Week 2 - Lemon-Glazed Ginger Cake

 My second recipe was also a dessert, a lemon glazed ginger cake that I planned to bring to my mothers sunday dinner. On a technical level, it wasn’t a difficult cake to make. The instructions were easy to follow, however I would make some alterations if I made this again. First, I would cut the crystalized ginger into much smaller bits. If they are too large they sink to the bottom of the batter and it made it very difficult to get out of the pan once baked. 

Another change is I would put the pan in a water bath in the oven. It would keep the crust of the cake from becoming dense. 

 Otherwise it was a delicious cake, if you are a fan of ginger. I don’t think I would make this cake again, but mostly because I’m not a ginger person. 

Final Rating: 6/10

Source - What to bake & How to bake it by Jane Hornby 

Ingredients

For the cake

¾ cup vegetable oil

¾ cup crystallized ginger

1 ½ packed cups dark brown sugar

½ cup dark molasses

1 cup milk

3 eggs

1 lemon

2 ⅓ cups flour

1 ½ tsp baking soda

1 tbsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground allspice

¼ tsp salt

For the glaze

1 cup confectioners sugar

About 2 tbsp lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350℉ and grease a 12-cup bundt pan with a little oil, or use nonstick cooking spray. Chop the ginger into small pieces.

Put the dark brown sugar, molasses, milk in a large pan and let them melt gently together. Take the pan off the heat, whisk in the oil to cool the mixture, then add the eggs and whisk until smooth. Finely grate in the zest of the lemon.

Mix the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt, then sift into a large bowl. Make a well in the center by pushing the flour to the sides of the bowl, then pour in the wet ingredients. Add most of the chopped ginger, saving some for decoration later.

Mix the dry ingredients into the wet, going slowly at first. Once everything is mixed, give the batter a good beat with the whisk until smooth and evenly blended. Pour into the prepared bundt pan.

Bake for 35 min, don’t open the oven door, reduce heat to 325℉ and bake for a final 15 min. Let cake cool completely before drizzling on icing.