Triple Ginger Skillet Cake

By Erin Jeanne McDowell

Triple Ginger Skillet Cake
Mark Weinberg for The New York Times
Total Time
70 minutes
Rating
4(873)
Notes
Read community notes

This cake, at its best when warm, is full of dark molasses flavor and three kinds of ginger (fresh, ground and crystallized). It can be served with powdered sugar, whipped cream or even ice cream — a drizzle of caramel sauce is especially nice, too.

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Ingredients

Yield:10 to 12 servings
  • ½cup/115 grams unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature, plus more for greasing pan
  • ¾cup/150 grams granulated sugar
  • 1cup/240 milliliters molasses (not blackstrap)
  • 1(2-inch) piece ginger, peeled
  • 1large egg
  • 2½cups/320 grams all-purpose flour
  • 1teaspoon baking soda
  • 2teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ¾cup/180 milliliters whole milk
  • ½cup/70 grams diced crystallized ginger
  • Turbinado sugar, as needed, for finishing
  • Powdered sugar, as needed, for finishing
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)

346 calories; 9 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 64 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 42 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 233 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 325 degrees, and lightly grease a 12-inch oven-safe skillet with unsalted butter.

  2. Step 2

    In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the remaining butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the molasses, and grate the ginger using a fine grater into the mixing bowl. Mix until well combined, scraping the bowl as necessary, 1 minute more. Add the egg and mix to incorporate, about 30 seconds more.

  3. Step 3

    In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon and salt to combine. Add half of the flour mixture to the mixer and mix on low speed to combine. Scrape the bowl well.

  4. Step 4

    Add the milk and mix to incorporate. Add the remaining flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the crystallized ginger by hand.

  5. Step 5

    Pour the batter into the prepared skillet, and spread into an even layer. Sprinkle the surface with turbinado sugar. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes.

  6. Step 6

    Let cool for 12 to 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature, garnished with powdered sugar.

Ratings

4 out of 5
873 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

PSS

What happens if you use blackstrap molasses? That is the only molasses my supermarkets seem to carry. Should I substitute something else for the molasses?

prof

Used chickpea liquid in place of the egg and ate it warm with vanilla ice cream. Its soothing gingery-ness helped temporarily block out the news of governmental dysfunction and criminality.

Su

You can absolutely use a different, similar volume pan. The main advantage of cast iron here is the wonderful caramelized bottom crust you'll get, and that will complement the ginger-molasses flavors so well. Expect that this will take a bit longer to bake in a cake pan (especially since the most likely substitute would be a 10" cake pan, making a deeper cake than in a skillet), but the toothpick test will still tell you when it's done.

Annmarie Chang

Can you use any kind of pan or is skillet necessary?

Diana

Really a delicious cake! Easy to male and very moist and flavorful. I added some apples and I liked the results. I followed the directions exactly except the addition of the apples. I will make again!

BL

Do you think this is something that can be frozen? I live alone and really should NOT eat the entire thing (that doesn't mean I won't...)

Liz

Made this gluten free by using Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten free flour. Is delicious ! The bake did take a little longer about 1 hr 10 minutes. Gluten free tends to always take longer to bake.

Renee McDermott

Try serving it with lemon curd. Yum! The flavors are all striking and really enhance one another.

Eve V

I make a pear upside-down cake with gingerbread, I bet this would be great with this cake too. Will try and report back.

Jane Macdonald

Used Bob's Red Mill GF APF and vegetable oil and non-dairy "milk" for a gluten- and lactose-free version. Delicious!! Didn't have crystallized ginger so replaced with extra ginger root. Lovely deep ginger flavour. Will most definitely add this to the repertoire.

Janis

To accompany... https://smittenkitchen.com/2009/04/buttermilk-ice-cream/

Kathleen

Thoughts on making this ahead and reheating? That’s what fits with my pre-Thanksgiving schedule, but I’m concerned that it might lose something if made a day or two ahead. Input appreciated!

Joanne

I used it because it was all I could get and it's delicious.

Kelly

There is a place in Capitola, CA (next to Santa Cruz) called Gayle's Bakery and Rosticceria. The San Francisco Chronicle calls it maybe the best bakery anywhere! They have triple ginger cake at the holidays and I wait all year for it and make several trips back. A nice blend of ginger, not to sharp and not overly sweet. It's great to have a recipe like this to try at home the rest of the year.

Gina Hemmings

I made this for a NYE dinner party and it was a huge hit. I prepared the recipe exactly as written. I brought the pre-made batter in the pan to the hosts home and baked it there so it could be served warm with vanilla ice cream. I will definitely make this again.

Christine Whittington

This is incredibly delicious, but not very pretty. It was not the fault of the recipe. I should have used a larger skillet.Also, it sufferent the effect of our altitude--10,142'. I didn't make any altitude adjustment--I often don't and 75% of the time, everything is fine. This time, the cake puffed up hugely, then ran over the edge, like lava. I will be cleaning my oven. The overflow became crispy treats! Then it collapsed and took an extra 1/2 hour to bake. But delicious! Great with lemon curd.

Christine Whittington

For those in search of non-blackstrap molasses, I used Grandma's. Took me awhile to find it! I don't think the world would end if you used blackstrap, however.

nm

I made it with date syrup and it was great. Kept the crystallized ginger pieces to avoid 1/4 for texture. Added chocolate chips at the suggestion of another commenter. Served with unsweetened whipped cream.

nm

Could one use date syrup instead of molasses?

JTO

Go British & make a recipe of Bird's Custard Sauce (buy on Amazon) and pour the warm "creme anglaise" over the spicy cake!!!

Maggie

10/10. Made exactly as the recipe called for other than the fact that I used 1 to 1 gluten free flour and only had "blackstrap" molasses. Didn't bother to look up what that meant. Just used it. Amazing cake. Great flavor! Perfect smell to permeate the house the day after Christmas. We are having this for dinner tonight, essentially. Along with some leftover chicken soup. Also used lightly sweetened whipped cream. So delicious.

DC-757

I'd like to add some rum to this. Any suggestions? I'm thinking to reduce milk to 1/2 cup and adding 1/4 rum. I've seen these proportions on other ginger rum cakes.

sblb

This really is a fantastic recipe. I make it in the fall and winter and serve with good vanilla ice cream, though it’s great with whipped cream too. Really if you like ginger, make this!

marie

Yum intense ginger. Made with unsulphated black strap molasses and half sugar.

Salbug

I've made this twice, and loved it both times! Make sure to chop the candied ginger very finely; the first time I made it, the pieces were up to 1/4" at times, and that made it less enjoyable in contrast to what is a very soft cake.

Margaret

This is the best gingerbread I have ever had. I followed the recipe exactly. I will make it again and again.

jessica b

I made this with blackstrap molasses and lots of candied and fresh ginger and it is delicious. Also added a few dark chocolate chips. So good.

Bryan

Used sorghum molasses from the NC mountains and got rave reviews.

Christine Whittington

I haven't had sorghum since my tween years in southern Indiana--but that would be great!

Claire

Made this in the Bundt, totally worked. I’m sure it would only be improved by the cast iron, and will do so this holiday deason and serve warm with ice cream or lemon curd or whipped cream, ohh lala!!. I’m perpetually on the look out for a darker, stickier ginger bread. This one is well on its way! Would love peoples recommendations on how to take it even further in that direction or recipes that do so successfully ..

Claire

I adore dark sticky gingerbread and cooking in my cast-iron skillet, but tomorrow morning I have a need to cook something delicious and fall like in a Bundt pan - any thoughts on how this might work in a Bundt pan??

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