TWD: Fresh Ginger and Chocolate Gingerbread

Ok, let me just say one thing I like is a cake that commits. If you are going to call yourself a chocolate cake, you better be darn chocolaty. If you are a coconut cake... be choc full of coconut. When I was planning my wedding I wanted a traditional almond flavored white wedding cake- not a white cake or a yellow cake- but a truly almond flavored cake. That being said- this cake commits. It is a ginger extravaganza! Three forms of ginger go into it: freshly chopped ginger, candied ginger, and ground ginger, making it the gingeriest cake I have ever tasted.


This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was selected by Heather of Sherry Trifle (you can find the recipe on her blog and also in Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan). Like I said before- this is one gingery cake! But it's also got melted chocolate and chopped chocolate in it and is topped with a very light ganache-like frosting of chocolate and coffee. The combination is pretty deadly! Like Dorie says in the book- this cake tastes like Christmas.

The first thing that I noticed when I read the recipe was how many ingredients the cake calls for-and I'll admit that part of me didn't want to buy three types of ginger, molasses, and buttermilk (things I rarely keep on hand) but I really like to try to stick to the recipe the first time I make it- so I dutifully went out and bought them all. I'm actually really glad I didn't omit or substitute anything because I think each ingredient was necessary to this cake- it just had such a well rounded flavor and beautiful crumb! So another success with Dorie! Oh and I really am going to make an effort to post more- because once a week is pretty lame, even for a pregnant woman!