These little cakes are easy to make and perfect for the winter season. I use the air fryer to make the cakes, and they air fry in about 30 minutes. The cakes have a slightly yeasty tang. The cakes also are moist, full of molasses and sweet spice flavor, and studded with raisins and crystallized ginger. You can dress the cakes up with a glaze or just dust them with powdered sugar. Because the cakes are only lightly sweetened, they are great for a special breakfast or with coffee or tea for a nice snack. If you'd like to serve the cakes for dessert, try them warm with a scoop of ice cream or a fluff of whipped cream to dress them up. Enjoy!
Air Fryer Sourdough Spice Cakes -- Makes Two 6-inch Cakes
1 cup of sourdough starter/discard
1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup of canola oil
1 large egg
1/2 cup of sugar
1/3 cup of molasses
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1/2 cup of white whole-wheat flour (or regular whole-wheat flour)
1/2 cup of raisins
Mix all of the ingredients listed above well in a large bowl and loosely cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the mixture sit for at least an hour and then add:
1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon of allspice
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 cup of chopped crystallized ginger
Mix the dry ingredients and crystallized ginger into the original wet mixture until well combined. Spritz two 6- x 2-inch cake pans well with non-stick cooking spray and then dust the pans with a little flour. Alternatively, spray the pans with baking spray (that has flour in it). Divide the batter between the pans. Place one filled pan in your air fryer basket, place the basket in the air fryer, and air fry the first cake at 320 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a pick inserted in the center of a cake comes out with no wet batter attached (some crumbs are fine). Remove the cake from the air fryer basket to cool and repeat the cooking process with the remaining pan of batter. Let the cakes cool in their pans for 10-15 minutes before turning the cakes out to cool completely. Dust the cooled cakes with powdered sugar or glaze them, if you'd prefer.
Simple Glaze
3/4 cup of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1-2 tablespoons of water or milk
Mix the sugar, vanilla, and liquid in a bowl or cup and microwave the mixture for 30 seconds. Stir the glaze well and microwave it for another 15-20 seconds. Stir the glaze again until it's smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the warm cakes.
