Fresh Ginger Cake with Caramelized Pears

This cake tasted and smelled delicious, but I did have a problem with the final appearance- the cake sunk in the middle (quite deeply actually). When I took the cake out of the oven it was quiet jiggly but when I put a toothpick in to test it, it came out clean so I thought the cake was done. The only thing I did differently in regards to the recipe was to use a pan with a false bottom so to speak- the bottom isn't attached to the pan itself. Other then that I don't know what I did wrong. I looked up reasons why cakes sink and the only thing I could find was that either it is undercooked or the batter is to wet...

I think your problem was with the flour , the best way is to weigh the flour instead of using measuring cups .

Hi Vanessa. There are a number of reasons why this might have happened, from incorrectly measured ingredients, oven might not have been preheated correctly, eggs might have been overlooked, over mixing, altitude, undercooked, etc. Here are a couple of articles that might help: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-causes-cakes-to-fall.htm http://cakepanstoreblog.com/why-do-cakes-fall Without seeing the cake it is hard to tell for sure what happened in your case. However, I suspect that it might have just been undercooked in the center. Try the fork test next time in a few spots to see if it comes out clean (without batter on it) rather than a toothpick. The cake should also not be very jiggly. It should move as one solid cake and not more jiggly in the center compared to the outer edges. So please do try this cake again. It is fantastic. Hope this helped.

If molasses is hard to get, what could I use to replace it?

This is from Cook's Thesaurus Substitutes: dark corn syrup OR maple syrup (works well in gingerbread cookies) OR honey OR barley malt syrup (weaker flavor; use 1/3 less) OR brown sugar (Substitute 1.5 cups brown sugar for every 1 cup molasses)

Hello, I dont have a kitchen scale and I already bought my ginger. How else could I measure out 4 ozs of fresh ginger?

4 ounces of fresh ginger is approximately 8 tablespoons.

This cake is fantastic! Rich dark and deep flavor with complex layers of spice, sweet and even bitter. I did find however that the cake was a bit more crumbly than I would have preferred and was definitely sunken in the middle. Would love to somehow incorporate rum into this recipe!

I am out of state at my In-laws house and they only have olive oil! Can I use that or butter instead?

I suppose you could use olive oil, but I would suggest going out and buying a bottle of an oil that is more neutral, such as canola or grapeseed. The olive oil may alter the flavor quite a bit, depending on the type and flavor of the olive oil. Good luckk!

I wanted to try the Ginger Cake for weekend company, but was afraid of it sinking in the middle, as I had read that it does sometimes. So...........I put it in a bunt pan, not as elegant tho, and took it out of oven in a bit less time!!!! Guess what? Perfect and absolutely unforgettable!!!!

I made this recipe last weekend complete with the caramel sauce and caramelized pears. It was really moist and flavorful, with a dense almost banana bread-like texture. Unlike other posters, I had no problems with a fallen center. If I wanted a more conventional springy cake with these same flavors, could I substitute cake flour for the all-purpose flour; or would the density of the moist ingredients (molasses and fresh ginger) be incompatible with cake flour?

We cannot say for sure how this cake would work with cake flour instead of all-purpose flour as we have not tried to make it with any else besides all-purpose flour. To substitute cake flour for all-purpose flour, use 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of cake flour for every cup of all-purpose flour. If you do end up making the cake with cake flour, feel free to post your results. Cheers!

Merry Christmas Rouxbe! I made this cake twice and every time I got a very tasty and flavorful cake. Still I do have a problem because 10 min before the end of baking time some cracks appeared at the surface of the cake. Could you help me with some guidance here? Is it because of high temperature? The first time I baked it at 180 degrees C and the second at 175. Still the same problem each time. The taste is still great but I want it to be perfect.

Yes, the high temperature, over baking or where the cake was positioned in the oven could cause the cake to crack. Even though you adjusted the temperature, have you tested your oven with an oven thermometer? Sometimes they can be off by as much as 50 degrees. Glad you liked the cake. Cheers!

This turned out beautiful! It was my turn for dessert at our dinner club! It was one of the best desserts I have made...will make many times over! I started checking if it was done at 30 minutes and it took about 50 minutes in my spring form pan. No sinking! Thanks so much! Rouxbe never lets me down :)

So great to hear Wendy. I know that we used to make this when quite often when we were film caters and it was always a big hit. I still remember having to make about 10 cakes to feed the whole crew—sure seems like a lot of fresh ginger when you are making that many cakes. Again, glad you liked it. Cheers!

I have used sorghum sometimes when making gingerbread and it seems to work well also. It is not easy to locate where I live, Minnesota, but can be found. I love gingerbread and am looking forward to trying this recipe. Surely I will have a lot of willing testers when it is finished.:)

Could this be made in a bundt pan? I bet it would be very festive with a dusting of powdered sugar :)

While we have not tried making this particular cake in a bundt pan, it should work just fine. Please give it a try and let us know how it goes. Cheers!

I see in the photo that the bottom of the cake pan is lined with parchment. Is it necessary to butter the pan or, because it is a spring form pan, will it unmould easily?

In this case the parchment is acting as the non-stick surface, so you should be okay without the added butter. Cheers!

I love ginger cake and this was the best ginger cake I've made to date. Definitely a recipe I'll use again and again. I also made the caramel sauce, caramelized pears and chantilly cream to go with it. Wow! The sugar in the caramel sauce crystallized a bit but the sauce was still good. I'll try the sauce again next time I make the cake. I think maybe I poured the cream in too quickly so will adjust that next time. Love the cake on it's own though.

I'm going to make this cake for an upcoming dinner party. I live in Colorado at 6000 ft elevation. Any special considerations so the cake turns out great?

Hi David- There is a bit of trial and error in this... but here's what I'd do to start the process on this cake. You might make a test cake to be sure it's going to work well. 1) Increase oven temp by 20F and cooking time by 8-12 mins 2) increase liquid (or egg) measure by about 1 oz and add equivalent flour Good luck! ~Ken