Kitchen Experiments – Gluten-free Gingerbread

Is there any picky eaters in your family? Are there certain foods that your family swears that they do not like? My husband swears that he does not like buckwheat.  I posted the other day that I had made buckwheat pancakes for breakfast and my husband ate them without a complaint.  As soon as the weather turns cold and the pumpkins and squash start to become abundant at the farmers markets, something inside me screams for gingerbread.  With this in mind, I decided it was time for another buckwheat experiment.

I have been making a buckwheat applesauce cake for several months now and it is moist and delicious and my husband has no problem eating it. I thought that I could probably follow the same recipe but add molasses and spices and make a decent buckwheat gingerbread.  Here is what I did:

1 ½ c. Buckwheat Flour (ground white buckwheat)

½ c. Almond Meal

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

1 tsp. xanthan gum

2 Tbs. arrowroot powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ginger

1/2 tsp.cloves

1 c. applesauce

¼ c. applebutter

½ c. molasses

1 Tbs. oil

¼ c. water

Preheat oven to 350^oF.

Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl.  In a small bowl, combine wet ingredients.  Place wet and dry ingredients in a food processor and process until mixed.  Pour into an oiled 8”x8” square pan.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Now, for a first try, I must say that this was pretty tasty.  It was a little more dense than the buckwheat applesauce cake, but still not overly dense and not overly sweet.  For me, it was just the right amount of sweetness and spice.  I would have added some crystallized ginger if I would have had some, but I thought I might try that the next time.  Here is how much my husband does not like buckwheat!

I guess it was OK!

Actually, it was a good first attempt.  I think that the next time I make it, I will try to add a little more baking powder to give it more lift. I also think that I might try making it will eggs instead of the arrowroot powder and try to get a little more fluffiness out of it.  On the whole, I would say it was a successful experiment…especially for my husband!