Tastes, Heat, and Surprises

I baked this bread with my daughter in mind. She loves the combination of ginger and heat. But when she laid a thick slice on her plate and took her first bite, she looked puzzled. "What's in this?" I rattled off the ingredients and she made a face. "I expected something sweet. I am not sure what these flavors are," she told me. "This is savory. This is weird."

T is not a fan of complicated flavors. Or heat. So imagine my surprise the next morning when T tasted the bread and had a second piece. "What's in this? This is so good!"

To find out how the combination of ingredients in this loaf taste, bake it yourself and let me know what you think. If you don't like it, send it T's way. He'll eat it.

Spicy Pumpkin Gingerbread
1 stick butter, room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup prepared pumpkin
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup whole fresh cranberries
1 teaspoon Sriracha

1. Beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vinegar. Sift together flour, salt, and baking soda; add flour mixture to butter-sugar-eggs.

2. Combine sour cream, pumpkin, ginger, cinnamon, vanilla, and hot sauce; add to batter and mix well. Stir in cranberries.

3. Spread batter in a buttered loaf pan. Bake in a 325 degree oven until inserted knife comes out clean, about 1 hour.