Celebrate the holidays with this fresh take on traditional gingerbread. Featuring the holiday warmth of ginger with the tartness of cranberries, Sticky Cranberry Gingerbread takes holiday gingerbread to a new and irresistable level.
Like many, I really love the annual tradition of holiday baking. To me it’s the heart of the holidays, and also a great way to treat those in my life I care about. I love traditional flavours and recipes but I also like to keep things fresh and modern, so every holiday season, along with the family favorites, I try to add at least one new recipe. This year I decided to try this recipe I found at the NYT Cooking website. It had rave reviews, and after reading the comments and veganizing the recipe, I decided to give it a try.
The results were amazing. Sweet, slightly moist and rich like the best gingerbread, with the addition of cranberry sauce that really takes it to a new and very delicious level. It was irresistable and sure to be added to my favorites recipe list.
Making Sticky Cranberry Gingerbread
To make this tart and delicious gingerbread, I used a combination of canned cranberry sauce and fresh cranberries. I find canned cranberry sauce too sweet on it’s own, so adding the fresh berries added a nice contrast to the sweetness.
Instructions
1. Begin by making the cranberry sauce. I used a combination of sweetened canned jellied cranberry sauce, fresh cranberries, half the grated ginger and a good quality orange marmalade. Once cranberry sauce is cooked, remove from the heat and set aside.
2. In a saucepan, combine the vegan butter, brown sugar and vanilla over medium heat. Stir until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Once sugar has dissolved, remove the pot from the heat immedately so it doesn’t burn.
4. In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients and the rest of the grated fresh ginger. Add the butter and sugar mixture and stir with a large wooden spoon until mixed. Once mixed, spoon gingerbread mixture into a prepared 9-inch baking pan.
5. Pour or spoon the slightly cooled cranberry sauce over the gingerbread. With a knife, swirl it across the gingerbread.
5. Bake gingerbread for 40 minutes. Be sure not to overbake as it will burn and dry out. I check it at 30 minutes and every 5 minutes after that.
6. Once gingerbread is done, let cool in the dish until cranberry sauce has gelled a bit. Refrigerate overnight to let sauce fully gel and cut into squares. Store in the refrigerator for 2-3 days or freeze for later.
A New Christmas Tradition
I love this recipe. It’s both sweet and sophisticated, and relatively easy to make. You can eat Sticky Cranberry Gingerbread on it’s own, gift it, or serve it like I did this Christmas as a parfait with vegan ice cream and whip cream. You can also add chopped candied ginger or sugared cranberries for extra sweetness and ginger flavour. The results are delicious, festive and sure to popular. Enjoy!
My Holiday Favorites
We all have a list of holiday favorite treats that we crave every holiday season. Whether savory or sweet, these are the recipes we return to every year and pass down. Here are a few of mine.
Cherry Peppermint Rice Crispy Treats
Vegan Peppermint Hot Chocolate
A whole foods vegan diet is healthy, kind to animals, and kind to the planet. It is also delicious and affordable. If you like this recipe, please share! ~Una
Sticky Cranberry Gingerbread
Ingredients
Cranberry Sauce:
- 1 280 g can jellied cranberry sauce
- 1 340 g bag fresh or fozen cranberries
- 2 tablespoons orange marmalade
Gingerbread:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup full fat coconut cream
- 1/3 cup molasses
- 1 -1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 flax eggs 2 tablespoons ground flax seed with 6 tablespoons water, mix well and let sit for 5 minutes
- 2 tablespoon grated fresh ginger 1 inch piece, peeled
To Serve
- Candied ginger Chopped
- Sugared cranberries
- Vegan ice cream or whip cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
Make the cranberry sauce:
- In a medium sized saucepan over medium heat, stir together the canned cranberry sauce, frozen cranberries and orange marmalade and 1/3 of the grated ginger (1 teaspoon).
- Stir over medium heat until the jellied sauce is completely dissolved. Keep stirring until the cranberries are shrunken, but mostly whole and the sauce is thick and bubbly, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside, covered.
Making the gingerbread:
- In a separate saucepan over medium heat, stir together the butter, brown sugar, coconut cream and molasses. Bring it to just barely simmering and then remove it from the heat. Do not let the mixture come to a boil, or the mixture may curdle or burn.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, ginger, cardamon, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and black pepper. Stir until well mixed.
- Add the butter mixture and beat until combined. Add the flax eggs and ginger and beat until well mixed.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared baking pan. With a large soup soup dollop the cranberry sauce onto the surface of the cake batter. With a knife, drag the sauce through the batter in a swirly design, until it appears marbled.
- Place the cake in the oven and bake until the gingerbread is firm and a toothpick inserted in the center of the gingerbread comes out clean, about 35-50 minutes. Check it with a tester in the center every 5 minutes after 30 minutes to ensure the cake doesn't burn.
- Remove the pan from the oven and transfer to a wire baking rack. The cranberry sauce will still be unset. Let the cake cool completely until the cranberry sauce is partially set.
- Once cooled, place cake pan in the fridge overnight to let the cranberry sauce completely gel and set.
- Cut cooled gingerbread into squares. Keep gingerbread in the refrigerator in a covered container. It can also be frozen for later.
To Serve
- Let gingerbread warm to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Top with vegan ice cream or whip cream and garnish with sugared cranberries or chopped candied ginger.
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