Applesauce Ginger Bread

I've become a dedicated user of King Arthur Flour. It simply never fails to please in my opinion. Secondly, I've become somewhat addicted to their multitude of recipes on their site.

This one in particular caught my attention. Pear Ginger Bread

I modified it a bit, and the result was so good. Using crystallized Ginger seems to heighten the taste and makes it unique. Although I like pears I wanted a moist loaf and thought Applesauce might be the ticket. I brought the sliced loaf to work, along with some cream cheese and everyone went crazy over it. I figure that's a good indication of a recipe that perhaps should be blogged, huh?

3/4 cup white or brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine
1 egg
1 cup of quality applesauce
1 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup crystallized ginger minced

Optional: Add chopped walnuts if you'd like, but I found the loaf doesn't need it.

In a bowl, cream together the sugar and butter, then add the egg, and beat until smooth.

Add the applesauce, flour, sour cream, ground ginger, baking soda, baking powder, salt and vanilla. Beat till smooth. Stir in the candied ginger.

Spoon the batter into a greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 65 to 75 minutes. This is a very moist cake and will look done well before it is so don't be fooled. When testing for doneness, make sure the cake tester is inserted deeply as it tends to bake from the top down.

Remove the pan from the oven, and cool the loaf in the pan for at least 15 minutes. Gently remove the loaf from the pan and cool it completely on a wire rack.

And I HIGHLY recommend a thin spread of cream cheese.

Enjoy!