Guinness Stout Ginger Cake

I’ll just begin by saying that this cake was really good. I’m not sure what I enjoyed more, making it, the way my apartment smelled while it was baking, or actually eating it. The top had just started to burn ever so slightly by the time it was ready to be taken out of the oven, so the sugar had started to caramelize, giving the cake a slight crunchiness on the top that was a nice contrast to the moist cake underneath. So good. We ate it with a dollop of whipped cream, but later on I snuck a teeny piece and ate it plain (umm, the baby wanted some) and it was just as good without whipped cream. I will say, if you're not a fan of the taste of dark robust molasses then this might not be a cake for you, the flavor isn't too strong but it is present. I found the recipe on Epicurious and for the life of me I can’t remember what led me to it. The fact that Guinness Stout was one of the ingredients was unusual to me and I decided that this was a cake I wanted to try.

I jotted down a few notes while I was making the cake, nothing major, just a few observations like; eggs don’t bounce, (HA, just kidding) whisk the egg/sugar/oil mixture well to make sure that you don’t have a slick layer of oil sitting on the surface of the bowl. The “foam” takes quite a bit of time to dissipate so don’t worry if 20 minutes goes by and you still have foam, I eventually just stirred it back into the liquid and used it. When pouring the Guinness/molasses mixture into the egg/sugar/oil mixture note that the Guinness/molasses is hot, so be careful not to cook the raw egg, I got around this by constantly stirring while pouring, not an easy task but I managed without mishap. Grating fresh ginger sucks, it gets all stuck in the grater, kind of liquefies itself and just does not easily come off, next time I’ll try freezing it and grating it frozen. I had to leave out the cardamom, I thought I had some on hand but didn’t, so I substituted with equal amounts of allspice.

So, without further delay, from the Epicurious website...

Guinness Stout Ginger Cake

The recipe for this moist, dark, fragrant gingerbread pays tribute to Dona Abramson and Stuart Tarabour at the Bright Food Shop, a terrific little Mexican-fusion café in Chelsea where I spent some time. This was my favorite of their desserts, and it has since become a seasonal classic at Gramercy Tavern, though I've made a few adaptations and embellished a bit. My recipe has just a touch of cloves, and instead of just the ginger and cinnamon in a typical gingerbread, I use a panoply of spices, including cardamom, nutmeg, and a lot of fresh ginger, to give the cake a racy, intriguing flavor. The most unusual thing about this recipe is that stout is substituted for the water or coffee used in most gingerbread recipes. I find it adds a lot of richness and underscores the spices. Since it is made with oil, this cake will stay moist for several days. Dress it up or simply enjoy it on its own, with coffee, tea, or a beer!

• 1 cup Guinness stout
• 1 cup molasses
• 1/2 tablespoon baking soda
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup grapeseed or vegetable oil
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons ground ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 tablespoon grated, peeled fresh gingerroot

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9- X 5-inch loaf pan, line the bottom and sides with parchment, and grease the parchment. Alternatively, butter and flour a 6-cup Bundt pan. In a large saucepan over high heat, combine the stout and molasses and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and add the baking soda. Allow to sit until the foam dissipates. Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk together the eggs and both sugars. Whisk in the oil. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, ground ginger, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cardamom. Combine the stout mixture with the egg mixture, then whisk this liquid into the flour mixture, half at a time. Add the fresh ginger and stir to combine. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 1 hour, or until the top springs back when gently pressed. Do not open the oven until the gingerbread is almost done, or the center may fall slightly. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Makes 8 servings.

Written by Deb on October 13, 2003 12:02 AM