Fresh Ginger Cake Recipe
We know, one doesn’t associate good food from the Big Easy with upstate New York, but Maxie’s Supper Club is one of those places with food that’s capable of transporting you in mere forkfuls. This ginger cake can be thrown together in minutes. It’s so delicious that people will think you’ve been slaving in the kitchen all day.
What to buy: There are various intensities of molasses available, from light to blackstrap. Light (sometimes marketed as mild) tastes best in this recipe.
- Butter, for coating the pan
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for coating the pan
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 3/4 cup light (or mild) molasses, such as Grandma’s
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 cup packed (peeled and minced) fresh ginger (from about 1 [5-inch] piece)
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten, at room temperature
- Powdered sugar, for dusting (optional)
- Whipped cream, for serving (optional)
- Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Coat a 9-inch round cake pan with butter and dust with flour, tapping out the excess; set aside. Have a whisk and rubber spatula on hand.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the measured flour, cinnamon, cloves, pepper, and salt to break up any lumps and aerate; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk the molasses, oil, and sugar until smooth.
- In a large saucepan, bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat. Whisk in the baking soda, then whisk in the molasses mixture until combined; remove from heat. Using the rubber spatula, stir the ginger into the molasses mixture.
- Whisk the dry ingredients, a little at a time, into the batter until just combined. Using the rubber spatula, stir in the eggs until just combined. Again using the rubber spatula, transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread evenly.
- Bake in the oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45 to 50 minutes. Place on a rack to cool for at least 30 minutes. Run a knife around the perimeter of the pan and remove the cake from the pan. If you choose, dust with powdered sugar and serve with whipped cream.
I've been making this cake for about a year and a half and it ALWAYS results in oohs and aaahs. We like it in the summertime when fresh peaches are abundant and we can serve it with sliced peaches and whipped cream. In the winter, it's good with roasted, carmelized pears (there's a recipe on "Smitten Kitten" blog with butter, and vanilla.)
Testy
I made this cake in cupcake form and it worked out beautifully. It made 18 cupcakes. Be sure to fill the wells 2/3- 3/4 full and use a cake tester to check for doneness at 15 mins. It may only take 20 to be fully baked. I topped them with cream cheese frosting http://www.chow.com/recipes/10697 and a little piece of candied ginger.
newbie query? any suggestions for a substitute for all purpose flour how about 7 grain flour wuld the recipe need to be tweaked (thanks for egg/oil with applesauce substitute tip)
emmaroseeats, thanks for noticing that glitch, 'vegan' has been removed from the keywords. Deborah from CHOW
Oh my god. This cake is as close as I have found to the ginger cake (that I love) at Chow restaurant in SF. All I need is some caramel sauce and a pumpkin ice cream recipe and I'll be in heaven. Although the cake warm, on its own, is making me pretty darned happy. I've tried so many recipes. This one is the one!
Chow people - why does this recipe show up when searching for vegan recipes? Vegans: I replaced the eggs with 1/2 cup applesauce and 1 tsp. baking powder and the recipe worked well.
Love this recipe! And, as piegirl said, it gets better a few days in. The first time I made this, in a 9-inch round, non-stick cake pan, I found it a little oily too. The second time I made it in an 8-inch, square, glass pan and it was perfect and stayed moist for days. Maybe that's a simple solution for folks.
really good, but a bit oily. next time i'll substitue some of the oil for apple sauce as someone suggested. I also just did 1/2 cup molasses + 1/4 cup corn syrup. does anyone know why this recipe has the step with the hot water and the baking soda. i've never done that before. whatever the reason, it turns out good.
This recipe is fantastic!! The cake actually gets better as it sits for a few days - just wrap it well. I can't wait to make this again!
Just a little information from a newcomer. On dried ground ginger vs. fresh ginger root: 3 oz. fresh chopped ginger root is equal to 7 1/2 tablespoons of dried ground ginger.
Yummy. Was a bit nervous it would not come out right but it was wonderful. Was stumped too on the oz of grated ginger root but all came together to be moist and fun! I'll be making it again.
This is a good looking recipe; but my comment is about the "Print" option. Usually, websites that offer a "Print" option take you to a new page in which only the recipe is seen, plus any credits. This one printed 4 pps of comments, in unnecessary color. Seems a waste to me. If I'd been less lazy, I could have selected and copied the relevant recipe, pasted it into a word processor, and printed it from there. I'll be more wary next time.
I made this again for my son and daughter-in-law. It was gone in less than 24 hours. I substituted pure maple syrup for the molasses as I didn't quite have enough molasses. I also used grapeseed oil instead of vegetable oil. Since I used pure maple syrup, I cut down on the sugar and used 1/2 cup of sugar instead of 3/4. Still very yummy! It's always a hit.
This cake was simply fantastic. Turned out exactly as I thought it would. Dark, mildly-sweet, moist and delicious. Couldn't have been easier although I'd be interested in the chemistry of putting the baking soda and sugars in boiling water. I'll definitely make it again and top with just a splat of whipped cream. Thanks!
I've been looking up ginger cake recipes lately for my sister's birthday that is coming up soon and in a recipe book i found a great lemon butter sauce that they recommend for any ginger cake. The book is called Baking Boot Camp, basically it's just lemon juice, sugar, water, vanilla, butter and lemon zest. I can't wait to try this cake!
I made this cake once the original way and once using my variation of the recipe where I substituted Cane Syrup for the Moleasses and I added twice as much fresh Ginger as called for. For a lighter cake, try using cake flour instead of AP flour.
I've made this cake several times and love it! It's the recipe I've been looking for (is just like a cake that I used to buy and was dying to know how to make). I figured out the first time I made it that 3 ounces of ginger is equal to about 6 Tbsp. of very finely grated ginger. Hope that helps.
susan you may have bought "blackstrap" molasses, which is much darker & more concentrated, and very bitter and earthy in comparison to the flavor of mild molasses. there's actually a big difference not only in taste, but in viscosity as well...you definitely don't want to just use them interchangeably. you'll wind up with a very gummy, bitter cake :) i'd suggest buying a bottle of the mild stuff.
What is "mild" molasses as called for in this recipe? The only kind I have is a bottle I bought around Christmas time from our health food store, and it seems dark and pungent. It's a brand called Wholesome Sweeteners and is labeled as organic and unsulphured. I noticed that when I made my usual spice cookies last Christmas, they were a little stronger tasting than usual (not really a bad thing), so I'm thinking that this brand may not be the "mild" molasses called for in the recipe. I always thought molasses was just molasses, but is there a mild type and a strong type?
I made this yesterday for a Mother's Day picnic today. It's lovely with a power punch of ginger - I love it! I baked it in a square pan...and cut it into 16 serving pieces to pack for the picnic...so, I had to taste it! This recipe is a keeper.
If this tastes anything like the cake at Chow, I can't wait to try it. All it would need is some fresh whipped cream. Yum!
There is a very good fresh ginger cake recipe in Joy of Cooking that calls for 1/2 cup of ginger for an 8" square pan. I don't what that translates to in ounces or inches, but perhaps it is a similar amount? I'll have to try this recipe soon to see how they compare. Don't spoil it with frosting! The appropriate topping for gingerbread (or cake) is a tart/sweet lemon pudding or sauce. Perfect!
Jacquelynne: They accept caramel sauce in heartbeat-I'd have to make it quick before and apply it to the cake before they ate it.
Excellent and so easy to make. This is a keeper.
I made this yesterday and it's wonderful. Moist and yummy. thanks for the recipe.
Thanks, Regan. Turns out that's what felt about right to me - though for less experienced bakers, given the odd knobbiness of ginger, probably still a good idea to convert to Tbsp grated (about 1 heaping? 2 level? I forgot... yesterday was so long ago). Another note: I chopped about 10 minutes off the minimum baking time, and it still seemed a bit on the dry side. But I soaked my piece with some kumquat syrup I made, and that was pretty delicious. Next time I'll try making it with at least part butter, and it'll probably be more like the cake at Chow.
Ivy, I looked at our testing records and in our recipes tests, 4 inches of fresh ginger equaled 3 ounces. I've adjusted the recipe to add that information. Let us know how it turns out!
I'm making this now and have no idea what "3 ounces" of grated ginger translates to, I'm totally winging it... if anyone has a more practical measure (inches of whole ginger or TBsp measure of grated) that would be a great help.
Sounds good. Will make this soon!
This sounds really good. There's a resto in SF (interestingly enough called CHOW) that serves a great ginger cake with caramel sauce. Would your family accept sauce instead of frosting, Douglas?
I made this cake yesterday and it is superb. I substituted apple sauce for the oil and added a little crystallized ginger. The next time, I'll try 1/4 tsp. cayenne instead of the black pepper. It's wonderful served with lemon curd.
This cake was amazing. Great crumb, easy to whip up and tasted better the next day. Totally a keeper.
Douglasmoran: At Maxie's they serve this cake without frosting because it is really moist and delicious on its own. It'd be great accompanied by some applesauce or a scoop of really good vanilla ice cream. If your family insists on frosting, go for something simple: cut the cake in half horizontally, whip up a pint of whipped cream with 4 teaspoons of granulated sugar, and spread the whipped cream between the layers. Bottom line is keep it simple with this cake and let it do all the talking!
Sounds like a very good recipe.....any ideas on a frosting? My family has to have a frosting.
Very Good!!!