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Fresh Gingerbread Bundt Cake

December 13, 2012

I'm a sucker for gorgeous cookbooks, especially when they have a beautiful cover. From the moment I first saw Roots by Diane Morgan, I was hooked. At first glance, the book is absolutely stunning. Yet while I was just expecting to find a collection of side dishes using a variety of root vegetables (which the book does include a lot of), Roots is in fact much, much more than that. In addition to the drool-worthy images featured throughout, this excellent cookbook contains a plethora of out-of-the-box ideas for using fresh ingredients in unique ways.

When I saw the recipe for this Gingerbread Cake using fresh ginger I had to try it. Kenya absolutely loves ginger. From Ginger Lemon Honey Tea to Stir-Fried Brown Rice Chinese Noodles, we go through our fair share of fresh ginger. I was initially wary of 2/3 a cup of fresh ginger being too much for a cake, but the flavor mellows with baking and totally makes this recipe what it is -- the rich sweetness of molasses combined with the distinctive zip of ginger in each moist bite is totally insane tasting. I gave Kenya a big slice for his after school snack and he said it was the best thing I've ever made. Yes he's said that to me before about other things I've made, but this time I think he really meant it! This is a perfect dessert recipe for the end of the year, and if you're looking for a lovely holiday gift for the cook in your life, I highly recommend getting them this book!

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Gingerbread Cake (adapted from Roots by Diane Morgan)

  • Prep Time:15 minutes,
  • Cook Time: 60 minutes,
  • Total Time: 1 hours, 15 minutes,

Ingredients

  • 3 3/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 3/4 teaspoons ground cloves
  • 1 1/2 cups unsulfured dark molasses (do not use blackstrap)
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups canola, vegetable or peanut oil
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1 tablespoon baking soda
  • 2/3 cup packed, peeled and minced ginger
  • 3 large eggs, beaten

Preparation

  1. 1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 10-inch bundt pan.
  2. 2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon and cloves. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the molasses, sugar and oil.
  3. 3. In a small pot, bring the water to a boil. Remove pot from the heat and stir in the baking soda. Whisk the water into the molasses mixture and then whisk in the ginger.
  4. 4. Gradually add the flour mixture to the molasses mixture, and stir just until the flour is absorbed. Whisk in the beaten eggs. Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan.
  5. 5. Bake for about 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow cake to cool in the pan before removing.
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Comments






  1. Kathie

    January 8, 2013 at 3:56 pm

    Reply

    I made this for my 95 year old mother in law for Christmas. She said it was too good to share. She eats very little and loves ginger so we cut it in individual servings and froze them so she can snack on it for the next month. Thanks for such a great recipe!

  2. Carrie

    January 5, 2013 at 8:59 am

    Reply

    This was the yummiest gingerbread I have ever eaten! So delicious & moist! I could have eaten the whole thing!

  3. Michele

    January 2, 2013 at 6:26 pm

    Reply

    It was very delicious, spicy, and wholesome tasting. I used whole wheat flour and raw sugar. I was afraid it would end up dry, but it was quite good. I will definitely make this again. Thank you

  4. Lisa

    December 30, 2012 at 3:37 pm

    Reply

    Fantastic! It took 1 hour, with convection on. I have a good oven, my last one would not have cooked such a moist cake, so I understand some of the comments below. My only gripe is that the prep is a lot more than 15 minutes if you are hand mincing the ginger as I was. I will make this again.

  5. sandy

    December 24, 2012 at 4:21 pm

    Reply

    Horrible. I followed the ingredients and directions to the letter. It was in the oven for an hour and a half. It totally stuck to the prepared pan and still wasn’t done in the center. Plus the taste was bitter. It fell apart when I tried to take the cooled cake out of the pan. I was hoping to salvage it in a cobbler or something but the taste was horrible. This is the ONLY time I have ever thrown out a whole cake. I’ve been baking for years, my oven’s temp is fine and my ingredients are all fresh. I was really looking forward to this, but it just didn’t work.

    • catherine

      December 26, 2012 at 1:26 pm

      Reply

      Oh no! What kind of molasses did you use?

  6. Natalie

    December 21, 2012 at 6:06 pm

    Reply

    I made this for my son’s 2nd birthday this past weekend. He gobbled it, and so did we. I used a loaf pan, and found it needed about an hour and a half to bake. I used blackstrap molasses for the extra iron and found the taste to be earthy, rich and not as sweet, i thought it was perfect! I did ice it though, with a vanilla cream icing. Thanks for all your recipes, I love them!

  7. Jen

    December 18, 2012 at 1:21 pm

    Reply

    I tried making this over the weekend and used blackstrap molasses. Unfortuantely it didn’t taste all that great. Should I have used more sugar?

    • catherine

      December 18, 2012 at 2:28 pm

      Reply

      I just double checked the book and they even have a note to not use blackstrap molasses! So sorry! I’ve added that note to the recipe.

    • catherine

      December 18, 2012 at 2:27 pm

      Reply

      Blackstrap molasses is more bitter than other types, that is probably the culprit!

  8. Canada

    December 15, 2012 at 6:57 pm

    Reply

    Can this recipe be made in a loaf pan? Really want to try this recipe as a Xmas gift for the cook who has everything but would rather not have to buy a bundt pan if can be made in a loaf pan.

    • catherine

      December 17, 2012 at 2:02 pm

      Reply

      Yes! You can make this is a loaf pan! It would probably make two loaves. Follow directions exactly. I would check it at about 40 minutes!

  9. vivian

    December 15, 2012 at 2:35 pm

    Reply

    Hi! I don’t have a bundt pan and I was wondering if I could use a square metal pan, rectangular pyrex glass or muffin pan instead? Would cooking time and temp be the same?

    thanks so much!

    • catherine

      December 17, 2012 at 2:03 pm

      Reply

      I think any of those would work! Keep the temp the same, just check it around 40 minutes for a cake pan and around 25 minutes for muffins!

  10. Sandy

    December 14, 2012 at 10:30 pm

    Reply

    Where do you get these ingredient?

    • catherine

      December 17, 2012 at 2:07 pm

      Reply

      From the local grocery! Fresh ginger can be found in the produce section, usually near the ginger! Here is a video to show you what ginger looks like and how to peel it: http://weelicious.com/2009/01/03/how-to-peel-ginger-video/
      Molasses can be found in the baking aisle or near the maple syrup!

  11. Julie

    December 14, 2012 at 8:41 am

    Reply

    This sounds great and I’d like to try it, but I’ve never used fresh ginger before. Are you talking about ginger root or candied ginger? What part of the grocery store do they carry this? In the produce section? Thanks so much!

    • catherine

      December 14, 2012 at 11:40 am

      Reply

      Ginger root and it is in the produce section! Here is a video on how to peel ginger, it’ll also show you what it looks like! http://weelicious.com/2009/01/03/how-to-peel-ginger-video/

      • Julie

        December 16, 2012 at 11:33 pm

        Reply

        That video was exactly what I needed. Thank you! Now can’t wait to try this cake:)

  12. Laura

    December 13, 2012 at 10:21 pm

    Reply

    I want to try this for our Christmas dessert. I would love to have a pretty glaze or icing of some sort instead of just the cake showing. any ideas?

  13. Sara

    December 13, 2012 at 8:14 pm

    Reply

    This looks amazing. I have never ever used fresh ginger before so this seems like the perfect time to try. Can you tell me how to work with ginger? I don’t know where to begin!!

  14. Karen

    December 13, 2012 at 7:56 pm

    Reply

    Could i use the “fresh” ginger in a squeeze tube that comes already ground in the produce department?

    • catherine

      December 14, 2012 at 11:43 am

      Reply

      I’m not sure about that because I think it is a paste and not really minced… you could definitely try it though!

  15. Diana @ Eating Made Easy

    December 13, 2012 at 5:55 pm

    Reply

    Catherine is right! Go out and get fresh ginger, you will be happy you did. Thanks for this great recipe!

  16. Katie

    December 13, 2012 at 11:53 am

    Reply

    I don’t have fresh ginger can I substitute it for ground ginger? If so, how much? Thanks!

    • catherine

      December 13, 2012 at 1:31 pm

      Reply

      I would suggest going out and getting some fresh ginger because it really makes this dish! Ground ginger has such a different flavor. If you’re going to use ground, then you’ll only need a very small amount. I would say 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons!

  17. Nicole

    December 13, 2012 at 11:50 am

    Reply

    Any way to cut the amount of sugar, or use agave/honey instead of refined white sugar?

    • catherine

      December 13, 2012 at 1:34 pm

      Reply

      You could try using agave or honey. Use 1/2 the amount of the sugar called for… so 3/4 cup honey/agave, but you’ll also need to increase the flour by 1/2 to 3/4 cup!

  18. Brooke

    December 13, 2012 at 11:14 am

    Reply

    Any idea how much ginger to use if you’re NOT using fresh?

    Thanks!

    • catherine

      December 13, 2012 at 1:30 pm

      Reply

      Ground ginger is so potent that you only need about an eighth of what you would use in fresh. So for this recipe you would use about 1 tablespoon, maybe 1 1/2 tablespoons. The fresh ginger is what really makes this recipe, though!


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