Recipes

Gingerbread Cake

  • Serves

    makes 1 Cake

This cake is based on a classic dessert that SAVEUR contributing writer Shane Mitchell found in a collection of recipes belonging to her great-aunt Fanny Lee Seabrook. Sorghum gives the cake a lighter texture than molasses does.

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp. vegetable shortening, at room temperature
  • 2 12 cups plus 1 tsp. all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 2 tsp. ground ginger
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 12 tsp. ground cloves
  • 12 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
  • 12 tsp. kosher salt
  • 16 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 23 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1 cup sweet sorghum syrup or unsulfured molasses
  • 4 tbsp. grated, peeled fresh ginger
  • 2 tsp. baking soda
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • Rich Caramel Icing

Instructions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350°. Using a pastry brush, grease a nonstick 10 1⁄2-cup bundt pan with shortening and dust with 1 tsp. of the flour, tapping out excess. Sift remaining flour, baking powder, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt together into a bowl and set aside.

Step 2

Put butter into a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on high speed until fluffy. Add sugar and beat well. Add sorghum or molasses and grated ginger and beat well. Add one-third of the flour mixture at a time, folding in thoroughly after each addition. Dissolve baking soda in 1 cup boiling water and beat into flour mixture on medium speed, then beat in eggs, one at a time.

Step 3

Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing out top. Bake until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 40 minutes.

Step 4

Let cake cool completely in pan on a cooling rack, then invert onto a cake plate. Serve as is or glazed with Rich Caramel Icing.

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