Triple Gingerbread Cake

Triple Gingerbread Cake
  • Yield:serves 12
  • Active time:20 minutes
  • Total time:45 minutes
  • Rated: 4.5

[Photograph: Carrie Vasios Mullins]

This spiced sheet cake has ground ginger, fresh ginger, and candied ginger for a triple hit of flavor. It's also a great make-ahead sweet as it tastes better the next day.

About the author: Carrie Vasios Mullins is the editor of Serious Eats: Sweets. She likes to peruse her large collection of cookbooks while eating jam from the jar. You can follow her on Twitter @carrievasios

adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients

  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon allspice
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 2/3 cup blackstrap molasses
  • 1 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup diced cubed candied ginger
  • Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions

  1. 1.

    Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking dish with parchment paper and butter the sides. Combine boiling water and baking soda and set aside.

  2. 2.

    In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, salt, and baking soda; set aside.

  3. 3.

    In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter until fluffy, about three minutes. Add dark brown sugar and beat until well combined. Beat in molasses and ginger, followed by baking soda mixture, flour, and milk. Beat in eggs. Use a rubber spatula to fold in candied ginger.

  4. 4.

    Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Let cool. Leftovers can be wrapped in plastic wrap and eaten over the next three days.