Fresh Ginger Cake

If you read my pumpkin ice cream post, then you know the story of the ginger cake, and you can skip the next paragraph.
One of my family's favorite restaurants is Chow, and my mom's favorite dessert is a ginger cake with pumpkin ice cream, caramel sauce, and whipped cream. For Christmas this year, I was in charge of side dishes and the dessert, so I decided to recreate the ginger cake.
I found two recipes that seemed similar to the cake at Chow, so I decided to try them both and see which one I liked better. One of them was a bundt cake made with butter and only fresh ginger, no other spices. The one we liked better was this cake, made with oil and spices in addition to the fresh ginger. When we made it for my family on Christmas, we multiplied the amount of each of the spices by 1.5, and my mom thinks we should maybe even do more, but I think it's delicious just the way it is.
The original recipe called for using a 9 1/2 inch springform pan, but my springform pan is 10 1/2 inches, so I just baked it for a little less time. It still turned out beautifully. You can also make this recipe in a mini loaf pan, just bake until a toothpick comes out clean.

If you're willing to put in the extra time, this cake goes wonderfully with the pumpkin ice cream and some caramel sauce, but it's still great on its own. My mom has been eating it for breakfast. It's like a muffin... right?

Fresh Ginger Cake

Ingredients

4 oz fresh ginger

1 cup mild molasses

1 cup sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 t ground cinnamon

3/4 t ground cloves

3/4 t ground black pepper

1 cup water

2 t baking soda

2 eggs

Instructions

1. Line a 9 by 3 inch round cake pan or a 9 1/2 inch springform pan with a circle of parchment paper.
2. Peel, slice, and chop the ginger very fine (I used my food processor for this). Mix together the molasses, sugar, and oil in a bowl. In another bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, cloves, and black pepper.
3. Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan and stir in the baking soda. Add the hot water to the molasses mixture and stir to combine. Stir in the ginger.
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 1 hour at 350 degrees, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the top of the cake springs back when lightly pressed.
5. Cool the cake for at least 30 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen it from the pan, and then remove the cake from the pan and remove the parchment paper.
6. Eat.

Source: David Lebovitz