Gingerbread Loaf

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

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Grease and flour 1 (9”) loaf pan.
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.
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.
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).
6. Let the gingerbread cool before frosting.
7. Sprinkle the frosting with the candied ginger, candied orange zest and dried cranberries.