Baking with Dorie: A Spicy Cake for Christmas

Name: Baking with Dorie: A Spicy Cake for Christmas
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 9
Cuisine: Global
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon baking soda; 85 grams bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped; 170 grams bittersweet chocolate—2 ounces melted and cooled, 4 ounces finely chopped; 156 grams stick plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature; 237 milliliters buttermilk; 1 teaspoons cinnamon; 3 Tbsps confectioners sugar; 3 larges eggs; 473 milliliters all-purpose flour; 2 Tbsps finely chopped peeled fresh ginger; 1 Tbsp finely chopped ginger in syrup (available in Asian markets), optional; 0 teaspoons ground cloves; 2 teaspoons ground ginger; 177 milliliters (packed) light brown sugar; 118 milliliters molasses (not blackstrap); 1 Tbsp strong coffee; 1 Tbsp sugar; 43 grams tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

Baking with Dorie: A Spicy Cake for Christmas might be just the side dish you are searching for. This recipe covers 14% of your daily requirements of vitamins and minerals. One portion of this dish contains about 8g of protein, 31g of fat, and a total of 604 calories. This recipe serves 9. A mixture of ginger, bittersweet chocolate, bittersweet chocolate—2 ounces and, and a handful of other ingredients are all it takes to make this recipe so scrumptious. It can be enjoyed any time, but it is especially good for Christmas. From preparation to the plate, this recipe takes roughly 45 minutes.

Instructions

Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch square baking pan and put it on a lined baking sheet. (Make sure your pan measures a true 9-x-9-inches; see above.)

Ingredients you will need

Butter

Equipment you will use

Baking Sheet

Baking Pan

Oven

Put the fresh ginger and sugar in a small bowl, stir and set aside.

Ingredients you will need

Fresh Ginger

Sugar

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Bowl

Whisk the flour, baking soda and spices together.

Ingredients you will need

Baking Soda

Spices

All Purpose Flour

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Whisk

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar together at medium speed until they are light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

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Brown Sugar

Butter

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Stand Mixer

Hand Mixer

Bowl

Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each egg goes in. Don't worry if the mixture looks curdled at this stage.

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Egg

Pour in the molasses and beat until smooth. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the melted chocolate along with the sugared ginger. Still on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions and the buttermilk in two (begin and end with the dry ingredients), mixing the batter only as much as needed to blend the ingredients. Fold in the chopped chocolate and the ginger in syrup, if you're using it.

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Buttermilk

Chocolate

Molasses

Ginger

Syrup

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Blender

Pour the batter into the pan (remember, if your pan is small, do not fill it to the top).

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Frying Pan

Bake about 40 minutes, or until the cake starts to pull away from the sides of the pan and a knife inserted deep into the center comes out clean. Don't be concerned if the cake has domed and cracked—it will settle down as it cools.

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Oven

Knife

Frying Pan

Transfer the cake to a rack, cool for 10 minutes, then unmold the cake. Turn right side up and cool to room temperature before icing. (The edges of the cake might be quite brown, but don't fret—you can trim them after you ice the cake.)

Ingredients you will need

Icing

Ice

To make the icing: Fit a bowl over a pan of simmering water, put the chocolate and coffee in the bowl and stir occasionally until the chocolate is melted.

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Chocolate

Coffee

Icing

Water

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Bowl

Frying Pan

Remove the bowl and, using a small whisk, stir in the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Sift the confectioners' sugar over the chocolate and stir it in.

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Powdered Sugar

Chocolate

Butter

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Whisk

Bowl

Transfer the bowl to a counter and let the icing sit for about 10 minutes.

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Icing

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Bowl

Put the gingerbread, still on the rack, on a piece of wax paper or foil (the drip-catcher).

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Wax Paper

Aluminum Foil

Pour the icing onto the center of the cake and use a long metal spatula to spread the icing evenly over the top. Allow the icing to set for 30 minutes (you can hurry it along by chilling the cake briefly). If the edges of the cake are overbaked, now's the time to trim them. Then cut the cake into 9 even pieces.

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Spread

Icing

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Spatula

Serve the gingerbread as is or with whipped cream or crème fraîche.

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Creme Fraiche

Whipped Cream

Storing: Gingerbread is a good keeper. You can wrap it and keep it at room temperature for about 3 days or freeze it, iced and all, for up to 2 months.

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Wrap