Kansas City finally got some snow this week, and I couldn’t have been more excited. I love watching it from the window, the opaque quality of light. I find it simultaneously calming and energizing; what to bake on a cozy snow day??
Ginger cake with fudgy toffee frosting, obviously! This cake is simplicity at its finest; soft and sweetly spiced cake blanketed with a luscious, buttery toffee frosting. A cheering accompaniment to coffee in the morning, and perhaps even better alongside a whiskey nightcap.
Ginger Cake + Fudgy Toffee Frosting
Yields one 9” square cake
Cake:
scant 1 cup (225 g; 2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup + 2 T (225 g) packed light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (200 g) Lyle’s Golden Syrup (or honey, or light corn syrup)
1 T molasses (preferably blackstrap)
2 xl eggs
1 1/4 cups (300 g) whole milk
2 1/2 cups (325 g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (50 g) almond flour
1/2 t kosher salt
2 t baking soda
2 t ground ginger
Frosting:
generous 5 T (75 g) butter
3/4 cup (180 g) heavy cream
1/4 cup + 2 T (75 g) granulated sugar
1/4 cup + 2 T (75 g) packed light brown sugar
1/4 t kosher salt
Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 F. Grease a 9” square cake pan and line with parchment paper.
Put the butter, sugar, syrup, and molasses into a small pan and stir over low heat until melted; let cool slightly. Meanwhile, whisk together the milk and the eggs, then add to the butter/sugar mixture.
Whisk the flour, almond flour, salt, baking soda, and ginger into a large mixing bowl and make a well in the center. Add the liquid mixture, and whisk until smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 1 hour, or until the middle is firm to the touch. Let cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then turn out and let cool completely on a wire rack.
Make the frosting: put the ingredients into a pan and stir over medium heat until melted. Bring to a boil a simmer for 5 minutes, stirring now and then. Remove from the heat and whisk until the mixture has thickened to a toffee sauce-like consistency. Allow to cool completely, beating occasionally to prevent it forming a sugary skin. Once cold, beat vigorously, until thick and spreadable.
Spoon the frosting onto the top of the cake and spread out in an even layer before swirling with the blade of a knife. Let set before cutting into slices to serve.
adapted from The Farmhouse Cookbook by Sarah Mayor
