Spicy Gingerbread Bundt #BundtBakers

Add depth of flavor and warmth to spicy gingerbread Bundt with Guinness stout, fresh ginger and cayenne, along with all the usual spices like ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. This mini Bundt makes the perfect dessert for your holiday meal or a welcome snack.

Gingerbread at Christmastime is a wonderful tradition in many families, ours included. In fact, when my girls were still living at home, gingerbread was one of their favorite after school snacks in the weeks before the Christmas holidays. There’s just something about the smell of gingerbread baking that tells you Christmas is coming!

This month my Bundt Bakers are sharing Christmas Bundts so I had to make gingerbread, boosting the flavor with the addition of Guinness Stout and fresh ginger. And since I want things extra spicy, a little cayenne!

Ingredients 
1/2 cup or 120ml Guinness stout
1/2 cup or 120ml dark molasses or treacle
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
1⁄4 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup or 75g butter, plus extra for buttering the pan
1 cup or 125g all-purpose flour, plus extra for coating the pan
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1⁄4 teaspoon ground cloves
1⁄4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
2 large eggs
1/2 cup packed or 100g dark brown sugar
1/2 cup or 112g golden caster sugar (or sub fine sugar)
Optional: confectioners' sugar for dusting

Method
Butter a 6-cup Bundt pan well and dust liberally with flour, tipping the excess out. Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C. Cut the butter in cubes and set them by the stove, at the ready.

Bring stout and molasses to a boil in a large saucepan with the grated ginger. Remove from heat. Whisk in the baking soda. Add in the butter cubes and stir till they have melted then leave the pan to cool.

Sift the flour together with the spices in a large bowl.

In another small bowl, whisk together your eggs and both sugars.

Whisk the cooled molasses mixture into the eggs and sugar.

Add the whole lot to the flour bowl and fold until just combined.

Pour the batter into your prepared Bundt pan. Lift the pan and set it down hard on the countertop to get rid of the air bubbles.

Bake in the middle of oven about 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out almost clean.

Cool the Bundt on a wire rack for 5-10 minutes or until it pulls away from the sides slightly. Invert on the wire rack and leave to cool completely before dusting with powdered sugar, if desired.

Enjoy! And Merry Christmas!

Check out the Christmas Bundts the rest of the Bundt Bakers have baked for you today! Many thanks to our host Sneha of Sneha's Recipe.

• Almond Nougat Bundt Cake by Nunca es demasiado dulce
• Bundt de Noel by All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Baileys Hot Chocolate Bundt Cake by Making Miracles
• Chestnut Praline Coffee Bundt Cake by The Queen of Scones
• Christkindl Gluhwein Bundt Cake by I Love Bundt Cakes
• Eggless Semolina Tutti Fruity Cake by Sneha's Recipe
• Gingerbread Bundt Cake by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Italian Cream Bundt Cake by Palatable Pastime
• Mini Chocolate Ganache Bundts with Peppermint Crunch by Cookaholic Wife
• Maple Walnut Bundt Cake by Bizcocheando
• Pineapple Upside Down Bundt by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Polenta Bundt Cake by Katin špajz
• Sorrel Mini Bundts by Passion Kneaded
• Spicy Gingerbread Bundt by Food Lust People Love
• Xmas Bundt Cake by La mejor manera de hacer

 

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on the BundtBakers home page.

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Warm Gingerbread Syrup

Warm gingerbread syrup is spicy and sweet, made with both fresh and powdered ginger. Put a little zip in your drinks and desserts this holiday season.

Here the warm refers to the spiciness that the fresh and ground ginger add to this gingerbread syrup, although you can certainly warm it to serve as well. Pour it over ice cream, drizzle it on a Victoria sponge cake, add some to your hot cocoa, tea or warm apple juice. A tablespoon or two of gingerbread syrup is also delightful poured in a Champagne flute and topped up with bubbly.

As a person who makes jams and chutneys and syrups, I know the work that goes into them. That’s why I am always grateful to receive a homemade food gift. Heck, who am I kidding? I am always happy to receive a food gift if it is special, even if it’s store bought.

This week my Sunday Supper group is sharing recipes for homemade food gifts. I’ve got to tell you that I am thrilled with how this warm gingerbread syrup turned out and I am having a hard time parting with it. We love spicy food at our house but I tend to think of chilies bringing the heat. I forget how spicy and warming ginger can be! This stuff would be wonderful simply added to some hot water on a chilly night. It’ll warm you up from the inside.

Ingredients
2 3/4 cups or 615g golden caster sugar
1 tablespoon ground ginger (make sure it’s fresh – old spices lose their flavor and potency)
2 thick slices of fresh ginger
1 cinnamon stick

Note: Golden caster sugar is fine, free flowing dry sugar that is unrefined so it adds color and a bit of a buttery flavor to this syrup. If you can’t find it where you live, you can use regular fine white sugar but replace a tablespoon or two with brown sugar to get the same effect. This is the brand I used, available on Amazon. Unfortunately, the shipping makes it a pretty expensive option though.

Method
Put the sugar, ground ginger and fresh ginger into a pot with the cinnamon stick. Pour in 1 2/3 cups or 385ml water. Bring to a low boil. Stir occasionally to help the sugar dissolve.  Boil gently for about 8-10 minutes or until the syrup has reduce a little.

Strain the syrup through some cheesecloth set in a fine strainer over quart- or liter-sized measuring cup. The above ingredients yielded 2 1/2 cups or 600ml of warm gingerbread syrup.

Pour into sterilized bottles and decorate with fabric or ribbons.

Enjoy!

If you are looking for some homemade food gift recipes to make for your loved ones this year, Sunday Supper has got you covered. Check out this major list of options. Many thanks to our host this week, Christie of A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures and our event manager Cricket from Cricket's Confections.

Baked Goods

• Cinnamon and Spice Granola by Simple and Savory
• Coconut Macaroon Tarts by Asian In America
• Cranberry Coffee Cake by Food Done Light
• Mini Pumpkin Breads by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Snowman Poop by Palatable Pastime

Candy

• A Trio of Brittle by The Freshman Cook
• Grandma’s Peanut Butter Balls by Cricket’s Confections
• Homemade Peanut Brittle by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Homemade Twix Bars by Pies and Plots
• Peanut Butter Fudge by Family Around The Table
• Superfoods Fruit & Nut Bites by My Life Cookbook
• Toffee Candied Peanuts by New South Charm
• Turron de Jijona (Spanish Soft Nougat) by Caroline’s Cooking

Chocolate

• Espresso Fudge by Cosmopolitan Cornbread
• Peppermint Bark Candy by Life Tastes Good
• Peppermint Bark Popcorn by A Mind “Full” Mom
• Red Wine Hot Fudge Sauce by The Crumby Cupcake

Jams, Syrups, Drinks

• Blood and Sand Jam by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Creamy Lemoncello by Monica’s Table
• Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix by My Imperfect Kitchen
• Warm Gingerbread Syrup by Food Lust People Love

Mixes and Spices

• Cherry Almond Scone Mix by Baking Sense
• Cranberry Almond Quick Bread Mix by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings

 

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Yorkshire Parkin Mini Bundt #BundtBakers

Yorkshire parkin is a rich gingerbread made with treacle and golden syrup. It's a traditional baked treat that might well have been enjoyed by the characters in the beloved children's book, The Secret Garden.

This month my Bundt Bakers group was challenged by our host, Sue of Palatable Pastime, to create a Bundt with the theme Secret Garden. I'm not sure if it's what Sue intended but my mind immediately went to one of my all-time favorite books, The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It's a book I have read over and over through the years. If you haven't read it, I recommend that you do. The Kindle edition is free on Amazon right now.

It's the story of an expat kid who loses her whole family to an epidemic and must return alone to England from the only home she's ever known in India. Her supposed home country is foreign to her as are the ways of the local people. After finding the secret garden to nurture in her mysterious uncle's estate, Mary grows from a sour-faced, spoiled and finicky child into one with pink cheeks and a wholesome appetite under the care of a kind Yorkshire maid and her down-to-earth brother, Dicken.

In 1999, Amy Colter published The Secret Garden Cookbook, with recipes inspired by Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic book. I must confess that I do not own that book but as I was reading its reviews, parkin was mentioned several times as a particularly traditional Yorkshire treat contained therein. I consulted The Google and found this recipe on BBC Good Food, which I adapted to fit my smaller Bundt pan.

I like to think that Mary took parkin just like this from the big house out to share with Dicken and the wee Robin Red Breast who first showed her where the secret garden was hidden.

Ingredients
1 medium egg
2 tablespoons milk
100g butter, plus extra for greasing the baking pan
1/3 cup or 80ml golden syrup
1/4 cup or 50g soft brown sugar
2 tablespoons treacle (or molasses)
1 cup or 125g flour, plus extra for pan
Slightly rounded 1/2 cup or 50g oatmeal
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Optional: powdered sugar to serve

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and liberally butter and flour your 2 1/2 to 3-cup mini Bundt pan. (Follow the original recipe for a larger pan. This just happened to be the only pan I own where I am staying right now. Traditionally parkin is baked in a square pan and cut into squares to serve.)

Beat the egg and milk together in a small mixing bowl. Set aside. Mix the flour, oatmeal, ginger, baking soda, baking powder and salt together.

In a small saucepan, gently warm the butter, brown sugar, golden syrup and treacle until the butter is just melted. Remove from the heat and continue to stir until the brown sugar has dissolved.

Add the dry ingredients to the warm butter mixture, followed by the egg and milk. Stir until well combined.

Pour the batter into your prepared Bundt pan.

Bake in the preheated oven about 30-35 minutes or until a wooden skewer comes out clean and the top is a bit crusty.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes before turning the parkin out on a wire rack to cool.

The BBC recipe says to wrap it up tightly in parchment paper and foil and to keep it for a few days before eating, as it gets softer and stickier the longer you keep it. I don’t know about that (time will tell!) but I can assure you that even straight out of the pan, it goes quite excellently with a strong cup of Yorkshire Tea, the brand my younger daughter happens to favor.

Enjoy!

Check out all the other Secret Garden recipes the Bundt Bakers are sharing today!

• Almond Lavender Bundt by The Queen of Scones
• Carrot Bundt Cake with Chamomile Orange Icing by Patty's Cake
• Chocolate and Mint Cake by Baking Yummies
• Ginger & Lemon Crackle Courgette Bundt Cake by Baking in Pyjamas
• Elderflower and Lemon Bundt by Jane's Adventure in Dinner
• Lavender & Honey Bundt by Living the Gourmet
• Lavender & Lemon Bundt Cake by I Love Bundt Cakes
• Lavender Lemonade Bundt by All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Lemon and Rosewater Cake by Palatable Pastime
• Lemon Balm Bundt Cake by Magnolia Days
• Lemon Zucchini Bundt with Sugared Pansies by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Mojito Bundt Cakes by Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Spiced Zucchini Bundt Cake by Making Miracles
• Sweet Chocolate Feel the Beet Cake by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Vanilla Rose Bundt with Edible Flowers by Our Good Life
• Yorkshire Parkin Mini Bundt by Food Lust People Love
• Zucchini, Cheddar and Chive Bundt by Cookaholic Wife

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme.  Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on the BundtBakers home page.

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Gingerbread Biscotti #CreativeCookieExchange

All the spicy flavors of gingerbread, ramped up a notch or two with the addition of chewy crystallized ginger and crunchy toasted almonds, are represented in these very dunk-able gingerbread biscotti, decorated with the requisite royal icing. They are perfect to enjoy on a winter morning with a hot cup of something special, or to wrap up as gifts.

 

When my girls were growing up and we neared Christmas on the calendar – we lived far too near the equator for the other usual harbingers of the season like falling leaves or a nip in the air – I often baked gingerbread for their after school snacks. And we always made some gingerbread men together as a weekend project, decorating them lavishly with royal icing. The smell as the gingerbread bakes is heavenly!

Yes, somehow gingerbread and the Christmas season just go together. How could I resist turning gingerbread into biscotti for this month’s Creative Cookie Exchange? And don't forget, being twice baked and crunchy, biscotti are very good travelers, in case you need a homemade gift for someone far away.

Many thanks to Laura from The Spiced Life for organizing us each month and for coming up with this great theme!

This recipe is adapted from one at Christmas Cookies.

Ingredients for about 55-60 biscotti
For the biscotti dough:
1 cup or 150g almonds, blanched
3/4 cup or 150g sugar
1/2 cup or 113g butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup or 120ml dark molasses
3 eggs
3 cups or 375g flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup or 75g candied ginger, coarsely chopped

For the royal icing:
1 1/2 cups or 190g icing sugar
1 egg white (Do not serve raw unpasteurized eggs to persons with compromised immune systems.)
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
Pinch salt

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and line two cookies sheets with baking parchment or silicone baking mats.

Toast your almonds for about 10-15 minutes in the preheated oven using a small baking pan where they can fit in one layer. Keep an eye on the almonds and shake or stir the pan at about the five-minute mark to make sure they aren’t scorching on one side. You are looking for a nice golden color.

Let the almonds cool, chop them very coarsely, and set aside. Turn your oven temperature down to 300°F or 149°C.

In large bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the sugar, butter and molasses until smooth.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Your batter may look a little curdled at this point but it's nothing to worry about.

In another mixing bowl, sift together your flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, allspice and salt.

Add the candied ginger to the dry ingredient bowl and use your fingers to separate the pieces and coat them with the dry ingredients so they don’t stick together again.

Add in the almonds to the dry bowl and mix well.

Tip the dry ingredients into the egg mixture; mix well to combine. The dough is going to be quite sticky.

Divide your dough up into four equal pieces and wrap each in a large piece of cling film. Use the cling film to shape the dough into four flat loaves, about a 1/2 in or 1 1/4cm thick and 2 inches or 5 1/2 cm wide.

Turn your dough loaves out on to your prepared pans, leaving plenty of room between them for expansion as they bake.

Dampen your hands with water so they won't stick to the dough and to pat the loaves into shape, if necessary.

Bake in your preheated oven until browned at edges and springy to touch, about 25 minutes. Depending on how well your oven circulates, you might need to rotate the pans midway though the baking time so everything gets evenly browned.

Leave the loaves to cool for about 15-20 minutes on the baking sheets.

Remove the loaves to a cutting board and use a serrated bread knife to cut them into long, 1/2-inch or 1 1/4cm thick diagonal slices.

Return the slices to the baking sheets, with one of the cut sides down.

Return to the oven and bake about 15 to 18 minutes longer, turning the biscotti over once halfway through the baking. Once again, rotate the pans if necessary to get an even bake. They should be slightly more brown around the edges.

Transfer biscotti to racks and let cool completely.

To make the royal icing, sift your sugar into a small bowl, then add the pinch of salt, the lemon juice and the egg white. Mix together until smooth.

Spoon the icing into a piping bag and use a small tip to decorate the biscotti.

Serve, or store in an airtight container of up to 1 month; wrap well and freeze for longer storage.

So much gingerbread biscotti! 

Enjoy!

Biscotti (or mandelbrot or any other twice baked cookie by any other name) are one of the perfect Holiday tin cookies! They last forever, and there are so many ways to make them festive. So Creative Cookie Exchange has got you covered--sweet, savory, low fat, loaded with decadence, you name it, we’ve got it! Happy Holidays!

• Almond Lemon Biscotti by Basic N Delicious
• Banana Walnut Biscotti by Upstate Ramblings
• Chocolate Almond Biscotti by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Chocolate Toffee Biscotti by Live Bake Love
• Currant Walnut Biscotti by Magnolia Days
• Dark Chocolate and Pistachio Biscotti by Flours and Frostings
• Gingerbread Biscotti by Food Lust People Love
• Gluten Free Chocolate Biscotti by What Smells So Good?
• Holiday Biscotti Bar by The Spiced Life
• Honey Beescotti by Oven Delights
• Mocha Biscotti by A Baker's House
• Orange Pistachio Biscotti by 2 Cookin' Mamas
• Parmesan Black Pepper Biscotti by A Shaggy Dough Story
• Peppermint Kahlua Chocolate-Dipped Biscotti by All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• White Chocolate Glazed Gingerbread Biscotti by Christmas Tree Lane

Creative Cookie Exchange is  a great resource for cookie recipes! Be sure to check out our Pinterest Board and our monthly posts (you can find all of them at The Spiced Life). We post together the first Tuesday after the 15th of each month!

Looking for more gingerbread deliciousness?

Check out my Rich Gingerbread Muffins with Honey Ginger Glaze

Or my Dark Chocolate Gingerbread Muffins. Both perfect for a special tea or breakfast!

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Dark Chocolate Gingerbread Muffins #MuffinMonday

Nothing says Christmas like the delightful aroma of gingerbread baking.  Nothing.  These muffins combine gingerbread batter with melted semi-sweet chocolate for an even richer muffin.  

These past couple of days have been hectic but I can happily report that I am back in the States for the holidays and both of my girls are with me.   I flew into New York, just as the storm hit and managed to get one of the last flights out to Boston on Saturday.  Then yesterday, my younger daughter and I drove back to New York to pick up my elder daughter and all of her worldly possessions.  I am thrilled to say that she has accepted a job offer in Boston and will be moving there in the new year.   1. Her dream job and 2. Only 50 minutes train ride from her sister in Providence.  Both things make this mother very happy!

I knew I’d be on the road so I actually baked these muffins before leaving  Dubai, but I was definitely channeling snow and cold and winter and Christmas.  Make you some!  The whole house smells cozy.

Ingredients
1/2 cup or 110g sugar
2 1/4 cups or 280g flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4  cup or 150g semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
1/2 cup or 120g butter
1/2 cup or 120ml molasses or treacle
1/4 cup or 60ml milk
2 large eggs

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your 12-cup muffin pan by greasing with butter or non-stick spray or lining it with paper muffin cups.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, ginger and cinnamon and stir well.

Set aside a generous handful of chocolate chips to use for decoration later.  Put your butter and the rest of the chocolate chips into a microwaveable bowl and zap for 15 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until the chocolate and butter are completely melted.  Allow to cool slightly.

In another bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs and molasses.

Pour your melted chocolate/butter into the milk/egg mixture and stir well.

Pour your wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold them together until just mixed.

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.  Top each with some of the reserved  chocolate chips.

Bake in your preheated oven about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Cool in the pan for a few minutes and then remove the muffins to a rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!