Ginger Spice Cake with Dried Cherries
serves 10
Sometimes we bake this moist, spicy cake in an 8-inch springform pan, or for a more festive occasion, we divide it between small decorative molds. Serve glazed with chocolate icing or simply dust the cake with powdered sugar.
½ cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 cup hot espresso or very strong coffee
2½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons baking soda
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature,
plus more for the pan
½ cup packed dark brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup light molasses
For the chocolate icing
½ cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons hot espresso or strong coffee
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
Preheat the oven to 350°. Combine the dried cherries, crystallized ginger, grated ginger, and mustard in a medium bowl. Pour the hot espresso over it and set aside. Whisk together the flour, ground ginger, baking soda, salt, allspice, cinnamon, and black pepper in a large bowl and set aside. Butter a 6–8-cup Bundt pan (a 8-inch springform pan or 2 small decorative molds). Dust it with flour, tapping out any excess.
Beat the butter in a large mixing bowl with a mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the brown sugar and continue to beat for another 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Beat in the molasses.
Strain the cherry mixture into a small bowl, reserving the soaking liquid. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture in three parts, and the soaking liquid in two parts, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, and beating well after each addition. Fold in the cherry mixture. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan.
Bake until the top springs back when lightly pressed in the middle and a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let the cake cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before removing it from the pan.
For the chocolate icing, heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until tiny bubbles form around the edges. Stir in the hot espresso. Put the chocolate in a medium bowl. Add the hot cream and let stand for 1 minute, then stir until the icing is smooth and melted. Spoon over the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides. Cut into slices.
[ you can find this recipe in Canal House Cooks Every Day ]
