I am a newlywed on a budget, just trying to make healthy and inexpensive meals for my husband and I to enjoy. He eats a lot, so cost is a big factor. Though I work 3 jobs, I manage to find time 6 nights a week to cook a full dinner for us both. I am constantly looking for new recipes that are moderately healthy, taste great, and won't break the bank.

On the side, I also own a brownie business called Gersheybars. My passion and love for cooking started when I was just a small child, baking with my mom and grandmother. The brownie recipe has been passed down through 5 generations and I am thrilled to finally have an outlet to share them with everybody else. Friends and family have helped spread the word and made my business as successful as it is today.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Extra Gingery Gingerbread Cake

This is one of Justin's favorite foods, and we've been searching for a good recipe for a few years now. I once worked in a bakery that made incredible gingerbread cake around the holidays, but unfortunately, I quit before being able to swipe the recipe! Anyway, this is the best one we've tried so far. I got the recipe off AllRecipes.com but I made a few slight adjustments noted in bold.

Overall the cake is definitely spot on as far as taste goes, but I slightly overbaked mine so it's a bit drier than I'd like. Also, the recipe calls for a full cup of molasses. I'm not a fan of molasses at all, so I halved it and only used 1/2 cup. Justin had no idea until I said something after he'd tasted it. He agreed that a full cup would've been too overpowering.

Ingredients
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups white sugar
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup dark molasses (I only used 1/2 cup and it was plenty)
  • 1/2 cup apple juice
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
  • 1/2 cup chopped crystallized ginger (We couldn't find any in the stores near us, so I omitted. It still tasted very gingery and delicious!)
Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter and flour a 10 inch springform pan (I used a standard bundt pan instead).

2. Stir together flour, cinnamon, cloves, ground ginger, baking soda, and salt.

3. In a large bowl, mix sugar with oil, juice, molasses, eggs, and fresh ginger in a large bowl. Mix in crystallized ginger. Stir in flour mixture. Pour into prepared pan.

4. Bake for 1 hour, or until cake tester comes out clean. Run a knife around the edge to loosen cake, and release pan sides. Serve warm. (I baked this for 60 min and it's slightly overbaked. Next time, I'd recommend 50 minutes.)


1 comment:

Elly said...

Mmmm, I love gingerbread. Looks great!