Ruth Reichl's Gingerbread Cake - Sea Salt and Sailor Stripes

Gingerbread Cake

This gingerbread cake recipe is bursting with the flavors of fresh ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, and a hint of pepper. The recipe comes from Ruth Reichl’s novel Delicious! and the cake is exactly that — delicious!

‘Tis the season for gingerbread and I happened upon this recipe when I recently read Delicious! I couldn’t wait to try it.

Delicious! (IndieBound) is a novel about a young woman, Billie, who moves to New York City to take a job at a cooking magazine called Delicious. During the job interview, Billie is asked to create something in the magazine’s kitchen. Billie makes the gingerbread cake that she perfected when she was young.

The book has several themes that drew me in. There’s mystery, a love interest, and there are plenty of luscious food descriptions throughout the story. And, the gingerbread recipe is a keeper!

Tips

If you have the time, make the cake the day before you plan to serve it, so that the flavors can meld and become, as Reichl puts it, “spicier, richer, more forceful”.
Reichl recommends grinding the spices, “You can use pre-ground spices, but the cake won’t taste as good.” After grinding the cardamom, I compared the scent of it to my good quality purchased ground cardamom and the spice I had just ground was much stronger.
I ground the spices in a coffee grinder, then ground them to a finer powder using a mortar and pestle.
Some people use the entire cardamom pod, but I recommend removing the outer shell and using only the seeds. This gives you a wonderfully intense flavor.
I’ve provided estimates on how much whole spice you need to get the required amount of ground spice.

Special Equipment

A Bundt pan.
A spice grinder and mortar and pestle to grind the fresh spices.
A fine grater for the ginger. I used a Microplane zester.
A stand or handheld mixer.
A pastry brush.

Ingredients

You need the following ingredients to make Reichl’s gingerbread cake.

Cake Ingredients

Whole black peppercorns, about ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper (~ 10 peppercorns)
Whole cloves, about ¼ teaspoon ground cloves (~ 6 cloves)
Seeds from whole cardamom pods (pod removed), about ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom (~ 3 cardamom pods)
1 cinnamon stick, about 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (a 4 1/2-inch stick)
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup fresh ginger root, finely grated and tightly packed
3 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest from approximately 2-3 oranges

Soak Ingredients

1/2 cup bourbon
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

Glaze Ingredients

3/4 cup powdered sugar
5 teaspoons orange juice

Directions

Gingerbread Batter in Pan

Make the Cake

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour the Bundt pan.

Individually grind the peppercorns, cloves, cardamom, and cinnamon, then grind them to a fine powder using a mortar and pestle. Measure each one, so that you have the correct amount. Add the spices to a medium mixing bowl.

Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the spice bowl and whisk everything together.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, egg yolk, and sour cream until thoroughly blended.

Cream the butter and sugar in a stand mixer until the mixture is light, fluffy, and almost white. This should take about 3 minutes. If you use a handheld mixer, it will take a couple minutes longer.

Add the ginger and orange zest into the butter and sugar mixture.

Beat the flour and egg mixtures into the butter, alternating between the two until each addition is incorporated. The batter should be smooth, or as Reichl says, “as luxurious as mousse”.

Spoon the batter into the Bundt pan and bake it until the cake is golden and a cake tester comes out clean (about 40 minutes).

Remove the cake from the oven and cool it in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes.

Make the Soak and Spread It on the Cake

While the cake cools, simmer the bourbon and sugar in a small pan for about 4 minutes, reducing it to about 1/3 cup.

With the cake still in the pan, brush half of the bourbon mixture onto the cake’s exposed surface (the bottom of the cake) with a pastry brush. Let the syrup soak in for a few minutes, then turn the cake out onto the rack.

Gently brush the rest of the bourbon mixture all over the cake.

Let the cake cool completely.

Make the Glaze and Drizzle It

When the cake is cooled, mix the powdered sugar and orange juice together. Drizzle the glaze over the cake. If you want a controlled drizzle, use a squeeze bottle.

Serving the Cake

You can serve the cake alone. It’s delicious and doesn’t need anything added. However, it’s also good with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Cover the remaining cake and store it in a cool location. It will last for days.

Ruth Reichl’s Gingerbread Cake