Makes 1 (10-inch) Bundt, 10-12 servings
This is a rich, moist, deeply flavored gingerbread. The cake will remain fairly flat in the pan, but will look baked when it is finished in the oven, not jiggly. Serve it with some lightly sweetened whipped cream flavored with several dashes of orange bitters and topped with fresh orange zest.
Note on Fresh Eggs: When you’re baking with eggs from backyard chickens, you may need to adjust due to their inconsistent sizes. In baking, “large eggs” are considered 2 ounces, so when making this cake with the eggs I received from a friend, I needed to use 3 eggs and an additional egg white to make 6 ounces.
Altitude Note: If you are baking this cake outside of Bozeman at lower elevation, cut back flour to 2 cups, increase baking powder to
1½ teaspoons and lower oven temperature to 350°F.
1 cup stout or porter (Guinness Extra Stout and Bozeman Brewing Plum Street Porter tested)
1 cup blackstrap molasses
½ teaspoon baking soda
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
3 large eggs (possibly add additional egg white to make 6 ounces)
1 teaspoon vanilla
¾ cup high-oleic safflower oil (The Oil Barn) or other neutral vegetable oil
¼ cup candied ginger, chopped
Preheat oven to 375°F. Generously butter (use 1–2 tablespoons of softened butter) and flour a 10-inch Bundt pan of standard design. (Cake may stick to the pan if you use baking spray, so I do not recommend using it or an overly detailed Bundt pan with lots of nooks and crannies. Cake can be baked in smaller pans, filling them no more than ¾ full and adjusting the baking time down accordingly.)
Whisk together stout and molasses in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer, then remove from heat. Carefully whisk in the baking soda—it will bubble up. Set pan bottom into a bowl of ice water and leave to cool to room temperature.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, spices, and salt. Set aside. Using an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, mix the sugars, eggs, and vanilla for 3 minutes. Add the oil and cooled molassesstout mixture. Mix to combine. While mixing, sprinkle in the dry ingredients and mix to combine. Mix in the candied ginger.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 55–60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs. Let the cake cool for 15 minutes and then invert onto a cooling rack. Serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream, spiked with several drops of orange bitters, if you have it.
- Adapted from New York Times’ Gramercy Tavern Gingerbread and The Marrow’s Ginger Stout Cake
