Tuesday, January 27, 2009

TWD: Chocolate Gingerbread Cake

This week’s Tuesdays With Dorie recipe was Chocolate Gingerbread Cake. I decided that this week would be a good week for making a mini version. Mr. Penpen and I ate almost an entire Berry Surprise Cake between the two of us last week and I also made a splendid apple tart/cake last weekend (which was shared), so we were a bit caked out. I am also a bit of a purist when it comes to gingerbread (I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about chocolate infringing on the spice flavor), and I’d made what I’ve found to be the superlative gingerbread cake just last month, which meant this cake had a lot to live up to. But I still wanted to make it!




I found this great recipe conversion website, so I no longer have to do math when I make minis – yay! I quartered the recipe, which made one 3” springform pan and one ramekin’s worth. I didn’t use the optional stem ginger, but I did put in one of my new favorite ingredients, crystallized ginger chunks from the Ginger People, for some extra ginger flavor. I did like the warmth the chocolate gave the recipe and I’m definitely glad I tried it, but I wasn’t terribly disappointed that I made a smaller portion this week. I think I will stick with the Bold and Spicy Gingerbread from Cook’s Country’s December 2008 issue when I have a ginger craving. I gave this recipe a 7 for D and a 3 for E, giving it an EDR of 2.33. Many thanks to Heather of Sherry Trifle for picking a recipe I probably never would have tried. You can find the recipe on Heather’s website and you can check out what the other TWD bakers thought of it via the TWD blogroll.

6 comments:

Ras Yeti said...

Wait, is 2.33 good or bad? I need some kinda online conversion chart I can look at to get my head around the E/D yum factor.

Anonymous said...

What do E and D stand for?

Your mini cake looks great!

Sherry Trifle - Lovely Cats said...

I'm pleased you gave it a shot. Thank you so much for the conversion site address and the Cooks' Country recipe.

JoAnn Freda said...

For the ultimate ginger cake experience try this caramel sauce recipe: http://www.recipezaar.com/Caramel-Sauce-77305
This recipe find is the result of a search for a caramel sauce like the one Chow Restaurant in Lafayette, CA serves with their ginger cake. It is incredibly rich and delicious.

Jules Someone said...

Totally cute little cake!

Bungalow Barbara said...

I have that issue of Cooks Country -- thanks for reminding me of the recipe! I'll have to try it. Love that it uses stout!