It was a cold, breezy, and snowy day here in Wisconsin yesterday (yes I said snowy). It put me in the mood for the holidays and even Xmas music. So as I had Perry Como’s “Do you hear what I hear”on the radio, I made a gingerbread bundt cake!
A super moist and spiced cake that I drizzled with my own butter rum caramel sauce, which is also in my Caramel Apple Pie piecaken. It is the perfect dessert to start this holiday season off with a bang! And yes, I do know that Halloween is still this weekend. Nonetheless, I have always been one of those people that listen to christmas music way before Thanksgiving!
Where does the gingerbread flavor come from?
Gingerbread is quintessentially a part of the holiday season. It’s sweet and spicy combination is sure to please everyone. It is dense, chewy, and comforting in any dessert.
Molasses is the most popular sweetener used in gingerbread confections. Whether you enjoy a dark or light flavored molasses, it really gives gingerbread it’s classic taste and look.
Ingredients in Gingerbread bundt cake
- All purpose flour
- Gingerbread spice: see my recipe for my homemade
- Salt
- Baking soda and powder
- Unsalted butter
- Brown Sugar: Light or dark
- Eggs
- Molasses: Light or dark, depending on how much you want a rich gingerbread flavor.
- Water
- Butter Rum Glaze: Granulated sugar, light corn syrup, heavy cream, salt, vanilla extract, lemon juice and spiced dark/black rum.
Tips and tricks for success
- Be sure to grease your bundt pan so it releases from the pan more easily.
- Choose light or dark molasses depending on how light or dark you want the color and flavor of the cake to be.
- The butter rum sauce can tend to be on the thinner side, but to thicken it up either decrease the amount of heavy cream by half or use the cornstarch/water mixture to help thicken it up.
How to make a gingerbread bundt pan
The gingerbread bundt cake is not hard to make and not super time consuming. It is even kid friendly. As of lately, my almost 3 year old is REALLY into helping me with any cooking or baking!
- First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bundt pan with non-stick spray or vegetable shortening. Set aside.
- Second in a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, gingerbread spice, salt, baking soda and powder and set aside.
- Third, in another mixing bowl, with your electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar on medium until light and fluffy (1-2 minutes). Add in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Fourth, add the flour mixture in by alternating with the water (start and ending with flour). Pour the batter into the bundt pan and smooth out the top. Bake the cake for 60-65 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Fifth, while the cake is baking, make the butter rum caramel sauce. Directions for this sauce can be found here.
- Lastly, once the cake is cooled for 10 minutes release it from the bundt pan onto a cooling rack to finish cooling completely. Pour the cooled down rum butter sauce over and serve!
Enjoy these other holiday desserts!
Gingerbread bundt cake
Equipment
- Electric mixer
- bundt pan
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Mixing bowls
- spatula
- Whisk
Ingredients
Gingerbread bundt cake
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp gingerbread spice see homemade below
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¾ cup unsalted butter 12 tbsp room temperature
- 1½ cups dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ½ cup molasses
- 1 cup water
Gingerbread spice
- 2 tbsp all spice
- 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp ground ginger
- 1 tbsp ground cloves
- 1 tbsp nutmeg
- pinch of pepper
Butter rum caramel sauce
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup water
- 3 tbsp light corn syrup
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup black spiced rum
- 3 cups heavy cream
Instructions
Gingerbread bundt cake
- Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a standard size bundt pan and set aside.
- Whisk together the flour, homemade gingerbread spice, salt, baking soda and powder. Set aside.
- In another large mixing bowl, cream together on medium the brown sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed, stir in the molasses.
- Add in the flour mixture alternating with the water. Starting and ending with the flour mixture.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared bundt pan and smooth the top. Bake for 55-65 minutes or a knife inserted comes out clean.
- While the cake is baking, stir together the water, spices and sugar to make the glaze Set aside.
- Remove the cake from the oven, cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then turn it out into a cooling rack.
- Brush the cake with the glaze and cool completely before serving.
Butter Rum caramel glaze
- In a small saucepan, combine the granulated sugar, water, corn syrup and lemon juice. Heat on medium and only stir until the sugar dissolves.
- Bring to a boil WITHOUT STIRRING until mixture is a deep amber color. If you notice that one spot is darkening and the rest is not, pick up the pan and gently swirl. Don't stir as it will crystalize
- Turn the heat to low and add the heavy cream. Be careful as it is going to splatter. Continue to cook while stirring constantly until the sauce has thickened. Once it has thickened, remove from the heat and add the salt, vanilla and rum. Stir until well combined and allow to cool.
Nutrition
Fun fact of the day!
Young women used Gingerbread to find the dream man! SMH!