It is that time of the year again! Christmas is just like a week away, and what's better than adding a good, moist gingerbread bundt cake recipe to your holiday collection?!

This cake is really good: moist, tender, just sweet enough to pair well with the mild bitterness from the molasses, a hint of orange and spices, and an orange mascarpone icing...oh don't even get me started with the icing!

The icing holds up so well with the cake! The density and richness from the mascarpone is just what's needed for this hearty spice cake. (Did you know gingerbread translates to spice cake in French? ~my daily dose of catching squirrels.)

Well, less talk, more doing, so we can do more eating!😉

Ingredients:

A/P flour: just the right amount of gluten to have the right texture.
Ginger, cinnamon, cloves: to give you the classic gingerbread aroma. However, you can do without cloves, if you prefer.
Baking soda: for leavening. We don't want hard; we want some lightness.
Salt: for flavor balance!
Oil: provides more moisture in a cake. Butter would create a crumblier cake, which sometimes you want.
Brown sugar & molasses: for moisture, sweetening, and flavor. You can't have gingerbread cake without a hint of molasses!
***I prefer Grandma's brand molasses because it's unsulphured.
- Unsulphured molasses is made from mature sugarcane juice, which is sweeter and has more flavor; plus, no preservative is added.
- On the other hand, sulphured molasses are produced from sugarcane juice that's less mature and preserved with sulfur dioxide before pressing/ juicing.
Honey: for additional sweetness without an overwhelming presence of molasses.
Orange zest: for extra fragrance. And it pairs really well with brown sugar and molasses!
Hot water: This technique is a little uncommon, but often seen used with chocolate cake batters. When used in making chocolate cakes, the hot water helps "bloom" the cocoa powder for a richer chocolate flavor. It also doubles as a "leavening agent" that lightens up the batter and keeps the cake moist.

Turning it into a bundt cake:

Combine dry ingredients. Whisk together flour, spices, baking soda, and salt.
Mix together wet ingredients, minus the hot water. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, brown sugar, molasses, honey, eggs, and zest until thoroughly combined and emulsified.
Combine dry ingredients with wet. Whisk dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until combined. So once no more flour is visible, stop. We don't want to overmix the batter and have a disappointing bundt cake!
Add the hot water. Slowly whisk the hot water into the batter.
***Don't add the hot water all at one time! The temperature difference between the water and the batter is too great. We may end up with scrabbled eggs and half cooked batter.
Transfer and bake. Pour the batter into a greased bundt pan and bake for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick, inserted, comes out with just a few crumbs.
Here are a few ways to grease a bundt pan:
- Grease it with softened butter (make sure to cover every nook and cranny, but you shouldn't see clumps of butter). Sprinkle flour, with a sifter, evenly over the buttered area. Tap out excess flour. (My least favorite method because sometimes you just get a bad spot and ends up with a clump of flour that ruins your beautiful exterior.)
- Grease with softened butter (same as above). Sprinkle the buttered area evenly with sugar. (Add sugar to the pan. Tilt the pan to let the sugar roll around and stick to the butter.)Tap out excess butter.
- Grease with a neutral oil (vegetable, canola, etc.). Pour about 1 Tablespoon of neutral oil into the bundt pan. Use a piece of paper towel to mop it around the pan. Make sure to get every nook and cranny, just like the butter. No pools of oil should be visible. (My favorite method cuz it's so much easier, but this method is also slightly risky because sometimes the cake may not release well. Hasn't happened to me...yet *knock on wood.* 🤞
Cool. Let the cake cool for about 15 minutes and flip it out onto a wire rack. Let it cool completely before slicing or icing.
Slice and enjoy! Although it is recommended to cool this cake complete before slicing, I like to eat this cake slightly warmed. So pop a slice into the microwave for 5-10 seconds if you like it the same way!
This bundt cake is amazing with a dollop of orange mascarpone icing! You could also give it a light sprinkle of powdered sugar or a drizzle of honey.

For the icing:

This icing is super simple!

Just whisk the mascarpone cheese for 1-2 minutes to fluff it up slightly. Add orange juice and zest, powdered sugar, and heavy cream. Whisk till thoroughly combined (3-4 minutes). Use immediately or refrigerate until needed. Whisk slightly before use.

Storing:

Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and store in a resealable bag or an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to 1 week.

To freeze, double wrap individual slices or the whole bundt cake and store it in a resealable bag or an airtight container for up to 2 months.

The icing will last 2 weeks, refrigerated.

Bake with love!
Mei ❤️

Gingerbread Bundt Cake

Ingredients:

Turning it into a bundt cake:

For the icing:

Storing:

📖 Recipe