Ginger Spice Cake

A couple of years ago when I first came to Melbourne, I picked up a bottle of molasses for a couple of baking projects that never materialised. I've been hanging onto the bottle for these two years out of thriftiness, but I wasn't sure if I was ever going to get around to using it. But my Asian thriftiness came through once again, and I was flipping through my recipe archive when I came across this recipe . I never cared much for ginger, but I've made this cake before and I liked it. Several reasons tipped my hand to make this: 1) It's one of David Lebovitz's most acclaimed recipes. 2) J and E hate ginger (but I was confident I could change their minds). And mostly because I really really wanted to use up the molasses. 

This recipe makes a very moist cake with a distinctive spiced aroma, and I imagine it would make a perfect dessert when served over the Christmas holidays. (In fact, I tried to surprise E and J by keeping mum on which cake I was serving them. But the aroma filled the entire room and J wrinkled her nose immediately. Foiled again...). 

I still wasn't a huge ginger fan, but luckily, cakes are meant to be shared, and I passed out slices around my hostel over the weekend. (And if you're one of those still holding onto my precious lunchboxes, give them back, or there's no more boxes to pass out part deux to you.) 

And seeing I've still got half a jar of molasses sitting in my cupboard, the next one might come around faster than you think. 

Ginger Spiced Cake

Original recipe by David Lebovitz

The recipe makes a very generous amount of batter. I wounded up making a full cake, and a couple of smaller ones. I was concerned that a cup of molasses and another cup of sugar would make this too sweet, but the ginger and cinnamon came out strongly enough, which made the sweetness of the cake was just-right. 

Ingredients

4 ounces fresh ginger (1 cup chopped ginger)
1 cup mild molasses
1 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable oil, preferably peanut
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup water
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 eggs, at room temperature

Steps

Position the oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9 by 3-inch round cake pan or a 9 1/2 inch springform pan with a circle of parchment paper.

Peel, slice, and chop the ginger very fine with a knife (or use a grater). Mix together the molasses, sugar, and oil. In another bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, cloves and black pepper.

Bring the water to the boil in a saucepan, stir in the baking soda, and then mix the hot water into the molasses mixture. Stir in the ginger.

Gradually whisk the dry ingredients into the batter. Add the eggs, and continue mixing until everything is thoroughly combined. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for about 1 hour, until the top of the cake springs back lightly when pressed or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If the top of the cake browns too quickly before the cake is done, drape a piece of foil over it and continue baking.

Cool the cake for at least 30 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Remove the cake from the pan and peel off the parchment paper.