Gingerbread Cakes

Gingerbread Cookies for Gingercake House
Yield:
2 9-inch cakes

Use these to create our Gingercake House.

Ingredients

  • 10 tablespoons (1 ¼ sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pans

  • 3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

  • 1 ½ cups boiling water

  • 4 teaspoons ground ginger

  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

  • ¾ teaspoon ground cloves

  • ¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 1 tablespoon baking powder

  • 1 cup packed dark-brown sugar

  • 1 ½ cups unsulfured molasses

  • 3 large eggs, room temperature

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut two 9-inch squares of parchment paper to line the bottoms of two 9-inch square baking pans. Butter pans; line with squares of parchment. Butter linings and then flour pans, tapping out excess. Set pans aside.

  2. Stir together baking soda and boiling water; set aside. Whisk flour, spices, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl.

  3. Put butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream on medium speed until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Mix in the molasses and eggs, scraping down sides of bowl, until creamy, about 4 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two batches of the baking-soda mixture; mix until flour is incorporated. Raise speed to high; mix until all ingredients are well combined, about 15 seconds. Stir batter several times with a rubber spatula, scraping the bottom of bowl.

  4. Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake until a cake tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 40 minutes (do not open oven door during baking). Let cool in pans on wire racks for 20 minutes. Run a thin knife around sides of cakes to loosen; unmold. Peel off parchment. Let cool completely on racks.

Cook's Notes

If you make these ahead of time, refrigerate them wrapped well in plastic.

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