See, my sister Holly's birthday is on Christmas, but we usually have her cake on Christmas Eve at Angie's house. Are you confused yet? Wait, it gets better. THIS year, Holly decided she wanted German chocolate cake in the shape of Texas (my mom is so lucky I own a Texas pan) and some of us went "Ew."
At this juncture, I should tell you that I feel about coconut the same way I feel about putting nuts in baked goods. Except sometimes I make exceptions for nuts but I NEVER make exceptions for coconut. German chocolate combines both of those things so I immediately said "Mooooom! I don't like it! Can I make something else???"
And she was more than happy for me to do that.
And Holly didn't care, so I went to this recipe. I've been dying to make it for awhile.
I would like to argue that this cake is so freaking good that you could make it year round and be pleased. Which is my plan, in all honesty. Even though it's meant for Christmas. Oh well!
Also, don't forget to add some whipped cream to the top when serving! (homemade please, you know how I feel about the kind that comes in a tub...)
Gingerbread Cake with Cream Sauce
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups flour
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups flour
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp salt
Mix until crumbly. Reserve 1/2 cup of the above mixture for the streusel topping. To this, add 1/2 cup chopped pecans, if desired.
To the remainder, mix in
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup molasses
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup molasses
2 eggs
Pour batter into a well-greased 13×9 baking pan. sprinkle with the reserved streusel topping. Bake at 350 for 28-30 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Watch carefully so you don’t overbake. Let cool slightly, and serve warm with Cream Sauce.
Cream Sauce
1 cup sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup butter
dash ginger
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup butter
dash ginger
Combine and bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Stir 4 minutes. Serve and warm sauce over gingerbread. Refrigerate any remaining sauce.
See?? SIMPLE! And do you need to even know that I did NOT add pecans?
Can I tell you something that I love? (if you already know how to make your own buttermilk, keep reading on, if not, keep reading HERE -->) I haven't bought buttermilk since moving from Tyler back to Austin and I will tell you why. To make one cup of sour milk (the equivalent/PERFECT substitute to buttermilk) take one tablespoon (TABLEspoon!) of vinegar and add enough regular milk to make one cup. Let it sit for a couple of minutes and you're good to go!
Thanks mom! Best little trick I've learned since figuring out that chicken bouillon cubes do the same thing as chicken broth and cost a whole heck of a lot less.
MOVING ON!
Here is the cake, naked. AVERT YOUR EYES!
You might think you have too much crumble topping (or that your crumble seems like there isn't enough butter mixed in, really it's perfect, trust me) but you have the right amount. I so declare it to be true!
Here's what it looks like just baked. It reminded me of pretzel actually...? It does NOT taste like pretzel!
Look at that. I know, right? I wish I had taken a picture of the cream sauce. I was hesitant of it at first. It kind of looked like...some sort of egg mixture? But just go with it okay? It. Is. De. Li. Cious.
Recipe source: The Sister's Cafe