CHINESE. SPICE. POWDER. It’s what pushed me over the edge to make this! I love the complex taste of it, but I’ve only had it in a few savory poultry dishes. So the thought of it being paired with sweet, ginger pieces had me.
I ate a slice of this cake while uploading these photos and am currently enjoying the wonderful aftertaste. I bet it would be delightful with a spiced chai latte, some warm milky tea or even a cup of joe…..I am also imagining it topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some warm poached pears….MMMM. I might have to make that a reality.
Before I get carried away, let me describe the actual taste!
The crisp edges and outside crust remind me of a chewy ginger molasses cookie and the inside is incredibly light, moist & fluffy. When I say fluffy, I mean TOTALLY fluffy. Not really as dense as I thought it could be. The chunks of ginger add a beautiful texture and a nice spicy surprise. And they are chewy!
The recipe advises you to pulverize the crystalized ginger with the sugar in a food processor. I kind of failed at this part. I used the smaller food processor and it barely even chopped the pieces. I guess it was because the ginger I had was more on the chewy/moist side than hard/ brittle/ stale chunky side. I wasn’t about to take out the mixture and put it in my full sized processor, so ended up chopping the bits myself. The last thing I need is another thing to wash in my sink. I decided that I would enjoy the cake more if I was able to have rough chunks of ginger in each bite. The risk paid off.
Look at those chunks!
Topped with Pepper! Spicy!
Alternating Flour & Molasses Mixture
Who wants to lick the beaters?
Won’t you join me?
Spiced Bundt Cake
(recipe Rachael Ray Magazine Nov 2009)
- 3 cups flour
- 1 tablespoon Chinese Five Spice powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed crystallized ginger
- 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter at room temp
- 2 large eggs, at room temp
- 1 cup dark molasses diluted with 1 cup hot water
- confectioner’s sugar, for dusting
1. Position rack in the lower third of the over and preheat to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10 cup bundt pan. In a bowl, whisk flour, five spice powder, baking soda, salt and pepper.
2. Using a food processor, mix the granulated sugar and ginger until the ginger is coarsely ground (or chop it up like I did)
3. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar-ginger mixture and vanilla at high speed until fluffy, about 5 mins. With the mixer at medium speed, add 1 egg at a time, beating after each addition. Mixing at low speed, add the flour mixture alternately with the molasses in 3 batches until combined. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake until the cake begins to pull away from the side of the pan and is springy to the touch, about 1 hour. Transfer to a rack and cool for 20 mins. Invert cake onto a rack and cool completely. Dust with the confectioner’s sugar.
