A Lovely Ginger Cake

A cake for smoothing over everything.

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Season: Fall
Dosha: Pitta, Vata

I left last Friday for a couple of weeks of travel; a huge gravel race, a photoshoot, and a bikepacking trip all smooshed together in one nice little adventure. It’s a trip around Colorado that has already – half-way in – introduced me to people I haven’t met and places I haven’t explored in addition to reconnecting me to people and places I have long loved. It’s been a LOT of moving around. A lot of excitement. And even more bike riding. I’m SO glad that I packed snacks.

A van sized lunchbox.

It’s surely not surprising to anyone that packing clothing and toiletries takes almost no time in comparison to packing food when I go out of town. I can’t stand to leave the fridge with any lonely ingredients, so everything gets spun into something useful.

A couple bottles of carrot-ginger juice, a jar of arugula-sunflower pesto, roasted beets, stewed lentils, a loaf of bread, a little jar of fresh-cherry jam, coconut butter, a few fat knobs of fresh ginger, a block of feta cheese, a little tin of blue corn cookies and two loaves of this Ginger Cake were loaded into the van and off I went. (One for me, and one for my host in Steamboat.)

 

Over the past week, all of it has been used to whip up quick lunches, make fast dinners, to spin into ride snacks. (Specifically this Coconut Butter + Cherry-Ginger Jam Sandwich that I ate while riding Steamboat Gravel on Sunday!) But having this little quickbread around to serve as a treat – for pockets and for sitting in the park catching up with my appetite – has been the highlight of my eating week.

Ginger for me, ginger for you?

You probably noticed that I listed ginger a few times in there, and that’s for good reason – I find that it’s ridiculously helpful for keeping my digestion high when I’m on the move. Ginger stimulates our digestive system, inspiring it to produce enzymes to process our food and wastes, but it can be too heating for some. And, because I find myself eating (and enjoying!) more coconut, avocado, ice cream and yogurt during this season (to keep my body cool) I find that it really helps things moving along. And, it makes a gorgeous little cake. It smoothes everything out, from rough bike rides, to tough days, and even rainy mornings in camp (or at home) when you want a little something to soothe your soul. 

Count the ways I love you, cake

A little quick cake is a riff on a favorite, super flexible quickbread recipe. I love baking it because it makes use of some of those veggies in the fridge, but also because it travels well and aims to please. I love bringing a little bit extra to share with friends as I travel (or ride!) + is wonderful to pack up as a hostess gift for when I arrive.) This particular recipe is remarkably moist, packed with ginger and veggies, is dairy-free and vegan, and makes a great ride/hike/long run snack.  I just never tire of its flavor or satisfying, soothing texture. And while it’s perfect for snacking, it’s also PERFECT for pocket snacks on long rides/hikes/runs and other adventures.

I have a version of this recipe that I make in all seasons, but this one is particularly tuned to summer.  I need whatever I’m eating on this trip to help my body maintain its cool — in body and mind — because all the moving, playing in the heat, thinking, and DOING is easy to add up into a house fire. I’m not here for that. So, I’ve tweaked the recipe to serve my body in these warm seasons, in this busy time. It uses coconut oil which is more cooling to the body than olive, nut oils or safflower oil, as well as spices designed to take the heat off.

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