This Old Fashioned Gingerbread with Cream Cheese Frosting and Sparkling Cranberries makes a perfect holiday dessert. I made mine in two 6″ cake pans, but immediately realized how stunning these would be as individual cakes to serve to your guests. You could also make these into cupcakes using a really festive cupcake wrapper.
The cake is soft and spicy featuring all of the traditional ingredients such as molasses, ginger, cinnamon and cloves. We topped ours with a vegan cream cheese frosting and garnished with sparkling, sugared cranberries.
You’ll want to begin with the cranberries, as they take some time to marinate. In a small saucepan, simmer the water and agave until warm. Add the cranberries, cook for two minutes on low heat taking care not to go too long or too hot (because the cranberries may pop). Set aside to cool and refrigerate for a few hours.
Now drain the liquid off and immediately toss the cranberries into sugar. Place onto a lined baking sheet and allow to dry at room temperature. I shake the pan every once in awhile to be sure all sides dry equally.
To create the cream cheese frosting, combine the softened vegan margarine and cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the vanilla and powdered sugar until you reach frosting consistency. Top with a bit of sugar and the sparkling cranberries. I keep mine chilled in the refrigerator.
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Old Fashioned Gingerbread with Cream Cheese Frosting {Vegan}
Ingredients
- FOR THE GINGERBREAD:
- 1/2 C Sugar
- 1/2 C vegan Margarine
- 1 Tbl Ground Flax + 3 Tbl Water refrigerate for 20 minutes
- 1 C Molasses
- 2-1/2 C All-Purpose Flour
- 1-1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Ginger
- 1/2 tsp Cloves
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 C Water Hot
- FOR THE FROSTING:
- 8 oz. Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese softened
- 1/2 C vegan Margarine such as Earth Balance Buttery Sticks
- 2 C Confectioner's Powdered Sugar (use more if your frosting is too thin)
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- FOR THE SPARKLING CRANBERRIES:
- 1 C fresh Cranberries
- 1/4 C Agave
- 1/4 C Water
- 1/2 C Sugar
Instructions
- To make the sparkling cranberries, heat a saucepan over low heat. Add the water and agave, simmering until warm. Add the cranberries and simmer for 2 minutes. Take care not to heat the cranberries too hot or too long, as they may burst. We want whole cranberries for this recipe. Set aside to cool and refrigerate for several hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Meanwhile, in the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the margarine and sugar. Add the molasses and flax mixture, along with the hot water.
- In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients and add to the mixing bowl. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Spray desired cake pans with cooking spray.
- Evenly divide the batter (if using more than one pan) and bake until a toothpick inserted comes clean. This will vary based on the size of the pan(s) used.
- While the cake is baking, drain the cranberries and immediately toss with sugar. Shake off any excess (i used the same strainer) and transfer to a lined baking sheet. Allow to sit at room temperature to air dry, shaking the pan occasionally.
- Allow the gingerbread to cool 10 minutes in the pan. Remove from pan and allow to finish cooling on a rack.
- To make the cream cheese frosting, combine the vegan cream cheese and margarine in the bowl of an electric mixer until smooth. Add the vanilla.
- Add the 2 cups of confectioner's sugar (or enough until it reaches frosting consistency) and spread onto cake.
- Top with a bit more sugar and the sparkling, sugared cranberries.
- Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator.
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