Bundt cakes make me nervous.
The cake doesn’t, but the unfolding part does. That freaks me out every time. I can feel my heart beating faster every time I’m about to do it. I think it’s because I’ve baked in some seriously bad bundt pans before. But this one is just awesome and the cakes come out perfect every time.
More than anything though, bundt cakes make me happy. There is just something so… simple about them that makes me love them. Simple and beautiful.
This truly is the best soft gingerbread cake I’ve ever had and it made our apartment smell like incense. Speaking of our apartment, those of you who follow me on instagram already know that I painted our kitchen in a lovely grey (though the color changes throughout the day) color. One layer of white and three layers of grey, with a paintbrush might I add, and there is almost no trace of that wallpaper left. Finally. I’m a huge procrastinator so deep inside, I knew I was never going to paint that wall. But this weekend I decided it was going to happen. I know it might seem weird to be so excited about a grey wall. I mean, it’s just a wall?! Well, for me it’s more than that. First of all, I finally painted it! That alone is pretty huge. And second, my inspiration hasn’t really been there lately and the light in our living room is sparse this time of year. So I’m more than happy to be able to work in a “new” room with new light.
This recipe is actually based on the gingerbread cake with cream cheese frosting from last year. Strangely enough I always seem to begin my christmas baking with some kind of soft gingerbread. It’s almost tradition now.
Gingerbread bundt cake with lingonberries
Makes one large bundt cake
Note that I used a 10 cup bundt pan to bake this cake and it was actually slightly too small for the batter so I would suggest putting a piece of baking paper underneath the pan while baking, or reserving some of the batter to bake some muffins. A 12 cup pan would probably be more suitable.
You can easily halve the recipe for a smaller pan (a 5-6 cup pan) and bake it for about 45 minutes.
Gingerbread spice mix
This recipe makes more than you need for this recipe but I figure why not make some extra for other uses? I highly recommend grinding cardamom and cloves with a pestle and mortar instead of buying ready made. It does make a huge difference!
4 tsp ground cinnamon
4 tsp ground ginger
3 tsp freshly ground cardamom
3 tsp freshly ground cloves
Soft gingerbread cake
3 3/4 cups (540 g) all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp gingerbread spice mix
1 tsp ground bitter orange peel (can be omitted)
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cup (240 g) light muscovado sugar (or light brown sugar)
3/4 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp (200 ml) cane syrup
250 g (2 sticks + 1/4 stick) butter
3/4 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp (200 ml) heavy cream (about 35-40 % fat content)
1 1/4 cup (300 ml) milk
1 cup (150 g) frozen lingonberries (can be omitted)
Glaze
2/3 cup (90 g) powdered sugar
1 1/2 tbsp milk
Instructions
1. Mix together ground spices (cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and cloves) in a small jar.
2. Heat oven to 175°C (350F). Grease and flour a large bundt pan which holds about 10-12 cups (preferably 12 cups). Set aside.
3. Mix flour, baking soda, salt, 3 tsbp gingerbread spices and ground bitter orange peel in a bowl. Set aside.
4. Beat eggs and sugar until fluffy and lighter in color, about 3-4 minutes. Add cane syrup and beat until smooth.
5. Melt the butter in a saucepan and add cream and milk.
6. Add dry ingredients and butter mixture to the egg mixture in additions, and stir until smooth.
7. Stir in the lingonberries, then pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake in the lower part of the oven for 55-65 minutes, but start checking doneness after 50 minutes. Keep an eye on the cake during the whole baking time so the top won’t brown too fast (if it does, carefully place a piece of baking paper or aluminum foil on top).
8. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then unmold onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
9. Mix together powdered sugar and milk in a small bowl. Pour glaze over the cake.
I love everything about these photo's….;)
http://vodkaandarose.blogspot.co.uk
Thank you Jessica! :-*
Hi it's me nuvole di zucchero (Alessandra) from italy.
It's difficult here to find cane or other syrup.
How can i substitute it?
I thought about honey. What do you think about it?
Thanks and kisses from Rome! ?
Hi Alessandra! Someone who tried making the cake with frosting last year used honey and said it turned out delicious! I haven't tried it myself though 🙂 xo Linda
So pretty!!! And that wall!!!! …Love it
Thank you dear Sanda! 🙂 xo Linda
Ohhhhh my! Lovely, lovely cake. I love how your pan makes such a pretty shape!
Thank you Katrina! I love this pan.. it's amazing!! x
What a gorgeous cake! I'm in love with that bundt pan, so tall and elegant. Lingonberries sound cool too 🙂
Thank you so much! :-* Lingonberries are super good with this cake 🙂
Hi Linda:) Could you please tell me where did you buy this awesome bundt pan? I'm looking for this shape but I couldn't find it. PS. Your new wall is amazing, I think it looks gorgeous with your black&white floor 🙂
Hi! 🙂 The pan is from Nordic Ware, and it's called Kugelhopf pan. It's awesome!
And thank you, I agree!
Thanks a lot 🙂
This cake is pure beauty, Linda. The photographs (with the gray wall!) just took my breath away. The light, the composition, the textures; perfect. xx
Thank you so much sweet Sini! I'm so in love with this wall, looking forward to using it in many photos.. 🙂 xo
Un beau billet gourmand !
Belles photos !
Kat
http://www.lechatpeintvert.com
Merci! 🙂
Looks so good! Like someone said, pure beauty 🙂
http://ellysinbakemyday.blogspot.fi/
Thank you so much! <3
Oh my god, I'd like to make this immediately…and this pan: Nordic Ware products are the best.
I'm in love every time I come here on your pages and the wall…beautiful!
Thank you so much Monica! I agree, Nordic ware make the best bundt pans! x
Oh my goodness! I am totally in love with your blog, which I have recently discovered!! Each and every post has breathtaking pictures and I can't wait to try ALL of your recipes…
Please tell me what is the substitute for cane syrup? Would it be the same as golden syrup or can I use honey?
Thank you so much Natasha!! How sweet of you. I've never tried with golden syrup or honey. I'm guessing golden syrup would be the best thing to use as honey tastes more. But on the other hand, someone commented saying they had made it with honey and that it was delicious 🙂
Looks so good! Can´t wait for Christmas 🙂
Thank you!
Yay! Thanks! 🙂
I am in LOVE with this wall!!! It makes me want to repaint ours right now. And this cake — just holiday perfection. I still have your gingerbread beauty from last Christmas in my mind and here you are with more holiday magic. Thank you so much for all that you do!
Thank you so much for taking the time to comment Cynthia! <3
Can I just say you are amazing?!!
Can I just say you are amazing?!!
Aww, you are too sweet.. thank you Barbara! <3
Beautiful, beautiful pictures!
Vansinnigt vackra!
Viveca Tolstoy
Tack, tack så hemskt mycket Viveca!! Kram
Oh, I have to make this!! It sounds so amazing, I am really excited about it having cream in it… Mmmmmm….. What do you think about making this recipe as muffins?
It really is so good and moist.. mmm. I'm glad I have some pieces left in the freezer..
I'm sure this recipe would be perfect for muffins! But definitely only use half the recipe for that or you will have like a gazillion 😉 Let me know if you try! xo
Thanks Linda. I will try and let you know how it went!
Another beautiful piece of artwork. I'm so glad that you've found inspiration in the Christmas season and your new grey wall, because this is absolutely beautiful.
Thank you dear Sarah! I'm glad I found it as well.. there are always so many things I would like to do for christmas! x
i love these pictures so, so much. and the bundt looks so good!
So inspire! Bundt cakes make me nervous too, but they're so perfect that I risk every time)) I never taste gingerbread, but I trust – it's amazing! I need to try it!
Well, now I have to run, find a bundt pan and all the ingredients and make this!
Looks so good! Your pictures are so beautiful. You fall down in a "chaudron magique" when you were a kid for sure. 🙂
This is a magic place
Your photos are soooooo freaking beautiful! 🙂
So gorgeous, I love that mold!
I have to say, your photos make me want to eat all of that….but then, I don't want to ruin it. It's that perfect.
http://www.designglueglitter.blogspot.com
1. I'd LOVE a gray wall. Love it. But I'm a procrastinator too and I'd never get around to it.
2. I need that bundt pan. It's so lovely. And my pans always seem to rip my cake apart in some way
Your blog, your new wall, your photos and this incredible bundt are simply astoning!!!! You are a great inspiration!! Thanks so much for sharing and hugs from Spain!
Hej Linda! Tack för allt fint du delar med dig av! Jag har skrivit om din bok idag på min blogg. http://www.kammebornia.se/vackra-sotsaker/
wow, this looks amazing
http://mtessah.blogspot.de/
Tout simplement superbe !! jolie mise en scène et gâteau vraiment très beau !
Hello Linda. Your recipes (and photos too) look so delicious! My dream is to repeat at least a couple of them.
I just made this cake and the kitchen smells soo Christmas-y!
I made a few adjustments:
1. I didn’t use cane syrup, because I don’t have such, so I made a honey syrup – 100g honey & 100ml water => boiled and left to simmer for a couple of minutes to thicken a tiny bit. I did this, because in the past I’ve substituted cane syrup for pure honey which is way too thick and I had poor results, so that’s why the water 🙂
2. As I’m not from Sweden and I cannot find lingonberries I used a lingonberry jam from IKEA (don’t kill me:D). I put the jam in the middle of the cake by pouring half the batter; jam; pouring the rest of the batter.
3. I used a pre-ground and prepared spice called “Brun Kager” from a company called Mill & Mortar which contains all the spices needed in this recipe 😉
4. Instead of the sugar glaze, I made a chocolate one with chocolate & butter.
The cake turned out absolutely amazing, very moist and very, very delicious! Thank you for the recipe!
Regards!
Thank you so much for your comment and notes, Dimana, so very helpful!! Also I’m sure the Ikea jam is absolutely fine, haha! Thank you again 🙂