This week’s TWD was chosen by Heather of Sherry Trifle: fresh ginger and chocolate gingerbread! Around Christmas, I’d made these chewy chocolate gingerbread cookies and really liked them so I was hopeful that this week’s pick would be just as tasty!
I made a few modifications to the recipe based on what I had available as well as what I was in the mood for. This recipe calls for ground ginger, fresh ginger and stem ginger in syrup. That sounded like a lot of ginger to me and many of the other TWD bakers agreed so I used only ground ginger in my version. I actually bought some fresh ginger to use, but decided against it at the last minute. Also, Dorie frosts the cake with a chocolate frosting, but after seeing Caitlin’s post this morning I knew I was going to go with whipped cream!
This week was a comedy of errors for me. I didn’t have a 9 x 9 pan as the recipe calls for so I used an 8 x 8 pan as well as a few ramekins. The cakes in the ramekins baked up beautifully and released without a problem. The cake in the 8 x 8 wasn’t as cooperative. After 45 minutes I tested the cake and my knife came out clean so I took it out of the oven to cool. When I unmolded the cake 10 minutes later, I was surprised to discover the the center was quite raw! So, I had to figure out how to get the cake back into the pan so I could cook it a bit more. It was a messy endeavor but I did get it back in. I baked it for another 10-15 minutes and took it out again. The center was pretty ugly (sort of concave) and when I unmolded the cake, a few pieces of the center of the cake stuck to the pan. So, with a concave center on top and some missing pieces on the bottom center, this wasn’t a pretty cake! Fortunately, whipped cream was a great cover for this cake’s problems.
I did try a few bites of one of the smaller cakes I made in the ramekin and thought they were delicious! I’m not a huge fan of gingerbread so it wouldn’t be my first choice for cake, but I did enjoy it. You can find the recipe on Heather’s blog. Also, be sure to check out TWD to see how the other bakers fared!
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Glazed Grapefruit Cake
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Meyer Lemon Pound Cake
Whipped cream solves so many problems!
Oh no! At least your round cakes worked. They look great. I love the whipped cream.
With a cake this tasty, any structural issues won’t even be noticed! The whipped cream looks so pretty.
You did a beautiful job!
Great idea to frost your gingerbread with whipped cream! It looks wonderful!
Well, the whipped cream made it a beautiful cake. At least you liked it enough after your hard work.
Before this recipe, I’ve always put whipped cream on my gingerbread. Now, it’s a toss up. Glad you gave it a try.
it looks great, you could never tell you had any issues. i think whipped cream is a great alternative to the chocolate icing.
Your cake looks great! I like the idea of whipped cream instead of the chocolate.
I’m pleased you enjoyed your gingerbread taste test. It looks yummy with the cream.
Whipped cream is a great idea. I love the contrast it creates with the dark cake. Looks delicious. 🙂