This is the most often requested recipe in my repertoire, and I've passed it on to many, many people. It appears so often on Bay Area menus (sometimes called Dave's ginger cake, which, I admit, amuses and flatters me) that I sometimes think I'm responsible for too much of a good thing. Then I order it, taste it, and decide not to worry: This simple cake is wonderful.
Ingredients
Serves 10-12
Step 1
Position the oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9 by 3-inch round cake pan or a 9 1/2 inch springform pan with a circle of parchment paper.
Step 2
Peel, slice, and chop the ginger very fine with a knife (or use a grater). Mix together the molasses, sugar, and oil. In another bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, cloves and black pepper.
Step 3
Bring the water to the boil in a saucepan, stir in the baking soda, and then mix the hot water into the molasses mixture. Stir in the ginger.
Step 4
Gradually whisk the dry ingredients into the batter. Add the eggs, and continue mixing until everything is thoroughly combined. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for about 1 hour, until the top of the cake springs back lightly when pressed or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If the top of the cake browns too quickly before the cake is done, drape a piece of foil over it and continue baking.
Step 5
Cool the cake for at least 30 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Remove the cake from the pan and peel off the parchment paper.
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Reviews (105)
Back to TopI made this exactly as directed, in a springform pan and using finely chopped ginger (I found a very fresh, succulent hunk of ginger root) and REAL molasses. I was pleased with the taste of the cake, but not so much the texture. The instructions did not say whether to grease the pan, for this. I brushed some of the oil from the recipe onto the pan, but I still got some sticking around one side. (The fragrant, oily batter is strange: it seemed that it would never mix thoroughly, but it did come together in the end.) I had difficulty determined when the cake was done because the cake is so wet. Mine took one hour and 15 minutes. It looked a little bit sunken in the center, but it was cooked through. As for the final products, I love the taste of the spices, the molasses, and the lingering, mild heat of the ginger. The texture is not as tight or even as I would like, though. My cake did not cut cleanly because it wanted to crumble. It’ was not dry or over baked. Maybe it was over mixed? Or perhaps it would be better to grate the ginger, for a smooth texture? I’m wondering how this would be if I incorporated some applesauce. Will keep tweaking the recipe.
Peeps
California
11/24/2021
I see people posting that they used blackstrap molasses for this. That vile stuff is not true molasses! If you can’t find the real thing — mild or “sweet” molasses — you can substitute a cup of dark corn syrup, 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, a cup of maple syrup, or a cup of golden syrup.
Peeps
California
11/19/2021
You should exclude the black pepper :(
匿名
Boston, MA
9/3/2021
I was not sure what to expect from this cake, but my son loves ginger cake so I gave it a try. I was worried that it would taste too much like molasses because I only had the regular "grandma" brand, but the molasses was very subtle. The main flavour was ginger. My son loved it. I used only 3/4 cups of sugar and I used regular vegetable oil. I followed one reviewer's advice to grind the ginger in the food processor with the sugar and it was not stringy it all. I did make sure to slice the ginger into thin-ish slices across the grain (width-wise) to help avoid any fibrous texture. I used the 9.5 inch springform pan and it took a full hour to cook through in a convection oven at 325 degrees F. Be sure to check it with a knife or skewer. When I first checked it with my finger, it bounced back but the inside was still quite liquid. It was a big hit. Everyone loved it. I didn't even need to serve any sauce with it because it was so perfectly moist.
homecookcan
Canada
7/5/2021
I am sitting here eating one of the best cakes I've ever made! The whole time I was making it I was thinking, 'this is going to be awful.' And then it began overflowing the bundt pan I used. The whole house was filled with smoke. I calmly cleaned the spill out of the oven and quickly returned the cake to the oven. Was it worth all this trouble? Oh my goodness! It really is! I only used about 1/4 cup of finely minced fresh ginger. All these flavors go together like a dream!
Groovygranny
Middle Tennessee
5/28/2021
WOW! Reading through reviews before I made this, I wondered how much of the hype was hyperbole, but... I have to say, this is the BEST cake I've made, and I've made quite a few cakes. Perfect texture, incredible flavor. You definitely don't need any kind of sauce or topping if you follow the recipe, and go all in on the ginger (it's just the right amount--though it will seem like too much). I didn't have peanut oil, so I used vegetable. And I peeled, weighed, and froze the ginger before grating it, which made that step a tad faster. This has moved to the top of my list of recipes on rotation!
amyliz4
TX
9/20/2020
Oh no.... after all the rave reviews my first attempt turned out stodgy despite a nice crisp crust and despite our love of ginger, the ginger was overpoweringly strong with not a hint of anything else. 4oz ginger is 115 grams which I weighed out accurately and was able to grate it really fine. I will try it again but will tweak it. I wish American cooks and bakers would realise there is a wide metric orientated world out there that lands up looking at their recipes and it gets really tricky trying to convert cups to grams or to correlate American cup sizes with metric. I love those recipes that have a little slider that instantly converts it all.....
NicolasK
South Africa
7/29/2020
I made this for my mother's July birthday, and it was perfect. Rich but not dense, flavorful, not too sweet. My family loves ginger, and we can be a bit judgy if something isn't gingery enough. I'll absolutely be making it regularly from here on out. The only tweaks I made were adding a good amount of cardamom instead of cloves, and using dark molasses which was all that we had on hand, and was perfect. I served it with mascarpone and thin slices of the season's best ripe stone fruit, a perfect combination. In the winter I plan on serving it with pears.
gdbraun
7/26/2020
Amazing. I was looking for a recipe with fresh ginger and this was exactly what I want. I'm not sure if I used the right amount of ginger - maybe it was a little less - but was perfect for me. I've added some orange zest and it was simply perfect, moist. My new favorite cake recipe.
bethaniapereira
Brazil
4/4/2020
Well shoot. Check on your cake well before 1 hour. I checked on mine at 50 min and it was over baked. I plan on making it Christmas dinner for my in-laws. Glad I made a test version... I will likely check on it much earlier next time.
elizakaye
Chicago
12/17/2019
I made this cake today and it’s a keeper! It’s moist with a delicious molasses/ginger flavor. I took it out of the oven after 50 minutes and used a little less ginger (I actually only had a little piece of real ginger so I used that plus dried ground ginger) and only 2/3 cup sugar. This recipe is going into my cook book.
ljmiller65
Northern Virginia
11/17/2019
Deep, dark and delicious...the best ginger cake I have ever made. Very moist due to the rather thin and runny batter. I was tempted to add a half cup of flour and glad I resisted. As my oven runs a little hot, I baked at 325 degrees for 70 minutes and it was perfectly done. Served with a warm old fashioned lemon sauce and it was a lovely pairing. Will make again and agin.
todd
Vancouver, B.C.
3/30/2019
I would recommend using vegetable oil versus peanut - mine tasted WAY too peanuty. I didn't use mild molasses (used blackstrap instead), so it tasted more like molasses cake than ginger cake - mistake! I also had a hard time determining how much 4 oz of ginger was (I failed to weigh at the store) - it's A LOT, so don't skimp. One commenter said it was about 3/4 c. and I didn't have enough and didn't get the ginger taste. But the cake itself is very moist and tasty in spite of my errors!
nickid
San Francisco
12/26/2017
This is more cake-y than the loaf photo suggests - but it is delicious! I like a spicy ginger so next time I think I will add more than the recipe suggests. Definitely will become a holiday staple. Its like a more rich gingerbread. I made a simple lemon glaze to top the cake. It soaked the top inch or so. It is good fresh out of the oven or the microwave - although I wish I had had some vanilla ice cream with it. Its also good chilled. I think if I plan to serve it hot I'll skip the glaze - if it will be served cold, I'll make sure it has a glaze.
ccbrents
Atlanta, GA
12/3/2017
I've made this cake over the last 4-5 years and it always turns out wonderfully. One tip: For those of you who don't want to grate the ginger, simply peel and weigh the ginger and then put it in the food processor with the sugar and it grates it down into a paste. Quick and easy.
ingemag
Whidbey Island, WA
9/30/2016
