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October 20, 2009

Spiced Bundt Cake

powdered sugar dust

CHINESE. SPICE. POWDER. It’s what pushed me over the edge to make this! I love the complex taste of it, but I’ve only had it in a few savory poultry dishes. So the thought of it being paired with sweet, ginger pieces had me.

breakfast

I ate a slice of this cake while uploading these photos and am currently enjoying the wonderful aftertaste. I bet it would be delightful with a spiced chai latte, some warm milky tea or even a cup of joe…..I am also imagining it topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some warm poached pears….MMMM. I might have to make that a reality.

i got messy

Before I get carried away, let me describe the actual taste!

The crisp edges and outside crust remind me of a chewy ginger molasses cookie and the inside is incredibly light, moist & fluffy. When I say fluffy, I mean TOTALLY fluffy. Not really as dense as I thought it could be. The chunks of ginger add a beautiful texture and a nice spicy surprise. And they are chewy!

this didn't quite work out

The recipe advises you to pulverize the crystalized ginger with the sugar in a food processor. I kind of failed at this part. I used the smaller food processor and it barely even chopped the pieces. I guess it was because the ginger I had was more on the chewy/moist side than hard/ brittle/ stale chunky side. I wasn’t about to take out the mixture and put it in my full sized processor, so ended up chopping the bits myself. The last thing I need is another thing to wash in my sink. I decided that I would enjoy the cake more if I was able to have rough chunks of ginger in each bite. The risk paid off.

Look at those chunks!

chopping candied ginger

Topped with Pepper! Spicy!

topped with pepper

Alternating Flour & Molasses Mixture

alternating flour & molasses mixture

Who wants to lick the beaters?

who wants to lick the beaters?

Won’t you join me?

see some ginger chunks?

Spiced Bundt Cake

(recipe Rachael Ray Magazine Nov 2009)

  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 tablespoon Chinese Five Spice powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed crystallized ginger
  • 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter at room temp
  • 2 large eggs, at room temp
  • 1 cup dark molasses diluted with 1 cup hot water
  • confectioner’s sugar, for dusting

1. Position rack in the lower third of the over and preheat to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10 cup bundt pan. In a bowl, whisk flour, five spice powder, baking soda, salt and pepper.

2. Using a food processor, mix the granulated sugar and ginger until the ginger is coarsely ground (or chop it up like I did)

3. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar-ginger mixture and vanilla at high speed until fluffy, about 5 mins. With the mixer at medium speed, add 1 egg at a time, beating after each addition. Mixing at low speed, add the flour mixture alternately with the molasses in 3 batches until combined. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake until the cake begins to pull away from the side of the pan and is springy to the touch, about 1 hour. Transfer to a rack and cool for 20 mins. Invert cake onto a rack and cool completely. Dust with the confectioner’s sugar.

  • Lindsey

    This looks divine!

  • Quasi Serendipita

    Yum! This is definitely on my list of things to make, thanks 🙂

  • Rose

    Looks outstanding. I love the idea of crystalized ginger & 5spice! YUM! Beautiful pictures.

  • jen

    wow that looks delicious. i’ve also heard of 5 spice ice cream, i bet it’d be yummy alongside this cake. delish!

  • Dana

    Oh, that sounds just awesome. I love gingerbread type desserts but my husband loves them even more. I retired my old bundt pan last year and need to buy a new one so I can make this.

  • tanja

    can you please come and bake at my house !

  • laura

    I never thought of using 5 spice powder this way, it sounds great. Was the ginger still spicy after coking or did it mellow a bit?

  • Tracy

    Thank you ladies!!! The ginger manages to still be spicy! But not as BAM as before.

    Tanja- ok!! just feed me in french fries and I’ll be right over!

    Dana- my hubby and i are gaga over gingerbread type desserts too! get a new bundt pan NOW!

  • laura

    Oh good to know on the ginger. I like it when it mellows out a bit.

  • Sophie

    What a tasty & fabolous looking spiced Bundt cake!!

    I so love chinese 5 spice power!! Excellent cake!! a must try!!!

  • Seskwee

    Is there vanilla in the recipe? I see it in the directions, but not the ingredients.

    Great, blog. Thanks!

    • Tracy

      i am so sorry! i have to be better at editing when i type out a recipe!! It calls for 1 1/2 teaspoons. I just added it up there. Thanks for helping me with that.

  • AnneHD

    Loved this cake! I couldn’t resist and added a pinch of ground cayenne pepper, as I like to do with ginger baked goods — so glad I did, it gave it a nice kick we enjoyed. It reminded us too of a big, fluffy, moist molasses cookie. My cake was perfectly cooked after 50 minutes at 350, so I would advise starting to check it at 45 minutes. Many thanks for this great recipe!

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