Very easy and not too sweet - perfect with a scoop of ice cream. If the cake sank in the middle it was either under cooked - check with a tooth pick in the center or your batter was too wet. Mine took exactly 35 minutes.
Not quite sure what to rate it. The taste is fantastic but the cake was sunken in the middle and it was very crumbly... Updated: I live at 6000ft and I believe that the ingredient combination here is rather difficult for high altitude. I tried the Favorite Old Fashioned Gingerbread recipe from here also and that worked at over 7000 ft. So, if you live at high altitudes, I might suggest using the proportions in that recipe and the adjust the spices according to your tastes.
Much better than the other, more-reviewed gingerbread cake on this site. This has 1/2 cup molasses, much, much better than a whole cup like the other recipe. When I made the other one, everyone's reaction was: the molasses taste is so strong.
This recipe is perfect. I had to use my electric mixer for about 30 seconds at the end, when combining the flour with the liquids. First I stirred with a spoon, then smoothed it all out with the electric mixer very briefly.
I didn't make the glaze, because I am using this as the gingerbread base for the Eggnog Trifle on this site. This is so easy and good, there is no need to buy boxed cake mix again.
35 minutes was exactly right. I was afraid I had overbaked it, but when it was cool an hour later and I cut into it, it was moist and perfect.
I will add another teaspoon of ginger next time, and may sub the Chinese Five Spice for cloves, as that flavor was slightly medicine-y to me.
So my advice is: use cloves instead of Chinese Five Spice, add another tsp of ginger, and otherwise make and bake exactly as directed.
Brilliant! Not too sweet and the glaze is amazing. Made according to recipe and it turned out great.
This is definitely moist and very easy to make. The texture is wonderful, but the lemon glaze just doesn't work for me (and I like lemon!). My husband thinks it is "OK" and he is extremely easy to please. The Chinese Five Spice adds a bit of a black licorice flavor, which really stood out, so next time I will leave that out. I used 2 1/2 tsp of ginger and it was not enough for us, so I will probably use 4 tsp of ginger. I will replace the lemon glaze with a ginger/cinnamon glaze (1 cup powdered sugar, 1/4 cup milk, ginger and cinnamon to taste. To reduce the oil, I used about 3 TBSP of oil and the remainder of the 1/2 cup was milk and some cream. I always do this when oil is called for in quick breads, cakes, etc and it always works (using just milk works, too, though the fat from the cream gives a nice rich texture. Chef John's techniques are great! I love his videos and am still learning...how fun!!
I really liked the molasses flavor and spiciness of this cake! I think the lemon glaze is also a nice touch - it makes it feel a little fancier but you can still put whipped cream on it. I made it twice exactly as directed and 35 mins was a perfect cooking time.
For me there was just too much molasses if I make this again I will half it. Otherwise good flavor.
I doubled the recipe and baked it in a 9x13 pan for 30 minutes. It came out perfectly ! I only 1 1/2 the glaze. This was so simple and delicious! Definately a new family favorite.
