Tuesday, December 04, 2012

TWD: Gingerbread Baby Cakes

We are major ginger lovers at this house.  I can't wait for the fall when ginger abounds (though, I'll eat it at any time of the year)  Anything ginger usually disappears pretty quickly.  I make gingersnaps, lebkuchen, and gingerbread on a regular basis, so I was pretty sure this would be a hit as well.  I was correct.  This is some SERIOUS gingerbread.  With the high ratio of molasses and the hit of black pepper, this was not for the (ginger) faint of heart.

These were ridiculously easy to put together.  Dry ingredients in one bowl (the surprise addition of powdered espresso and cocoa powder added more flavor dimensions) and liquid in the other.  Quick blend, and done.  I was a little surprised at the amount of molasses.  My favorite gingersnap calls for twice the flour and half the molasses.  I also realized that I didn't have fresh ginger, so I subbed minced candied ginger.  I used my mini bundt pan, which makes 12 mini cakes.  There was enough batter left over for one three inch cake.  These took longer to bake than I expected.  Mine baked for a total of 28 minutes with the mini cake taking about eight minutes more.  The house smelled delicious throughout, so the longer baking time was ok.




This is a very good gingerbread.  It was suggested to me that a dollop of creme fraiche and/or lemon curd would be lovely.  These did beg for hot chocolate or something just a little sweet.  I will certainly file this away as a possibility for future baking, but we have a few favorites that would take precedent.  I will say that these minis were a perfect size.  I think too much more would have been a little overwhelming.

Go see the recipe and better photos at Karen's Kitchen Stories.

13 comments:

Have Apron....Will Bake said...

Your mini cakes look wonderful. It was a lot of molasses, huh. I found the flavour of the cake way too strong. If I try the recipe again, I might try the candied ginger as it might lessen the intensity.

smarkies said...

Your cakes look great. Glad you liked them.

Unfortunately I found the taste of molasses a bit too strong for me.

Pennylane4647 said...

Very pretty! I agree that these are best in very small portions - they are intense!

Jessica of My Baking Heart said...

So glad you enjoyed this one - it's a new favorite of mine! :)

Cathleen | My Culinary Mission said...

Your mini bundts are too cute! They remind me of those chocolate covered marshmallow cookies. You are so right about only needing a small portion. Much more would cause a stomachache for sure!

Unknown said...

My mini bundts stuck and I only got one good one! Yours look great!

Anonymous said...

Love the mini bundt gingerbreads. Loved the addition of the chocolate and espresso.

Inge and Gillian said...

Your mini bundt gingerbread cakes look beautiful.

Karen said...

I love how cute the mini bundts look. Very nice!!!! Like the idea of the candied ginger.

Anonymous said...

Love your little baby bundt cakes! They look so good!
I wasn't keen on these, was hoping for more gingerbread and less molasses flavour.

Flourchild said...

Great looking little cakes! This was an interesting recipe...some loved it others not so much!

Marlise said...

Love the little bundt cakes.

loavesandstitches said...

Cute cakes!