sticky spice loaf (vegetarian)

recipe by mb

just the recipe

what I was looking for

I love to bake, so I'm always looking for something new. This was exactly what I wanted ... sticky, sweet, spicy, delectable, and perfect for dessert.

what I made

Heidi Swanson's Sticky Teff-Kissed Spice Loaves from Super Natural Cooking (page 189), a kind of gingerbread cake, changed for health and financial reasons.

grades for my version

healthy	C	I definitely improved its healthiness, but gobs of fat + LOADS of sugar = not so healthy.
fast	B	This is baking, which is never fast.
easy	A-	Again, we're baking here. But even so, it's a surprisingly easy recipe.
cheap	B	Most of the ingredients are inexpensive, but honey and molasses are definitely not, especially considering the amount used in this recipe.
delicious	A+++	Oh. My. God.

yield

Heidi's version makes two loaves. Mine makes three out of necessity (the first time I made this recipe I only made two loaves and they spilled over the sides of the pans and left scrumptious burning batter all over the bottom of my oven. Now I make three.)

A word of advice: To keep yourself from eating all three loaves, which is easy to do, make sure that you can immediately give one or two of the loaves away. This is an excellent thing to make when going to a party ... you leave one at home and take two with you. That way you look exceedingly generous, even though you left an entire loaf at home for yourself!

equipment

         three loaf pans

   stand mixer

the sticky sweet stuff

ingredients	Heidi	mb	why?
fat	1 cup butter	1 cup soy butter	healthier
water	½ cup	½ cup	no change
blackstrap molasses	¾ cup	¾ cup	no change
honey	¾ cup	¾ cup	no change
cane sugar	1 cup	1 cup	no change

In a small pot over medium heat combine the soy butter, water, molasses, honey, and sugar. Let the mixture cook, stirring regularly, until everything is totally melted (including the sugar) and well blended, about 20 minutes. Then remove the pot from the heat and allow the mixture to cool.

         Now preheat the oven to 325° (any sooner and it'll be preheated too soon and you'll simply be wasting energy) and grease the three loaf pans.

the dry ingredients

ingredients	Heidi	mb	why?
flour	2 cups whole wheat pastry 1 cup brown teff	3 cups white whole wheat	cheaper [1]
baking soda	1 ½ teaspoon	1 ½ teaspoon	no change
sea salt	½ teaspoon	½ teaspoon	no change
ground ginger	2 teaspoons	2 teaspoons	no change
ground cinnamon	1 Tablespoon	1 Tablespoon	no change
ground allspice	½ teaspoon	½ teaspoon	no change
ground cloves	¼ teaspoon	¼ teaspoon	no change
Notes
[1]	Any fancy, specialty kind of flour is going to cost significantly more than the plain old flour stuff that is available at any supermarket (which, miraculously, white whole wheat flour is!).

   In the bowl of a stand mixer combine all the dry ingredients and mix them thoroughly.

the wet ingredients

ingredients	Heidi	mb	why?
eggs	3 large	3 large	no change
milk	½ cup regular	½ cup soy	healthier
fresh ginger	1-inch piece grated	2-inch piece grated	healthier

First pour the cooled sticky and buttery mixture into the stand mixer bowl. Next add the eggs and the milk to the bowl and mix thoroughly.

Finally add the grated ginger, use a spatula to insure that all the dry ingredients are off the bottom of the bowl, and give one final thorough mix.

Pour equal amounts of the batter into the three loaf pans and bake for 55 minutes, or until the loaves are loosely set in the center.

Let the loaves cool in the pans, then slice and serve them with freshly whipped cream and sliced fruit on top.

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