About the Recipe
Ingredients
¾ cup unsweetened applesauce
2 eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
1 orange, zested and juiced (about ½ cup orange juice)
1 ½ cups white sugar
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp ground ginger
Cream Cheese Frosting
2 cups powdered sugar
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp heavy cream
candied ginger, roughly chopped
orange zest, mixed with 1 tsp white sugar
dried cranberries, roughly chopped
Preparation
Step 1 :
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Step 2 :
Grease and flour 1 (9”) loaf pan.
Step 3:
Place applesauce, eggs, oil, juice and white sugar into the Vitamix container. Select Variable 1. Turn machine on and slowly increase speed to Variable 5. Blend for 10 seconds.
Step 4 :
Add to the Vitamix the flour baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and ginger. Pour into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 60 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center of one muffin comes out clean.
Step 5 :
Rinse out the vitamin container and add to it the powdered sugar, cream cheese, vanilla extract, salt and heavy cream. Select Variable 1. Turn machine on and slowly increase speed to Variable 5. Blend for 10 seconds, until the frosting comes together. This makes enough for 2 loaves (or more).
Step 6:
Let the gingerbread cool before frosting.Sprinkle the frosting with the candied ginger, candied orange zest and dried cranberries.