Dana Treat – Treat Yourself

Chocolate Gingerbread Bundt Cake

Posted December 16, 2009

Yesterday I made some Holly B’s Christmas Lebkuchen in spite of a raging migraine and a younger child who woke up coughing from his nap and was absolutely inconsolable for over an hour afterward.  The cookies smelled amazing and looked, well, terrible.  Flat and brown with really no visual interest at all.  Not even a powdered sugar sprinkle was going to help out with this one.  The flavor was good but overall, it’s not a recipe I was eager to share.

And so, cake!  I got in my head that I wanted to make a chocolate gingerbread bundt cake over the weekend.  A recipe was surprisingly hard to find.  Most places I looked didn’t have those two flavors together and the few recipes I did find were just not quite right.

Leave it to Martha.  This recipe is actually on her site as bars but I figured I could double it and put it in a bundt pan.  I went to a trusty site to find out the volume of an 8-inch bar pan to see if doubling it would fit in a 12-cup bundt pan.  According to that site, an 8-inch bar pan is 6 cups. simplealternatives.com   Just right, right?  After putting the batter in the pan, I realized that it was going to be a sad flat cake.  Fortunately, I also have a 10-cup bundt pan and so the batter was switched over.  All was well in the end and the cake tasted just as I wanted it to.  Deep rich gingerbread flavor, chewy texture, and chocolate chips sprinkled throughout.  The balance was perfect.

Bundt cakes are usually very easy but they do have the incredibly annoying tendency to want to stay in the pan rather than come out and be eaten.  So here are a few tips for urging your cake out.

Best of luck with your holiday baking and check back here in the next few days for lots more treats.

One Year Ago:  Fennel and Brie Risotto Wedges (this is so delicious)

Chocolate Gingerbread
Adapted from Martha Stewart
Serves 10-14

8 tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for pan
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Powdered sugar for dusting

1.  Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Using Crisco, grease a 12-cup bundt pan.  Sprinkle with cocoa powder and make sure pan is even coated.  Dump out excess.  In a medium bowl, whisk together cocoa, flour, ginger, pumpkin-pie spice, , and baking soda.  Set aside.

2.  In a large bowl, whisk together butter, brown sugar, molasses, eggs, and sour cream until smooth.  Add flour mixture; stir just until moistened (do not overmix).  Stir in chocolate chips.  Transfer batter to prepared pan; smooth top.

3.  Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 35-40 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack and let sit for 15 minutes.  Run a thin knife all around the outside and inside part of the pan that sticks up.  Using your oven mitts, give the cake a firm little toss in the air.  It will become clear what part of the cake is still stuck to the pan so go over that part again with your knife.  Give it another toss.  If it all seems free and clear, carefully turn the cake out onto a cooling rack.  Allow to cool completely.  Sift powdered sugar over top, if desired.

(DT: In my experience, this type of cake freezes beautifully.  I didn’t try it with this one in particular but I wouldn’t hesitate to do so next time I make it.  Just wrap it really well in foil and put it inside a plastic bag (the type found in the produce section of grocery stores is perfect for this job.)  I think it’s safe to freeze for up to a month.  Thaw at room temperature.)


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