Tis the season of holiday cheer, aka the season of consumerism and gluttony.
Which is convenient for someone with a food blog because my “market” (in quotations, because making money from The Gourmet Gourmand is currently purely speculative..) seems to be going wild for Christmas-y treats this time of year.
As a kid I was never a fan of the “spiced” genre of Christmas treats. Â I was much more into my grandma’s sugar cookies with sprinkles, or, let’s be real, anything chocolate. Â I don’t know when exactly my tastes for spiced baked-goods developed, but it’s definitely one of those flavors that now screams holiday to me, and, as an adult, it’s now the flavor that I crave this time of year, not just santa-shaped milk chocolate candies.
(Although, let’s be real, there will always be a place in my heart for santa-shaped milk chocolate candies). Now, I wish I could say that I was “making this for a party” or “taking this gorgeous cake to a holiday potluck.”  But no.  I made this gingerbread bundt cake with maple glaze purely because I wanted more sugar in my life, and I am (only slightly) embarrassed to confess this on the internet.
Also Dave claims to like spice cake as well…. so maybe this was an act of generosity..?
The cake was adapted from a Chowhound.com recipe for gingerbread loaf. Â But, naturally, I decided to double the recipe and make it into a bundt cake… because, you know, more is better.
And then what’s a girl to do, but douse the entire thing in a sweet and spiced maple glaze?  Here are the reasons you need this cake in your life:
1) It’s a bundt cake. Â So it’s super easy. Â And festive. Â (Despite what My Big Fat Greek Wedding lead us all to believe).
2) It’s aggressively spiced and includes 2 tablespoons of powdered ginger.  If that doesn’t get you excited, I don’t know what will.
3) It’s so so so moist.  Which is how all cakes should be, and this one absolutely delivers.
4) That. maple. glaze. Â Confession time- after making this cake I am now determined to find numerous ways to sneak more “maple glaze” into my life. Â It’s that good, I swear.
So if that doesn’t sell you, I hope my images will.  Because despite the fact that I am not personally delighting anyone but myself (and maybe Dave if he’s quick) with this Gingerbread cake, I do think that your friends, office mates, family, and santa will be so pleased with you if you show up bearing this cake in tow.
Time for me to go have another slice… 🙂
Gingerbread Bundt Cake with Maple Glaze
Ingredients
_For the Maple Glaze_
Instructions
17 comments
I absolutely love this time of year when i get to bake up a storm of delicious treats, and this gingerbread bundt cake is absolutely delicious and gorgeous looking, I can have a slice for breakfast and dessert, right?
Yes yes yes!! I definitely feel like December is the month for superfluous baking 😉 and superfluous eating 😉 Not that there’s anything wrong with dessert for breakfast, lunch, OR dinner!
This is GORGEOUS and it looks just delicious!
Thank you so much Rachel! Appreciate the comments 🙂
Hey. . .there is no shame in admitting that you made a cake just for yourself . Think of it as a way to celebrate and enjoy life. Personally I think we should do this more often. .especially when it involves a cake as divine as this one. Gingerbread is perfect for this time of year.. . .but when you cloak it with a maple glaze. . .well. . .that is all the more heavenly.
Thank you so much Lynn! And thanks for helping me rationalize my choice 😉 Much appreciated!
Curious…what size bundt pan did you use? I made this cake last night and it overflowed while baking and then partially collapsed when I inverted the pan. The cake is still delicious, but I will definitely make it in a higher capacity pan (or make two smaller cakes) next time.
Oh no! I’m sorry your’s didn’t work. I guess I assumed all bundt cake pans were the same, but the one that I have is the 10-15 cup pan from Nordic Ware. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004RFQ4/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thegourmetgou-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B00004RFQ4&linkId=5df86ac46b40784dd636c8f0232cafa7
Not sure what I did wrong, because the whole thing collapsed in the middle. Never had that happen with a bundt cake, but it still smells/looks delicious!
Glad it still smells good?? Make sure you use fresh baking soda to ensure good results. Baking at different elevations can affect things too.. this recipe was tested at sea level.
I made this today and mine overflowed my bundt pan as well. It still smells awesome and I can’t wait to try it. Thanks!
What size bundt pan are you using?
I had the exact same situation as Julie. Is the amount/type of leavening agent correct in the recipe? Not only did it overflow and collapse, but it did not bake evenly. Flavor is great.
That’s so odd… I double checked and the leavening is accurate. Did you use a large bundt pan and/or are you baking at a different elevation? I’m in San Diego, so pretty much exactly at sea level. I’ll have to re-test this recipe to make sure that everything is accurate. I basically just doubled the recipe from http://www.chowhound.com/recipes/gingerbread-loaf-18658, so if you have a smaller bundt pan this recipe might be better if you halve it.
Mine overflowed as well….and then collapsed. We are eating the spillover from the cookie sheet I, thankfully, put under it. It does taste divine. I’m so sad. I think it has to be the leavening agent reaction bc with the buttermilk, maybe.
This cake was DELICIOUS! It made too much batter for my tin so I made cupcakes with the leftovers.
A few notes though: next time, I think I’ll reduce the sugar to only use a total of 1.5 cups, as it is a little sweet especially with the glaze. I also had an issue with the cake sinking in the middle (too much baking soda?), but I just made sure to let it cool for 15 minutes before turning it out of the pan and it worked out fine. Because it’s a bundt, the slight depression isn’t visible once the cake is in its stand. Additionally, my cake only needed 42 minutes to be perfectly done.
Still, a wonderful cake! Will definitely make it again for Christmas
so so happy you enjoyed this one!!