Moist, sweet, hearty, and laced with spices to chase the winter chill away. This Gingerbread cake is everything you could ask of this traditional Holiday treat. The ingredients that go into this gingerbread are modest and simple but they are not inherently light. The key to making this a light dessert lies in the way you portion the servings. Adapted from the Family Feed
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare your choose pan by lining the bottom with parchment paper and brushing a little of the melted butter around the sides.
Pour vanilla into the buttermilk and set aside.
Whisk together dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and allspice. Stir in grated ginger.
Use an electric stand or hand mixer and a medium bowl to combine the brown sugar and melted butter. Mix on medium speed, scraping sides as needed until butter and sugar are fully blended and the color lightens.
Add the eggs one at a time. Mix at low speed and fully combine each egg before moving on.
Continue on low speed and add the molasses.
Increase mixer to medium speed. Alternately add the flour and buttermilk. Add the flour in thirds so it is the first and last addition. Mix until the batter is a uniform color.
Pour completed batter into the prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes until the center is firm and a probe or toothpick can be inserted and come out clean. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning the loaf out to cool on a wrack. Allow loaf to cool completely before frosting the top.
Notes
Gingerbread will keep up to a week wrapped and refrigerated. A 9.5 inch springform pan yields 16 servings. A 9 x 5 loaf pan yields 10 large slices or bisect the loaf for 20 servings.Per 1/10 serving: calories 263, fat 9.5 g, carbohydrates 48 g, fiber 2 g, protein 4 g, PP = 8 Per 1/16 serving: calories 165, fat 6 g, carbohydrates 30 g, fiber 1.5 g, protein 2.6 g, PP = 5 Per 1/20 serving: calories 132, fat 4.8 g, carbohydrates 24 g, fiber 1.2 g, protein 2.1 g, PP = 4