Gingerbread Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

[valchemist]

As soon as I saw this Cake in the November issue of Bon Appetit, I knew I had to make it. I love gingerbread, and a gingerbread cake? with frosting?? Come on. How could I not make it?

It is wonderful. The cake is moist with a rich deep gingerbread flavor. I am a person who loves sweet things, and I love this cake even though it is not overly sweet. Even the frosting is not nearly as sweet as many similar frostings. In fact, I thought the 2 cups of powdered sugar might have been a typo since usually frosting recipes like this call for at least 4 cups. But as it turned out, I am sure it wasn't a typo, because the frosting complemented the cake perfectly. Yum!

The recipe calls for Guinness Stout or dark beer. I used the dark beer since I knew we would be drinking the extra 5 bottles and we don't like Guinness. Sounds odd to put a beer in a cake, but of course you can't taste beer... The beer helps give richness and depth to the flavor.

One word of warning. The beer molasses mixture, when heated, gets really foamy so you need to have a decent sized pan. I used a small pan the first time around and it bubbled out and all over my stove. :( :o Good thing I had an extra jar of molasses on hand!

Here is the recipe!


* Exported from MasterCook *

Gingerbread Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 10 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Desserts

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 c Guinness extra stout or dark beer
1 c mild flavored (light) molasses
1 1/2 tsps baking soda
2 c flour
2 tbsps ground ginger
1 1/2 tsps baking powder
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cardamom
3 eggs
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c dark brown sugar
3/4 c vegetable oil
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
cream cheese frosting:
16 ozs cream cheese -- room temperature
1/2 c unsalted butter -- room temperature
3/4 tsp finely grated orange peel
2 c powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour 3 8-inch cake pans. Bring stout and molasses to boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. remove from heat; stir in baking soda. Let stand 1 hour to cool completely.

Whisk flour and spices in a large bowl to blend. Whisk eggs and both sugars in a medium bowl to blend. Whisk in oil, then stout mixture. Gradually whisk stout-egg mixture into flour mixture. Stir in minced ginger.

Divide batter among pans. Bake until toothpick comes ot clean, about 25 minutes. Cool cakes in pans for 15 minutes. Invert onto racks; cool. (can be made one day ahead. wrap each cake separately in plastic and keep at room temperature.)

For Frosting:Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese, butter, and orange peel in a large bowl until fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar. Chill frosting 30 minutes. Frost Cake. (can be made 1 day ahead. cover and refrigerate. bring to room temperature before serving.)

Source:
"Bon Appetit, November 2002"

[funnybone]

Thanks for the review Val. I too wanted to make that cake when I got my BA last week, but here in PA you have to buy a case of 24 beers!!! How do you think it would be with regular beer? We don't drink it (we keep it on hand for guests). I don't have any plans to cross the state line where I could buy less of it, so I won't be getting any dark stuff soon. Well, my sister is coming from Ontario next week, I could always have her bring a bottle:o :p :)

[SweetTooth]

3-8" pans? any ideas of substitutes? I only own 2! Yikes, maybe munchies would let me borrow one of hers :D

What do you think about a regular beer? I am like funnybone, we keep it in the house for guests.

[Svadhisthana]

What about Ale? My Dh went above and beyond his work description and helped a guy out so he "paid" him with a six pack of Grolsh (sp?). I don't drink alcohol and it will take DH a good year and a half to go thru a six pack. How different are ale and beer?

[Kjente2]

Get your sister to bring you a bottle. There is no comparison...now, if you make fajitas, dark beer makes the best marinade for them and dark beer, well any beer, is great for pot roasts.

[Svadhisthana]

Originally posted by SweetTooth
3-8" pans? any ideas of substitutes? I only own 2! Yikes, maybe munchies would let me borrow one of hers :D

What do you think about a regular beer? I am like funnybone, we keep it in the house for guests.

I think two larger pans (10"?)would work in place of three 8" if you have them on hand.

[valchemist]

I am not an expert on beer or especially about using beer in baked goods, but I think it is important to have a dark beer since it supposedly adds depth. I don't know what an "ale" is.

Oops, I forgot to mention...

I don't own 8-inch pans. I just made the cake in two 9-inch rounds. I think I baked them for around the same amount of time, but I am not sure. I just kept checking for doneness.

with the two 9-inch pans, I had plenty of frosting which is good since I love this frosting (even if it isn't too sweet ;) ). If you have to frost three 8-inch pans, I could see how the frosting would need to go on in thin layers as the picture in the magazine shows. The only problem with the thin frosting layer is that it is hard to hide the dark cake underneath and the crumbs that come off of the cake. So even if I did have the three 8-inch pans, I think I would do it in two 9-inch pans instead.

[funnybone]

Thanks for the beer advice. I'll have to see if she has time to get some for me. If not, I'll just have to wait to try this recipe. No point in making it if it won't be the best it can be! The closest state to us is MD, and there is no way I am going to go there now!

[Bill Harrison]

Might I recommend everyone uses the Guinness as recommended, and then sends the unused remaining bottles to me! ;)

Once me and my friends started drinking Guinness, we have never turned back!

It makes the other beers seem a little watered down. Now if I could just get done with this diet I could enjoy one!

[Carolina68]

Thanks for the review and the suggestions, Val. I LOVE gingerbread and can't wait to make this cake later this week.

[funnybone]

Originally posted by Bill Harrison
Might I recommend everyone uses the Guinness as recommended, and then sends the unused remaining bottles to me! ;)


Great idea, but unfortunately the State of PA prohibits the shipment of alcohol. Sorry. ;) :D

[Svadhisthana]

It was buggin' me so......

Sam Adam's Glossary of beer types:

Ale - made with a top fermenting yeast, ales are described as "hearty, robust, and fruity."
Bitter - a mainstay in English pubs, this golden-brown draft ale is top-fermented, hoppy, dry, and lightly carbonated.
Lager - made with a bottom fermenting yeast, lagers are characteristically "smooth, elegant, crisp, and clean." Comparable to pilsener.
Stout - typically dark, heavy, and richly flavored, stout is "top-fermented beer made from pale malt, roasted unmalted barley, and often caramel malt."


Looks like ale is a beer and , turns out that Grolsh (sp?) is a lager.

[valchemist]

Originally posted by Carolina68
Thanks for the review and the suggestions, Val. I LOVE gingerbread and can't wait to make this cake later this week.

please let me know how it comes out, Carolina. I'm interested!

[Leonard]

VAL: Did you include the Pistachio Topping as shown in the picture?? I would like to make this cake for a party next week. I think I would like the topping, but I'm not sure about the rest of the guests? What do you think?

Thanks,
Patti

[valchemist]

I didn't make the candied pistachios. But I think that they look great and I would have made them if I was serving the cake for company. The cake looks a bit plain without any kind of topping (but it doesn't taste plain).

Let us know how it turns out if you make it!

[Karen M]

I have GOT to get a subscription to BA. I don't think I can live without these recipes.....

[beacooker]

Could one of you post the recipe for the candied pistachios? I might make this cake for a birthday party, and would probably want to add them. Thanks!

[valchemist]

Candied Pistachios

1 cup finely chopped pistachios
1 tbsp light corn syrup
2 tbsp sugar

preheat oven to 325. line large baking sheet with foil. mix pistachios and corn syrup in medium bowl. add sugar and toss to coat. working quickly, so sugar doesn't melt, spread pistachios on prepared baking sheet. bake until pistachios are pale golden, about 8 minutes. cool completely. (can be made 1 day ahead. store in airtight container.)

sprinkle top of cake with candied pistachios.

[beacooker]

Thanks, Val!

[valchemist]

you're welcome. let us know how it comes out if you make it. :)

[knunes]

This sounds SO YUMMY! Thanks for posting Valerie!

[Gracie]

Val - do you think that this could be made in a couple of loaf pans? I'm having a candle party and I'm serving lots of things that can be eaten in small portions. I'd love to make this cake, but I thought that making the standard round frosted cake would "scare" people away from having a large piece.

My idea was to make it in a loaf pan (or two - maybe freeze the second one). I thought I could slice the loaf horizontally and put the frosting inside and sift confectioner's sugar over top. Then I could have loaf slices which are less intimidating than a cake slice.

Or maybe I should just make old fashioned gingerbread :rolleyes:.

What do you all think?

Loren

[valchemist]

Loren,

your idea sounds good to me. but I have no idea if it would work or not. I don't feel qualified to even offer an opinion.

anyone else?

Val

[knunes]

Loren,
I'm usually a chicken about varying things....I'd be afraid the loaves wouldn't cook. I might be brave and try it in either a 13 x 9 or a sheet pan where you could frost it and then cut little squares? Have a fun party!

[valchemist]

that sounds like a good idea to me, too, katie. I am pretty sure that would work whereas I am not sure about the loaf pans.

[helene]

Thanks for the review Val.

Since I bought the magazine I want to try that cake.

I have to go buy a can of beer.

I think I will try in a 13x9 and let you know how it turned out.

[Carolina68]

WOW, this cake is excellent. I had been craving gingerbread ever since the weather started cooling off a bit and this one didn't let me down. My cake turned out very moist and the gingerbread flavor came through nicely without being too sweet. I thought about baking the cake in a 13 x 9 pan, but in the end I decided to go with my 2 9" round pans since that worked well for Val. The frosting is very good too, again not overly sweet and it compliments the gingerbread flavor perfectly.

[valchemist]

glad you enjoyed it as much as we did. thanks for the review. I don't like to be the only one with an opinon. :)

[jphilg]

I'm going to make this for Thanksgiving, I think....we are driving from DC to PA on the day of, and I though that I would bake the night before, make the frosting and tupperware it, and then assemble once we got there. I thought I would use candied pecans (because I don't love pistachios) and maybe candied orange peel on top for color?

Will that work?

Jen

[valchemist]

sounds perfect, Jen. Be sure to have a little cooler for the frosting, though.

[foodfiend]

Would a regular frosting be fine for this cake? I'm not in the mood for cream cheese and neither is my waistline!

[valchemist]

what do you mean by "regular" frosting?

In my opinion, the frosting makes this cake great. it complements the rich flavor perfectly.

what did you have in mind?

[foodfiend]

I was thinking of an icing sugar with milk frosting.

[valchemist]

oh, okay. powdered sugar and milk -- I'd call that a glaze as opposed to frosting. well, I think this cake needs something more substantial than a glaze to stand up to the bold flavor. but then again, most people have gingerbread plain or with a dollop of whipped cream.

[tracey67]

I'm thinking of making this soon and I plan to use the two 9-inch pans. Val -- do you remember how you adjusted the baking time to compensate? It says 25 minutes for 8-inch layers, would 30 minutes be good for the 9-inch thicker layers?

Thanks!

[valchemist]

Tracey, to be honest, I am not sure how long. I think I started checking aound 23 minutes and it was done soon after, but my oven runs hot from time to time. it is not a consistent oven.

[jphilg]

Tracey... I just made mine in 9" pans, and I baked the rounds for 30 minutes. I took them out, and I noticed as I walked by that the centers have fallen just a little; there is an "inner ring" that looks a little less done than the edges. But, a tooth pick came out clean. My point is that 32 or 33 minute might be preferable.

Jen

[tracey67]

Thanks Val and Jen!! I'll probably check at 30 minutes and plan to leave in for 32 unless it looks really done at 30.

[valchemist]

thanks for answering, jen. my oven really isn't reliable.

it's hard to just guess on the times for this. because yes, you are using 9-inch instead of 8-inch pans, but you are only using 2 of them.

[honeygirl1971]

Every time I look at that picture I crave that cake. I've gotta make it!!! Maybe next weekend. Your reviews have convinced me! :D

[jphilg]

We loved the cake! It was such a complex flavor, and Val, I agree with you that it is less sweet than most such cakes, yet still nicely balanced.

We brought it it a dinner party tonight, and everyone raved, and I left the rest of the cake with the hosts so that I won't eat it.

The thing is, though, even though I really liked the piece I had, I am not sure that I want to make it for Thanksgiving. It is yummy, but not addictive like so many sweets. So I am glad that I did a "dry run".....and now I get to taste-test other desserts!

Jen

[colleency]

I've made this cake twice, and it's really good!

[funnybone]

I'm bringing this thread up again as I have been dying to make this cake since it was published a year ago. My dilemma at the time was the lone bottle of Guinness beer I could not buy in PA. Well, I bought that lone bottle of beer as soon as we moved here to IL, so it has been sitting in the fridge for the last 6 months. I think it is time I used it up.

For those who never saw the picture of the cake, here it is:

http://www.epicurious.com/db/recipes/photos/107331.jpg

[britneyelise]

I can't believe I didn't post a review of this last year. I made it too, candied pistachios and all. This is not usually the type of cake that my family devours (they are all staunchly chocolate fans), but it was gone so quickly. I couldn't find a single can of guiness at the time so I bought a 4 pack, they all eventually got used up in bread or soup (beef, beer, and barley soup from CL a while ago called for the stout). I think I might have to make it again, thanks for bringing it up.

Shannon

[Middydd]

This is an excellent gingerbread recipe that doesn't call for Guinness, I've been making this recipe for many years:

http://ww2.kingarthurflour.com/cgibin/htmlos.cgi/4692.5.1241603435513374314

The icing is also excellent.

[VictoriaL]

I can't believe that I didn't see this last year! I love gingerbread!!! And DH bought a case of dark beer because he liked the name (Black Bear Stout), so I can now make many of these cakes! :D

Also, it contains oil, which I can sub with Baking Healthy, and sub egg whites for the whole eggs, so I can lower the fat content that way. I think that I'll make it in a bundt pan and then make a thick lowfat cream-cheese glaze to drizzle on since Val said that the cream cheese frosting is so essential!

[helene]

Originally posted by Middydd
This is an excellent gingerbread recipe that doesn't call for Guinness, I've been making this recipe for many years:

http://ww2.kingarthurflour.com/cgibin/htmlos.cgi/4692.5.1241603435513374314

The icing is also excellent.

Can you give me the name of the recipe. I clicked on the link and brought me to the main page.

Thanks

[Middydd]

It's the "Hot and Sweet Gingerbread", the icing is especially good.

[funnybone]

I wanted to add the the cake was DELICIOUS and worth the wait! I'd make it again, for sure! :D

[LonghornGal]

If you're looking for a "Fall-y" dessert, wow, this is good. I made a half recipe into 8 cupcakes (otherwise I have portion control issues) For the beer I used "Double Chocolate Stout" that I found in a pint bottle at Central Market.

A definite gingerbread winner - and the frosting is necessary IMHO because otherwise the gingerbreadiness would be overwhelming (which might help me with my portion issues! :D ) The slight oranginess of the frosting made it extra-good!

As usual, I completely destroyed the recipe as written with substitutions. Lighter-bake for the oil, eggbeaters for eggs, and Splenda for the white sugar. I used all fresh ginger, and upped the spices a bit all around. Oh, and I used regular brown sugar because I wasn't paying attention.

Since I had cupcakes, I only made half the required frosting (so 1/4 of the total amount in the original recipe - using ff cream cheese), which was still more than plenty. And the bake time was 25 minutes and they were still nice and moist.

Thanks for posting it Val!

editing to add final nutritional calcs after those subs: 203 Calories; 3g Fat (12.1% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 40g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 1mg Cholesterol; 295mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Fruit; 0 Fat; 1 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.

[aggie94]

Hey there,

Bumping up this thread again to see if anyone made this with dark molasses. I have to go to the store anyway, so I can pick up light if I need it, but I'm wondering if it's really necessary. I'm planning to make this tomorrow.

Thoughts?

[aggie94]

Bump. Anyone?

:)

[LonghornGal]

I vote you do a trial! Not like you need two bottles of molasses sitting around the house. :)

[aggie94]

Thanks, Kristin. I looked for light molasses at the store since I was already there, but all they had was Grandma's Original Molasses (which is what I had at home) and Grandma's Robust Molasses. Not sure if either is dark or light, but I ended up just using what I had. The cake looks great (although it's a little slanty)! I even candied the pistachios for the top. The frosting tastes wonderful - very light and fluffy, with a subtle hint of orange. The cake itself tastes good too - I sampled a little piece that stuck to the pan. :o I can't wait to try it all together.

[helene]

Finally I will be making that bread for my boss birthday.

2 questions:

1- Can I substitute the fresh ginger with ground ginger?

2- in the topping it calls for 3/4 tsp finely grated orange peel, can I just omit it or replace with grated lemon peel. I don't like orange peel.

Thanks, and can't wait to make the cake.

[little_bopeep]

I made this for DH on New Year's (he's a gingerbread fan as well as a Guiness fan) and it was awesome! I baked mine in a 9x13 pan and it took forever to get done, but it was perfect and moist. Eva, I used Grandma's dark molasses, too, and it was perfect. Helene, I considered omitting the orange peel, too..but I went ahead with it and am glad I did. I don't care for it, either, but it just added that extra something that set it off so well. In any case, I wouldn't do lemon peel at all...it just doesn't sound right. And I used ground ginger.

I don't care for gingerbread at all, but this cake was very much like a carrot cake (would have been great with some nuts!)... so with the cream cheese frosting, it was a total winner.