Gingerbread Baby Cakes with Candied Orange Peel
Gingerbread Baby Cakes with Candied Orange Peel: Tasty, seasonal Mini Bundt Cakes with the classic gingerbread flavors that are perfect for the holidays!! With a dollop of whipped cream and homemade candied orange peel, they are a terrific Christmas dessert!
My picky family was not enamored with these Individual Gingerbread Cakes. The addition of unsulfured molasses was likely too strong for their picky palates. The Candied Orange Peel Recipe, on the other hand, is something I will make again over the holidays.
Gingerbread Baby Cakes
I probably should have studied my bottle of molasses before beginning this recipe. The ingredient list called for unsulfured molasses. I quickly ran into Whole Foods and snatched some Blackstrap molasses off the shelves along with some fresh ginger.
Little did I know the flavor was much stronger, bitter, and less sweet than the Brer Rabbit Mild Molasses in my cupboard, which was ALSO unsulfured. Thank goodness I made just half a batch…I know I would love these made with ordinary molasses, but I just didn’t have time for a redo.
I did manage to eat half Mini Gingerbread Bundt Cake below. It didn’t taste half bad with a big dollop of sweetened whipped cream, but I bet I’ll sing another, more positive tune, with my next attempt. If you love ginger, you’ll also enjoy my favorite Chewy Ginger Cookies!
Candied Orange Peel
I altered the recipe only by leaving out the black pepper (and using the wrong molasses!)…I was planning to send these back to the dorms with my youngest and I knew the college crowd’s palates wouldn’t appreciate the bite of pepper in their dessert. Brownies and chocolate chip cookies were more their speed.
I did whip up some candied orange peel to garnish these mini cakes. I remember my mom making her candied citrus each Christmas, but my sisters and I were not impressed. We, like my son and his friends, were holding out for something less exotic. I guess it took a couple of decades for my palate to mature, as this candied peel was excellent and such a gorgeous garnish for these baby cakes.
You May Also Like These Mini Desserts
- Mini Zebra Bundt Cakes
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- Plus, check out all my Best Holiday Desserts
Gingerbread Baby Cakes
Julia Child describes this gingerbread as spicy, robust and bursting with the heat of ginger and black pepper.
Ingredients
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour
- ¼ cup Instant Espresso Powder
- 3 tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1 tablespoon Ground Ginger
- ½ teaspoon Baking Powder (check to make sure it's not expired)
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground Black Pepper
- 2 sticks Butter, at room temperature
- 4 large Eggs, at room temperature
- 2½ tablespoons peeled and finely chopped Fresh Ginger
- 2 cups Unsulphured Molasses (I'd recommend using the molasses found in the baking aisle of your supermarket)
- Plus, butter to grease pans, sweetened whipped cream and/or candied orange peel to serve.
Instructions
- Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees F.
- Grease and flour eight 4x8-inch cake pans. I used parchment and spray oil (no flour), and it worked out well.
- Whisk the flour, espresso, cocoa, ground ginger, baking powder, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl.
- Place the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and beat until light and fluffy, about 6-8 minutes.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just incorporated.
- Divide the batter evenly among the mini cake pans.
- Place the cake pans on a baking sheet and place them in the oven. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes (mine took about 27 minutes), rotating the sheet pan halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out pretty clean.
- The middle should be springy, and the cake should have just cracked. Place the cake pans on a cooling rack for 10 minutes to cool.
- Run a knife to loosen the cakes from the pans and turn them out onto the racks. Remove the parchment if you have used it, and allow the cakes to continue to cool. These cakes can be served warm or at room temperature.
- The cakes can be stored in an air-tight container for 3 or 4 days, or individually wrapped and frozen for about 30 days.
Notes
Note: I made a half batch of this recipe.
The cakes can be stored in an air-tight container for 3 or 4 days, or individually wrapped and frozen for about 30 days. This recipe can also be baked in one 10-inch cake pan and baked for 50 to 60 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 625Total Fat: 28gSaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 158mgSodium: 557mgCarbohydrates: 90gFiber: 1gSugar: 64gProtein: 7g
Thatskinnychickcanbake.com occasionally offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although thatskinnychickcanbake.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased can change the nutritional information in any given recipe. Also, many recipes on thatskinnychickcanbake.com recommend toppings, which may or may not be listed as optional and nutritional information for these added toppings is not listed. Other factors may change the nutritional information such as when the salt amount is listed “to taste,” it is not calculated into the recipe as the amount will vary. Also, different online calculators can provide different results. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information obtained is accurate.
Candied Orange Peel Recipe
A sweet citrus treat or garnish! Adapted from Epicurious.
Ingredients
- 1 large orange, top and bottom trimmed flat (about ¼-inch removed)
- 2 cups sugar, divided
- 1 ½ cups water
Instructions
- Cut through peel from top to bottom to make 4 equal-sized segments. Remove peel, including pith, from each quadrant. Cut each piece into ¼-inch strips.
- Cook in a pot of boiling water for 15 minutes. Drain, rinse, then rinse again.
- Bring 1 ½ cups of sugar and 1 ½ cups of water to a boil, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved.
- Add peel and return to a boil. Simmer for about 45 minutes till the peel is soft. Drain.
- Toss the peel in the remaining ½ cup of sugar, separating the strips.
- Transfer strips to a sheet of foil and let them stand until the coating is dry, 1-2 days.
Notes
May freeze for up to 2 months.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 205Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 3mgCarbohydrates: 53gFiber: 1gSugar: 52gProtein: 0g
Calorie count may be skewed as it takes all the sugar syrup into consideration.
One Comment on “Gingerbread Baby Cakes with Candied Orange Peel”
Hi Lizzy, they may not have had the expected taste, but you made a masterpiece out of them!
I love your pictures and thank you so much for sharing the candied orange peel recipe.