So we started off the 2018 Christmas Treats with Mum’s Fruitcake, so let’s finish it off with another cake. I will serve this cake as the main dessert (along with all the cookies we made). The recipe reads very well and is from one of my favorite sites – epicurious, so I know it will work. This is 2018 Christmas Treat #12 – Gingerbread Cake, slightly adapted from epicurious.

There are a couple of reasons why I like this recipe. My wife chose it as her dessert of choice for the holidays. She sent me 4 recipes for similar cakes, but only this one called out my name. All of them are very good recipes – Anna Olsen, Dorie Greenspan and David Leibowitz, by some of my favorite Chefs. The second reason is the fact that there is no mixer required. Just another interesting technique – pouring boiling water over the butter to melt it, then add the dry ingredients – how simple could this be.

I used pumpkin pie spice mix in addition to the ground ginger and cinnamon. Just wanted to make sure it would taste like I expected it to. I doubled the recipe because I wanted some height, also added some candied ginger into the mix. Thought it would be a nice surprise bite. Molasses provides depth to this recipe.  Try this, I know you will like it.  Wishing you and yours, a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and joyous New Year ahead.  As always – enjoy!

Cake:
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin spice mix
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2″ pieces
½ cup (packed) light brown sugar
½ cup mild-flavored (light) molasses
1 large egg, beaten to blend
2 teaspoons grated peeled ginger
2-3 pieces of candied ginger finely chopped

Topping:
1 cup milk – I used 2/3 cup 35% cream, and 1/3 cup 1% milk
4½ tablespoons flour
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup lemon curd – recipe in previous posting or store bought

To make the topping, over medium heat, cook milk and flour in a saucepan until mixture is thick and starts to bubble. Reduce the heat to low whisking constantly – whisking ensures there are no lumps. Remove from heat, cover pan and let cool completely.
Beat butter in a stand mixer at medium speed, adding sugar a little at a time, until mixture is very creamy and fluffy. Be patient — this will take about five minutes.
While mixing at low/medium speed, gradually add the cooled flour/milk mixture, then the vanilla, until all ingredients are incorporated. The finished frosting should be light and fluffy, similar to whipped cream.

Preheat oven to 350f
Coat the pan with non-stick spray and line the bottom with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on either end – set aside
Whisk flour, ginger, candied ginger, ginger powder, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice mix, salt, baking powder and soda in a bowl – set aside
Place butter in a large bowl and pour ½ cup boiling water over
Whisk until melted, continue whisking and add the sugar, molasses and egg – whisk to combine
Add dry ingredients to butter mixture and whisk to blend
Transfer to prepared pan and bake for about 25 minutes
Let cool for 10 minutes then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely
Cut the cake in half, spread some of the topping in the middle replace the top – pile the rest of the mixture on top of the cake and spread it in swirls