I've been playing around with a white cake version of this for cupcakes. It's bake sale season around here and cupcakes are always a big seller. The problem I kept running into was texture. My 15 yr old said it tasted like cornbread, meaning a coarse texture. I ended up using cake flour and superfine sugar and that seemed to do the trick. The original recipe calls for all purpose flour so I got out my scale and weighed an equal amount of cake flour (125g/cup). I'm not sure on the substitution ratio in cups of cake flour for all- purpose. I also added in about 1/3 c of sprinkles to make them funfetti:) This is my version of the recipe Vegan Cupcakes from allrecipes. This is definitely not vegan anymore. 2c all purpose flour (I used 250g cake flour) 1 1/2 c buttermilk 1 c superfine sugar 2 t baking powder 1/2 t baking soda 1/2 t salt 1/2 c oil 1/2 t vanilla 1/2 t almond extract Preheat oven to 350�. Line 18 muffin cups with liners. In large bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, soda and salt. In separate bowl whisk together buttermilk, oil, and extracts. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix just until blended. Spoon into muffin cups and bake 15-20 minutes.

Cindy's Cafe Bran Muffins Makes 3 dozen 2-inch muffins. from Cindy's Cafe and Catering, Mt Vernon, Ill. (from Ford Motor Travel Magazine) 1 cup boiling water 1 cup All-Bran Cereal 1 cup raisins 1/3 cup sugar + (¼ cup molasses - ¼ cup honey) ½ cup Crisco 2 eggs 2½ cups sifted all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 2½ cups baking soda 2 cups buttermilk 2 cups 40% Bran Flakes Cereal 1 cup pecan pieces Mix water, All-Bran and Raisins in a bowl and let stand. Cream suger and Crisco in large mixer bowl. Add Eggs one at a time. Sift Flour and Baking Soda together. Add alternately with Buttermilk. Mix well. Add Bran Flakes and Pecan Pieces. Stir in the Bran and Raisin mixture. Fill greased muffin tins 2/3 full. Bake in a preheated 400o oven for approximately 20 minutes. Note: For muffins to rise properly, they must be baked in a thoroughly heated 400o oven. For Cake (12 x 9 pan) start at 400, then reduce to 350. Bake for 55 to 60 min., or until center of cake test indicates. Personal Note: When I make this recipe I use 3 cups of All-Bran (instead of the 1 cup) and eliminate the 2 cups Bran Flakes entirely.

Here it is! Ok, yes, I'm at work posting recipes. LOL The only change I made was to use 1 c. of whole wheat flour and added about 1/4c. of chopped, candied ginger. Like Annie, I used dark molasses. It turned out of the pan perfectly. Upside-Down Pear Gingerbread Cake Posted by annie1992 Z5 MI (My Page) on Mon, May 18, 09 at 16:23 pear gingerbread from Gourmet magazine: For topping 2 1/2 firm pears (preferably Bosc) 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar For cake 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup molasses (preferably mild) 1 cup boiling water 1/2 cup 1 stick unsalted butter, softened 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar 1 large egg, lightly beaten Special equipment:a well-seasoned 10-inch cast-iron skillet or a 12-inch deep nonstick skillet (handle wrapped with a double layer of foil if not ovenproof) Make topping: Peel and core pears and cut each into 8 wedges. Melt butter in skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides. Reduce heat to low, then sprinkle brown sugar over bottom of skillet and cook, undisturbed, 3 minutes (not all sugar will be melted). Arrange pears decoratively over sugar and cook, undisturbed, 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Make cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt in a bowl. Whisk together molasses and boiling water in a small bowl. Beat together butter, brown sugar, and egg in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes, then alternately mix in flour mixture and molasses in 3 batches at low speed until smooth. Pour batter over topping in skillet, spreading evenly and being careful not to disturb pears, and bake in middle of oven until a tester comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Cool cake in skillet on a rack 5 minutes. Run a thin knife around edge of skillet, then invert a large plate with a lip over skillet and, using pot holders to hold skillet and plate tightly together, invert cake onto plate. Replace any pears that stick to skillet. Serve warm or at room temperature. This is so good, dark and moist. I plead guilty to adding a bit more ginger and using dark molasses because I like that flavor. This is amazing still warm with vanilla ice cream and my daughter likes to drizzle some hot caramel topping over the whole thing. Annie Deanna

I don;t know that I would call this "old fashioned" but I have made it a couple of times in the last few minths and it is outstanding. Be sure to finely mince the candied ginger... if the chunks are too big they are a little strange looking - sort of like a gummy worm LOLOLOL! That said, the flavor is fantastic Gingerbread Cake Ingredients ⢠Softened unsalted butter, as needed ⢠1 cup vegetable oil, like soy, peanut, or corn ⢠1 cup sugar ⢠1 cup unsulphured molasses ⢠1 to 2 tablespoons minced crystallized ginger ⢠2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten with a fork ⢠3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour ⢠1 tablespoon ground ginger ⢠2 teaspoons ground cinnamon ⢠1 teaspoon fine salt ⢠1/4 teaspoon ground cloves ⢠1 cup water ⢠1 tablespoon baking soda ⢠Serving suggestions: Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream Directions Lightly butter a 9 by 13 by 2-inch cake pan and line the bottom with a piece of parchment or wax paper. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar, molasses, and crystallized ginger. Add the eggs and whisk until smooth. In another large bowl, whisk together the flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, salt, and cloves. Whisk the molasses mixture into the flour mixture until evenly combined. In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the baking soda. Whisk the hot water into the batter until just combined. Transfer the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake in the center of the oven, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool the cake in the pan on a rack. Cut into squares and serve with whipped cream or ice cream.