Vegan Gingerbread with ‘Cream Cheese’ Frosting

I found this recipe on a favorite blog. Enjoy!

The recipe turns out soft and incredibly moist, with the same deeply rich flavor as traditional gingerbread laden with eggs and butter and sugar. Yet this is probably the healthiest gingerbread recipe you’ll ever eat!

Homemade Gingerbread Recipe

• 2/3 cup milk of choice
• 1/4 cup molasses (blackstrap or regular) (50g)
• 1/4 cup liquid sweetener of choice (such as pure maple syrup) (60g)
• 1/3 cup carrot juice (80g)
• 1 tbsp white or apple cider vinegar (15g)
• 2 tbsp vegetable or melted coconut oil (20g)
• 2 tbsp ground flaxmeal (12g) (or 2 tsp energ
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (120g)
• OR Use All Purpose Gluten Free Flour
• with 1 t Xanthan Gum
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp powdered ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1/4 cup xylitol or brown sugar (45g)
• 1/2 cup raisins, optional

Gingerbread Recipe: Preheat oven to 400 F and grease an 8×8 pan. In a large measuring bowl, whisk together the first seven ingredients (all liquid ingredients and the flax). Let sit at least 5 minutes. In a separate measuring bowl, stir together all remaining ingredients. Pour wet into dry, and stir until just evenly combined. Do not overmix. Pour into the pan and bake 25 minutes, then remove from the oven and let sit another 20 minutes to cool and achieve the correct texture.

Healthier ‘Cream Cheese’ Frosting

Dreamy creamy healthy cream cheese frosting…

It’s fluffier than Pillsbury cream cheese. It’s creamier than Pillsbury. And if you’re counting calories: you could eat the entire recipe for just 200 calories. Who wouldn’t want to eat an entire container’s worth of frosting in one sitting?

But the following recipe is better than store-bought frosting for a reason much more important than the calories: it’s free of unhealthy trans fats. Many packaged frostings contain your entire day’s worth of trans fats in just two tablespoons.

Healthier Cream Cheese Frosting

(makes about 2/3 cup)

Category: Healthy Frosting Recipes.

• 1/4 cup Mori-Nu silken-firm tofu (regular or lite) (60g) (See nutritional info link below, for substitution notes.)
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cream-cheese-style spread (I recommend Tofutti non-hydrogenated) (90g)
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• sweetener of choice (I’d recommend either powdered sugar or powdered stevia—such as Nunaturals. I haven’t tried this with a liquid sweetener and think it would be too runny.)
• up to 2 tbsp milk of choice, as needed for desired thickness

Blend everything together in a small food processor or a Magic Bullet. If you’re using this recipe to top cupcakes, I’d recommend frosting them just before serving, or frosting earlier and then storing the cupcakes in the fridge, due to the perishable nature of the ingredients. Leftover frosting can be stored for a few days in the fridge, covered.

Variation ideas: Add pumpkin, or shredded carrot and pineapple for a carrot cake dip, or cinnamon and walnuts…

Source: Chocolate Covered Katie