Chocolate Gingerbread Snacking Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 4 tsp ground ginger
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground white pepper rounded
- 2/3 cup vegetable oil preferably light olive oil
- 2/3 cup dark brown sugar
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup unsulphured molasses
- 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs room temp
- 3/4 tsp espresso powder
- 2/3 cup boiling water
For the frosting
- 1 stick unsalted butter room temp
- 1 8 oz package cream cheese room temp
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 4 cups confectioners’sugar sifted
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- Dusting of cinnamon and Dutch process cocoa powder for decorating
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8x8x2-inch pan with cooking spay or softened butter. Line the bottom with parchment paper
- To make the cake, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon and white pepper in a medium-sized bowl.
- Place the oil and sugars in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Add the molasses and vanilla and whisk again. The oil may separate briefly from the rest of the ingredients, but just keep whisking until it all comes together. Add the eggs, one at a time, and continue whisking until smooth. Add the espresso powder to the boiling water, stir to combine and add this to the wet batter, whisking to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients and using a rubber spatula, gently fold to combine. Do not over mix. Pour the batter into the prepared pan: it may be lumpy. That is fine
- Bake for 35 to 38 minutes, rotating at the halfway point, until a cake tester comes outlooking just slightly wet. I find if you wait until the tester has only a crumb or two, the cake is just too dry. Let cool until easy to handle before inverting the cake on to a cooling rack and then flipping it right side up to cool to room temperature.
- To make the frosting, combine the butter and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and on low speed, beat the butter/cream cheese until smooth and uniform. Add the vanilla and beat again.
- Add the sugar one cup at a time to the mixer bowl, mixing thoroughly until combined after each addition. Add the salt and cinnamon and mix just to incorporate.
- Generously frost the cooled cake, making swirls with the back of a large spoon. Sprinkle cinnamon and cocoa powder over it all and enjoy.
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