I can’t help myself at this time of year - I have to cook with all those autumn-inspired, soul-warming spices. Besides the end product, your kitchen smells better than any candle or potpourri. This is a super dense wet cake, so make sure to use parchment and a springform pan so you don’t end up with hunks of wet cake all over the place.
INGREDIENTS
For the cake:
8 Tablespoons butter at room temperature
2 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup grated ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup light molasses (or 1/3 cup blackstrap molasses and 1/2 cup light liquid honey)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 packed cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup finely grated fresh ginger
For the Orange Glaze:
⅓ cup fresh orange juice 1 to 2 oranges
1 tablespoon orange zest from those oranges
1 cup granulated sugar
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 325ºF with the rack in the middle of the oven.
Butter an 8-inch springform cake tin and line the bottom with parchment paper. Place the tin on a baking sheet (because the cake may leak a bit through the springform).
Sift the flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, salt, and baking powder together into a medium bowl. Stir well.
Bring 1 1/2 cups of water to boil in a small pot. Add the molasses (and honey if using) and the baking soda. Stir until everything is well dissolved.
Beat the butter and sugar heftily for a few good minutes in another bowl, until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix until it is well incorporated. Add the grated ginger and mix again until combined.
Now add about 1/3 of the flour/spice mixture. Mix well. Then 1/3 of the molasses mixture and stir well. Repeat this, in thirds, until everything is combined. The mixture will be very wet.
Pour the batter into the cake tin and carefully place it in the oven.
Bake for one hour until a knife point comes out almost clean and no longer wet. The very bottom will be a little wet, however.
Let cool a little before removing the ring from the springform.
Mix the glaze ingredients and cook on medium low until it reduces by at least a third. little by little, drip the glaze over the cake, letting it absorb before adding more. Save a bit to serve with each piece of cake.
A little whipped cream or vanilla ice cream wouldn’t hurt it any.
Hope your fall is going beautifully.