Santa is coming to our house for the first time tonight. I have to admit that I have no idea how to introduce the concept of Santa. I grew up with him, but as an adult, is it magical or a little creepy to have an old man creeping in your house? We don't have a chimney (and if you've been following our saga getting a Tesla solar roof, the roofers probably would have unceremoniously removed it and tossed it in the trash if we did) and my daughter seems to abhor all books with Santa. We'll see if she changes her mind tomorrow morning when presents arrive and Santa has eaten his treat and the reindeer have tossed the carrots/cereal in the yard!
I asked my husband what "Santa" would like for a treat, his fast response was a cake like this - spicy, dark, moist and, most importantly, topped with a thick layer of cream cheese frosting. I found this recipe on my favorite baking blog and made it my own with my mom's tried and true frosting recipe from her legendary carrot cake.
Ingredients:
Cake:
2 c. all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 c. unsulphured molasses (I use Grandma’s Molasses brand)
3/4 c. hot water (about 100°F (38°C))
1/2 c. (115g; 1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1/3 c. packed light or dark brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Frosting:
1 lb powdered sugar [I always do a little less, then taste]
8 oz cream cheese
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 lb butter
Note: I am never fully prepared to bake so I always end up grating my butter to bring it quickly to room temp and giving my eggs a nice bath in warm water to do the same. It seems to make a difference - when you use cold eggs and cold butter, it doesn't properly incorporate because the butter seizes up and gets hard with the other cold ingredients.
Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position and preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease a 9-inch springform pan. Set aside. [Note: I made the assumption that my springform was 9 inches - it was 10...always measure!]
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt together until combined. Set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk the molasses and hot water together.
In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy – about 1 minute. Add the brown sugar and beat on high speed for 1 minute until creamed together fairly well. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. On medium-high speed, beat in the egg and vanilla until combined. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the hot water/molasses, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, and mixing each addition just until incorporated. Avoid overmixing. Batter will be thin. Whisk out any big lumps.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for around 35 minutes or until the cake is baked through. Allow cake to cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack. You want the cake to be completely cool before frosting.
The frosting is super simple - according to my mom's instructions on the notecard in my well worn recipe box - "beat the heck out of the above ingredients". Again, I wasn't prepared with room temp ingredients, so I grated the butter and cut the cream cheese into squares before beating them together. I added the vanilla and slowly added the powdered sugar at a low mixer speed. Turn up the mixer at the end and really beat it well.
Despite my best efforts to overcook and dry out this cake by cooking it in a too big pan, it managed to stay fairly moist, albeit flat. The cake isn't overly sweet, but has really nice gingerbread flavor. My mom's frosting pairs well with the cake, subduing the spiciness and adding some sweetness. I'd definitely make this again - probably in a square pan to get a thicker cake!
Rating: Excellent
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