Ginger cake is one of those desserts that you can have anytime of the year. Spring and Summer with a simple sticky lemon drizzle or soothing ice cream; and Fall and Winter with lashings of sweet caramel sauce or warm custard. This cake is pure gingerbread sweetness in every slice.
Gingerbread Cake
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3 cups (750ml) all-purpose flour, plus some for dusting
3 tablespoons (45ml) cocoa powder, sifted
1 tablespoon (15ml) ground ginger
2 teaspoons (10ml) ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons (10ml) baking powder
1 teaspoon (5ml) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon (2ml) salt
1/2 teaspoon (2ml) ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon (1ml) ground cloves
2/3 cup (150ml) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups (375ml) sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup (125ml) molasses
1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract
2 cups (500ml) light sour cream
Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC) and grease a 9 or 10 inch ( 23cm or 25cm ) bundt pan; dust with some flour. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cloves; set aside.
In a separate bowl, using and electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Beat in molasses and vanilla.
Using mixer on low speed, alternate beating in the flour mixture and sour cream, making 3 additions of flour mixture and 2 of sour cream and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Scrape the batter into the prepared baking pan, smoothing the top. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the centre of the cake, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Allow to cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Invert onto a serving plate and dust with icing sugar, or your favourite topping. Serve.
Notes: Ovens vary therefore I baked the cake for a bit longer... possibly for an additional 10 minutes. Checking is key!