Today’s Spicy Tender Gingerbread is a cake that everyone will love. With its deep flavor, tender texture, and spiciness, this is a cake you will crave. It is most popular during the holiday season but terrific all year long. Enjoy!
There are many foods that I love which is not surprising given my passion for cooking, but there are a few that really thrill me. Gingerbread is deep, dark, tender, spicy, and good all on its own or with a dollop of whipped cream. If I see it in a bakery or on a menu, I have to order it. Not want to, but HAVE to order it. I can’t help myself. LOL.
A couple of years ago, when deciding what I wanted to enter in our local county fair, I decided to give gingerbread a try. I have tried many recipes over the years, but none gave me the texture and flavor I crave. There is nothing like a baking contest to get me fired up about finding or creating the best recipe. That’s my competitive streak. I just love winning blue ribbons!
So a few weeks of pouring over recipes, reading up on the history of gingerbread, understanding what gives it the spiciness I love, and I was ready to put a recipe together. Several tries later and I had something that was really close. A few more tweaks and I had it. Don’t be alarmed at the amounts of spices and the inclusion of black pepper. They really do balance each other!
Hot from the oven!
Some of you may not have heard of Lyle’s Golden Syrup. It has a delicate butterscotch flavor and it allows the other flavors to shine through. It is a byproduct of refining sugar cane and you can use it in place of corn syrup, maple syrup, or honey. A company that follows fair trade practices and has a low carbon footprint, Lyles has created a product to be proud of.
There are several types of molasses available in the market and using one over another can drastically change the flavor of your baked goods. Unsulphured molasses is the highest quality, made from sun-ripened sugar cane and is from the first boiling in sugar processing.
Sulphured molasses is made from unripe sugar cane, treated with sulphur fumes, and is from the second boiling. It has a darker color and stronger flavor. The strongest form is called Blackstrap and is the most bitter. Whenever a recipe calls for a specific type of molasses, the balance will be off if you use a different kind.
This is not a timid gingerbread. It is bold and audacious. If you are thinking that this will be similar to gingerbread cookies from your childhood, hang onto your hat! This is hot and spicy, with flavors that linger on your tongue and in your memory.
This Spicy Tender Gingerbread is the kind of dessert that has you dreaming about having another piece, even when you can’t eat another bite. Perfect for the holidays or any time of the year, this gingerbread cake should be part of every baker’s repertoire. Bonus – your house will smell heavenly as it bakes!! Happy Holidays!
If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a star rating in the recipe card, comment below, and don’t forget to snap a pic and tag it #theheritagecook on Instagram! Seeing your creations makes my day. I love hearing from you!
Ingredients needed for Spicy Tender Gingerbread:
- Butter, molasses, golden syrup or corn syrup, brown sugar
- GF flour or AP flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice,
- Cloves, pepper, eggs, milk, grated fresh ginger, whipped cream
PRO Tip:
You can use a vegetable peeler to peel fresh ginger, but I prefer to use a regular spoon. It is just sharp enough to easily scrape away the peel, but won’t harm you if it slips on the bumpy surface. I like to use a sharp knife and trim away any large lumps, creating as flat a surface as possible to work with. Then just clean up the exterior and you are ready to grate it!
How to make Spicy Tender Gingerbread:
- In a saucepan melt together the butter, water, molasses, golden syrup, and brown sugar over low heat. Stir often until butter is fully melted. Remove from the heat, pour into the bowl of your mixer or a large aluminum bowl. Set aside to cool to lukewarm.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Butter a large bundt pan.
- Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and pepper. Set next to the mixer.
- When molasses/butter mixture is cooled to lukewarm (you can easily hold the bowl in your hands) beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the milk. Mix in the dry ingredients in three additions, then mix in the grated ginger.
- Pour batter into the buttered bundt pan and bake for 1 to 1-1/4 hours or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If the top is browning too quickly, tent with a piece of foil.
- Remove from the oven and let sit on a wire rack 20 minutes to cool a bit, then invert the cake onto the rack and cool completely.
- Serve with a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream if desired. I love using bourbon whipped cream with the cake, the flavors blend beautifully.
- The cake will hold about a week wrapped in plastic in the refrigerator. Return to room temperature before servings.
PRO Tip:
Use the finest size of grater and set it horizontally over a small bowl, resting on both sides of the bowl. This stabilizes the grater and makes it easy to safely exert pressure when grating. Grate the ingredient (in this case peeled ginger) into the bowl, scraping the underside of the grater occasionally. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap if you are holding this for longer than about 15 minutes.
Recommended Tools (affiliate links; no extra cost to you):
- Kitchen scale
- Measuring spoons
- Medium saucepan
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
- Mixing bowls
- Large bundt pan
- Wire cooling rack
Gluten-Free Tips:
* You can adjust any baking recipe to gluten-free by using 120 grams per cup of my favorite gluten-free flour blend. If you are using another brand of gluten-free flour, whisk the mix, spoon it lightly into a measuring cup until mounded, level off the top with the back of a knife, and weigh the flour left in the cup. Use that weight as your standard per cup of that specific flour. Do this for each flour blend you use. Commercial blends such as Pamela’s All-Purpose Artisan Blend, Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1, or King Arthur Measure for Measure are all good choices.
** Bowls made from aluminum cool more quickly than other materials.
*** The major gluten-free organizations have declared that distilled alcohols are gluten free. But some distillers may use caramel coloring or flavorings which sometimes contain gluten. For some very sensitive people this may cause issues. If you are making this cake for a very reactive person, or if they have Celiac disease, you can use potato vodka mixed with two teaspoons brown sugar in place of the optional bourbon in the whipped cream.
All recommended ingredients are gluten-free as of the writing of this article. Always check to be sure the products haven’t changed and are still safe to consume.
Spicy Tender Gingerbread (Gluten Free)
This Spicy Tender Gingerbread is a cake that everyone will love. With deep flavor, dark color, tender and spicy, this is a cake you will crave all year long. It is most popular during the holiday season but terrific all year long. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks; 226g) unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 1/2 cup water
- 3/4 cup (253g) mild unsulphured molasses (not Blackstrap)
- 3/4 cup (234g) Lyle’s Golden Syrup, honey, or light corn syrup
- 1 cup (213g) firmly packed brown sugar
- 3 cups (360g) gluten-free all-purpose flour blend * or all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 2-1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
- 3 large eggs (150g), at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (113g) 2% or low fat milk
- 2 tbsp packed, peeled, and grated fresh ginger
- Lightly sweetened whipped cream, optional
Instructions
- Combine the butter, water, molasses, golden syrup, and brown sugar in a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir frequently until the butter is melted and the ingredients are smoothly incorporated. Remove from the heat, pour into the bowl of your stand mixer or a large aluminum** bowl and set aside to cool to lukewarm. (To cool more quickly place the bowl into a larger bowl partially filled with cool water.)
- With a rack in the center of the oven, preheat to 350°F (177°C). Butter a large bundt pan and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour,
baking soda, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and pepper. Set next to your mixer. - When the molasses mixture has cooled to
lukewarm, add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the milk and stir to combine. Mix the dry ingredients into the batter in three additions. Stir well after each addition. Stir in the grated ginger. Scrape the bowl as
needed. - Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake in the center of the oven for about 1 to 1-1/4 hours, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. If the top is browning too quickly, tent with a piece of foil. Cool for 20 minutes in the pan set on a wire rack, then invert onto the rack and cool completely.
- Serve with a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream if desired. I love using bourbon whipped cream*** with this cake, the flavors blend beautifully! The cake’s flavor improves with time so make this a day ahead if you want. It will hold about one week wrapped thoroughly in plastic and stored in the refrigerator. Return to room temperature before serving.
Recipe found at www.theheritagecook.com
Notes
* You can adjust any recipe to gluten-free by using 120 grams per cup of my favorite gluten-free flour blend. If you are using another brand of gluten-free flour, whisk the mix, spoon it lightly into a measuring cup without a spout until mounded, level off the top with the back of a knife, and weigh the flour left in the cup. Use that weight as your standard per cup of that specific flour. Do this for each flour blend you use. Commercial blends such as Pamela's, Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1, or King Arthur Measure for Measure are all good choices.
** Bowls made from aluminum cool more quickly than other materials.
*** The major gluten-free organizations have declared that distilled alcohols are gluten free. But some distillers may use caramel coloring or flavorings which sometimes contain gluten. For some very sensitive people this may cause issues. If you are making this whipped topping for a very reactive person, or if they have Celiac disease, you can use potato vodka mixed with two teaspoons brown sugar in place of the bourbon – or leave it out altogether.
All recommended ingredients are gluten-free as of the writing of this article. Always check to be sure the products haven’t changed and are still safe to consume.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 292Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 50mgSodium: 305mgCarbohydrates: 60gFiber: 1gSugar: 28gProtein: 6g
The nutritional information for recipes on this site is calculated by online tools and is merely an estimate.
If you enjoyed this recipe, be sure to follow me on social media so you never miss a post:
Create a New Tradition Today!
Welcome! The suggestions here are not intended as dietary advice or as a substitute for consulting a dietician, physician, or other medical professional. Please see the Disclaimers/Privacy Policy page for additional details. Unauthorized use, distribution, and/or duplication of proprietary material from The Heritage Cook without prior approval is prohibited. If you have any questions or would like permission, please contact me. To learn more about me, click here. We participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small amount from qualifying purchases without any additional cost to you. This page may contain affiliate links. This site is not intended to provide medical advice. This post was first shared in Oct 2010. The article was updated in 2023.
The Food Hound
I, too, would do illegal things for gingerbread. I have a recipe I love that does not use fresh ginger, but I’ve always wanted to try using the fresh stuff. I am not on the serve-with-lemon-curd bandwagon b/c I love the gingerbread and curd so much by themselves, that I think I miss out by eating them together!
Jane Bonacci, The Heritage Cook
Wow, it sounds like you could be my twin! Try this recipe and let me know what you think. The use of fresh ginger really spices it up! If you don’t already have a Microplane grater, it really helps with the ginger. You can also cut the ginger into thin disks and press it through a garlic press. Can’t wait to hear how it turns out for you!