Cranberry Gingerbread Cake

This cranberry gingerbread cake is a lightly sweetened and highly spiced gingerbread that's baked with a swirl of tart orange cranberry sauce. 

A brief history of gingerbread

Gingerbread dates back thousands of years, with the first-known recipe popping up in Greece around 2400 BC. Although ginger root was first grown in China, it was common in the Middle Ages throughout Europe. People believed ginger could help prevent the plague, and they used it to disguise the flavor of unpleasant-tasting foods. Gingerbread cookies were popular at Medieval fairs throughout England. Even Queen Elizabeth enjoyed the cookies decorated in the shape of foreign dignitaries, perhaps popularizing the concept of gingerbread men cookies.

Of course, we also know gingerbread from fairy tales. If you’ve ever seen Shrek, you can’t forget the interrogation scene where Gingy, the gingerbread man, begs Lord Farquaad not to rip off his gumdrop buttons. We also know what happens when Hansel and Gretel make the mistake of stopping by the witch’s gingerbread house, in the classic tale by the Brothers Grimm.

Gingerbread houses originated in Germany in the 16th century, but the German Grimm brothers repopularized gingerbread in 1812 when they published the first edition of their collection of fairy tales. Although gingerbread, lebkuchen, as they call it, didn't specifically originate in Germany, the country may have the longest tradition of baking and eating it throughout history. Nuremberg, in particular, is known for its gingerbread.

what's the difference between gingerbread and gingerbread cake?

Most often, when people talk about gingerbread, they're referring to the cookies. Gingerbread houses are made out of the same kind of cookie dough but are shaped for the purpose of constructing a house. A cake is, well, more like a cake than a cookie.

The kind of gingerbread I like, cake or otherwise, is a little different from most recipes today. My ideal gingerbread involves plenty of molasses, ginger, and other strongly flavored spices, such as black pepper and cloves. When it comes to gingerbread cookies, I like them more on the crunchy side, not soft. The spicy gingerbread cookie recipe from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook is one of the best I’ve ever made. The cookies are dark, like the color of molasses, and have a bit of a bite to them.

cranberries and gingerbread

Too often, I find gingerbread underflavored and over-sweetened. I wondered how I could combat the sweetness when making a gingerbread cake for a recent party. When I came across a bag of fresh cranberries in my fridge, I realized that their tartness would be a great counter to the cake's sweetness.

It turns out that cranberry gingerbread cake recipes already exist. While I was hoping to create something original, these seasonal flavors make a logical pairing. I liked the looks of a New York Times recipe by Melissa Clark, where you make a cranberry sauce and then stir it into the gingerbread cake batter. Yet, it needed modifying for my taste.

At first glance, there were way too many sweeteners, with white and brown sugars, molasses, and maple syrup all involved. Is it gingerbread candy or cake? I cut these back, though upped the quantity of molasses for its deeper, almost bitter, flavor. I increased the spices' levels, both in the sauce and the cake, while also throwing in some orange juice and zest for freshness.

Note: In the photo, I made a double batch of the cake and put it in too small of a baking pan. It turned out taller than normal. This is a thinner, denser cake, more like a snacking cake than a birthday cake, if that makes sense. So if you use a 9x9 baking pan as mentioned in the recipe, your cake will not be as tall. When serving, I cut my pieces in half.

📖 Recipe

Cranberry Gingerbread Cake

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★★★★★

5 from 1 review

• Author: Steve
• Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
• Yield: about 8 servings 1x

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Description

This cranberry gingerbread cake is a lightly sweetened and highly spiced gingerbread that's baked with a swirl of tart orange cranberry sauce. 

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Ingredients

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For the cranberry sauce:

• 6 ounces fresh cranberries
• ¼ cup of water
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• zest and juice of 1 orange
• ½ teaspoon grated fresh ginger

For the cake:

• 1 stick butter, plus more for greasing the pan
• ½ cup of milk
• ⅓ cup molasses
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

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Instructions

Add ¾ of the cranberries and the remaining sauce ingredients to a medium-sized saucepan. Place over medium-low heat and bring to a simmer so that the cranberries start to pop. Allow to simmer for about 10 minutes or until most of the liquid has reduced, stirring occasionally. Mix in the remaining cranberries and cook for another couple of minutes until they pop. Turn off the heat, transfer to a bowl, and wipe out the pan.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. To the clean pan, add the butter, milk, molasses, maple syrup, and brown sugar. Heat over low heat until warm, and the butter melts. Meanwhile, grease a 9-inch square or round baking dish with butter.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and spices. Stir in the eggs, butter mixture, and fresh ginger. Mix until combined, then transfer to the prepared baking dish. Spoon the cranberry sauce over the cake batter, and using a fork, swirl it into the batter.

Transfer the cake to the hot oven. Bake for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool before serving. Dust with powdered sugar, if you like. Keep covered at room temperature and eat within three or four days.

Notes

Already have cranberry sauce? As long as it doesn't have too much liquid in it, you can use it in place of the cranberry sauce for this cake. Just skip those ingredients and steps.

• Prep Time: 35
• Cook Time: 45
• Category: Holidays
• Method: Baking
• Cuisine: German

Keywords: ginger, gingerbread, molasses, cinnamon, cranberries