger in the ingredients list. Am I missing something?
i read the recipe three times too, ser, and couldn't find it.
?
I must have been craving candied ginger when I typed up the recipe! Typo fixed.
I just made this cake, and it is delicious. I think maybe the amount of sugar called for isn't correct, though. The butter and sugar refused to cream properly for me until I added another 1/2 cup of sugar. The end result still was not too sweet, even with (maybe) extra sugar.
Emma, given the nutritional information, yes you can have it for breakfast. In fact, I think that's a marvelous idea! btw, this recipe had candied ginger until about a week before it went to press (long story) so maybe we were telepathically linked...
aprilf00l, I'm sorry you had problems getting the butter to cream. That's the right amount of sugar and I haven't had a problem with it. It isn't a lot of butter/sugar so if you are using a stand mixer, it may not get to all of it...maybe? i know I tried to whip ~1/4 cup of cream in my KA the other day and it took forever!