Chocolate Gingerbread Cake
Soft spiced chocolate and ginger cake with tangy cream cheese molasses frosting
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Makes: 8 large slices
Ingredients
For the cake
- 115 gms butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup molasses (170 gms, see notes)
- 3/4 cup soft brown sugar (160 gms)
- 1/4 cup water (60 ml)
- 2 eggs (see notes)
- 1/4 cup whole milk (60 ml)
- 2 tsps finely grated fresh ginger (peeled before grating)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (120 gms)
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder (42 gms)
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt if using unsalted butter
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
For the frosting
- 100 gms unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 150 gms cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 tbsp molasses
- 1 cup + 2 tbsps icing sugar (120 gms)
Instructions
- To make the cake, combine the butter, molasses, brown sugar and water in a small saucepan. Heat on low till the butter has melted and the mixture is fairly smooth, stirring constantly. Pour into a mixing bowl and let this cool for 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, preheat the oven to 160 C. Grease a 9 inch springform tin (a 9x5 loaf tin also works) and set aside.
- Now to the butter and molasses mixture, add the eggs, milk and grated ginger, whisking gently to combine.
- Sift in the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt and spices. Fold very gently to combine. There will be lumps, and that's ok. Don't be tempted to use a hand mixer as this beats too much air into the batter. In runny batters such as this one, excess air can cause it to crack in the oven (speaking from experience!)
- Pour the batter into the prepared tin. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Let the cake cool completely to room temperature. If you do find that the center is a little sunken, despite being fully cooked, don't worry. It can happen sometimes with liquidy batters. The frosting will fix it :)
- To make the frosting, beat the butter and cream cheese together with a hand mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add the molasses and beat briefly to combine. Then add the sugar, beating again until light and smooth. Taste and add more sugar if you prefer. The frosting will be a little soft, so place it in the fridge for 30 minutes, or until firm enough to spread, but not hard.
- Level off the top of the cake if needed, then spread the frosting all over it. Place the cake in the fridge for 20 minutes before slicing.
- Store the cake for 4 to 5 days in the fridge, or frozen for a few weeks. Let individual slices come to room temperature before eating. Happy baking!
Notes
*Molasses gives this cake its signature gingerbread flavour. Substitutes like honey or maple syrup will work but the flavour will change. I use Grandma's Molasses but there are many Indian brands available including Dhampur and Urban Platter. Use plain unsulphured molasses, not blackstrap molasses.
*This cake tastes strongly of ginger, so if you're not big on spices, feel free to reduce the spices a bit, knowing that it will be less gingerbread-y.
*The frosting makes quite a bit, so you can also make two-thirds of the quantity for a thinner layer.
*Original recipe from Martha Stewart. You can also see the oil-based version from Sally's Baking Addiction that I made a few years ago.
*I have not tried this cake without eggs. However, I have a delicious eggless chocolate cake to which you can add ginger and cinnamon for a similar flavour profile. I would skip the chocolate chips. Please keep in mind that I haven't tried altering the recipe this way myself but if you do, let me know how it goes!