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Fresh Ginger Cake with Caramelized Pears

by Dawn T in Rouxbe Recipes

If you love gingerbread, you'll love the flavor of this incredibly moist ginger cake. Served with caramelized pears, caramel sauce and Chantilly cream, the flavors are a perfect match.

  • Serves: 10 to 14
  • Active Time: 30 mins
  • Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins
  • Comments: 15
  • Views: 3691
  • Success 100%
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Step 1: Preparing the Cake Pan

Preparing the Cake Pan

First preheat your oven to 350° F (177° C).

Line a 10" -inch spring form pan with parchment paper. Set aside.

Step 2: Grating the Ginger

Grating the Ginger

Wash and peel the fresh ginger. Roughly chop and place into a small food processor. Pulse until finely minced (or mince by hand). Set aside.

  • 4 oz fresh ginger

Step 3: Gathering Your Mise en Place

Gathering Your Mise en Place

Gather and measure all of the ingredients and set aside.

  • 1 cup mild molasses
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup grapeseed oil (or vegetable oil)
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 large eggs

Step 4: Mixing the Molasses, Sugar and Oil

Mixing the Molasses, Sugar and Oil

In a large bowl, combine the molasses, sugar and oil. Set aside.

Step 5: Sifting the Flour and Spices

Sifting the Flour and Spices

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, ground ginger and black pepper. Set aside.

Step 6: Boiling the Water

Boiling the Water

In a small pot, bring the water to a boil. Once the water boils, turn off the heat and stir in the baking soda to dissolve.

  • 2 tsps baking soda
  • 1 cup water

Step 7: Adding Water, Baking Soda and Ginger

Adding Water, Baking Soda and Ginger

Once the baking soda has been stirred into the boiling water, add the water to the molasses mixture and stir to combine. Add the ginger and stir to combine again.

Step 8: Finishing the Cake Batter

Finishing the Cake Batter

To finish the cake batter, whisk in the remaining ingredients by adding one-third of the flour mixture. Whisk until combined. Alternate with egg-flour-egg-flour, mixing each time to fully incorporate.

Step 9: Baking the Cake

Baking the Cake

Once everything is combined, pour the batter into the lined, spring form pan. Place immediately into the oven and bake for approximately 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Step 10: Cooling & Making the Toppings

Cooling & Making the Toppings

Once you have tested the cake for doneness, allow it to cool completely on a cooling rack.

As the cake cools, prepare the Caramelized Pears and Rich Caramel Sauce, if desired.

  • 1 recipe Caramelized Pears (optional)
  • 1 recipe Rich Caramel Sauce (optional)

Step 11: Serving the Cake

Serving the Cake

Just before serving the cake, prepare the Chantilly Cream.

Slice the cake into wedges. Place a few Caramelized Pears beside each piece. Add a dollop of Chantilly Cream and drizzle with Rich Caramel Sauce. Enjoy!

  • 1 recipe Chantilly Cream (optional)

Notes

This is a great cake to make in advance. It will stay nice and moist for at least a day or two.

Related Tips & Techniques

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Types of Flour | Uses & Mixing

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What is Mise en Place?

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Kitchen Tools | Peelers

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Kitchen Tools | Whisks

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Reheating Caramel Sauce

Related Cooking School Lessons

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Wheat & Gluten
Vanessa M

Sunkin Cake!!

This cake tasted and smelled delicious, but I did have a problem with the final appearance- the cake sunk in the middle (quite deeply actually). When I took the cake out of the oven it was quiet jiggly but when I put a toothpick in to test it, it came out clean so I thought the cake was done. The only thing I did differently in regards to the recipe was to use a pan with a false bottom so to speak- the bottom isn't attached to the pan itself. Other then that I don't know what I did wrong.
I looked up reasons why cakes sink and the only thing I could find was that either it is undercooked or the batter is to wet...

K A

Vanessa M

I think your problem was with the flour , the best way is to weigh the flour instead of using measuring cups .

Joe G
Rouxbe Staff

Why do cakes fall after cooking?

Hi Vanessa. There are a number of reasons why this might have happened, from incorrectly measured ingredients, oven might not have been preheated correctly, eggs might have been overlooked, over mixing, altitude, undercooked, etc. Here are a couple of articles that might help:

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-causes-cakes-to-fall.htm
http://cakepanstoreblog.com/why-do-cakes-fall

Without seeing the cake it is hard to tell for sure what happened in your case. However, I suspect that it might have just been undercooked in the center. Try the fork test next time in a few spots to see if it comes out clean (without batter on it) rather than a toothpick. The cake should also not be very jiggly. It should move as one solid cake and not more jiggly in the center compared to the outer edges.

So please do try this cake again. It is fantastic.

Hope this helped.

Jurie H

Molasses replacement?

If molasses is hard to get, what could I use to replace it?

Dawn T
Rouxbe Staff

Substitution for Molasses

This is from Cook's Thesaurus

Substitutes: dark corn syrup OR maple syrup (works well in gingerbread cookies) OR honey OR barley malt syrup (weaker flavor; use 1/3 less) OR brown sugar (Substitute 1.5 cups brown sugar for every 1 cup molasses)

Lauren K

no scale

Hello,
I dont have a kitchen scale and I already bought my ginger.
How else could I measure out 4 ozs of fresh ginger?

Dawn T
Rouxbe Staff

How Much Does Fresh Ginger Weigh

4 ounces of fresh ginger is approximately 8 tablespoons.

Lauren K

mmm mmm good

This cake is fantastic!
Rich dark and deep flavor with complex layers of spice, sweet and even bitter. I did find however that the cake was a bit more crumbly than I would have preferred and was definitely sunken in the middle. Would love to somehow incorporate rum into this recipe!

Lauren K

Help pls

I am out of state at my In-laws house and they only have olive oil! Can I use that or butter instead?

Dawn T
Rouxbe Staff

Re: Help with Ginger Cake

I suppose you could use olive oil, but I would suggest going out and buying a bottle of an oil that is more neutral, such as canola or grapeseed. The olive oil may alter the flavor quite a bit, depending on the type and flavor of the olive oil. Good luckk!

Paula O

re: Ginger Cake sinking

I wanted to try the Ginger Cake for weekend company, but was afraid of it sinking in the middle, as I had read that it does sometimes. So...........I put it in a bunt pan, not as elegant tho, and took it out of oven in a bit less time!!!! Guess what? Perfect and absolutely unforgettable!!!!

Rebecca B

Would cake flour work?

I made this recipe last weekend complete with the caramel sauce and caramelized pears. It was really moist and flavorful, with a dense almost banana bread-like texture. Unlike other posters, I had no problems with a fallen center.

If I wanted a more conventional springy cake with these same flavors, could I substitute cake flour for the all-purpose flour; or would the density of the moist ingredients (molasses and fresh ginger) be incompatible with cake flour?

Dawn T
Rouxbe Staff

RE: Would Cake Flour Work?

We cannot say for sure how this cake would work with cake flour instead of all-purpose flour as we have not tried to make it with any else besides all-purpose flour.

To substitute cake flour for all-purpose flour, use 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of cake flour for every cup of all-purpose flour. If you do end up making the cake with cake flour, feel free to post your results. Cheers!

Mircea F

Cracks on the surface

Merry Christmas Rouxbe!
I made this cake twice and every time I got a very tasty and flavorful cake. Still I do have a problem because 10 min before the end of baking time some cracks appeared at the surface of the cake. Could you help me with some guidance here? Is it because of high temperature? The first time I baked it at 180 degrees C and the second at 175. Still the same problem each time. The taste is still great but I want it to be perfect.

Kimberley S
Rouxbe Staff

RE: Cracks on the Surface

Yes, the high temperature, over baking or where the cake was positioned in the oven could cause the cake to crack. Even though you adjusted the temperature, have you tested your oven with an oven thermometer? Sometimes they can be off by as much as 50 degrees. Glad you liked the cake. Cheers!

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