Another Recipe: Gingerbread Pound Cake

For the holidays...or year round if you have my mother's spirit!

Cheers to the holidays – however you might be celebrating! And hello, if you are just picking up the Grape to Table newsletter, thanks so much for joining to learn more about wine, food, and life. There’s lots to read – from my origin story (click here to read) to fun content focused on meaningful time at the table with delicious wine and food like my holiday tips! For now, my newsletter is free and you can find all the content by clicking here – basically a little Grape to Table website created by the great folks at Substack. I did realize recently that you only see the various categories of past newsletters if you open this link in a browser (rather than the Substack app). It’s a shame because the categories make it easy to find content you might be interested in…so here are some more embedded links! Click here for Wine Tips. Click here for Recipes. Click here for Q & As. As always I really appreciate when you hit the like button as it helps get the content in front of more people :) and spread the joy of wine and food!

As another little holiday treat, here's one of my fave, easy holiday baking recipes from back when I had my own cake biz – Gingerbread Pound Cake!

For me there’s nothing more evocative of the holiday season than the warming spice of gingerbread. I came by my love naturally as it was a favorite of my mother. She did not even relegate it to the holidays -- buying gingerbread men at her favorite bakery all times of the year.

When I started my pound cake business in the early 2000s I knew that a gingerbread version would be a must, and I’ve kept tweaking it over the years. It’s all about that perfect balance between all the spices and the earthy molasses.

The best thing about this cake? It’s super easy! It’s honestly easier than gingerbread cookies; so you can whip it up in a flash (even in the midst of holiday madness). It will envelop the whole house in that comforting, baking spice aroma and ground you in the moment.

Then the possibilities are endless… Cut it into small pieces and give one to every person you meet that day. Save it for your holiday meal and serve with fresh whipped cream. Or my personal favorite: toast slices in the oven topped with a thin slice of butter and enjoy with your coffee or tea on any winter morning! Or better yet, enjoy it year round like my Mama.

Happy Holidays! Wishing everyone peace and joy during a time of the year that can be both endearing and trying. Find time for little pleasures for YOURSELF this holiday season (and all the time!). (My version of this will definitely include some great Champagne and lots of snuggles with my dog Jaco!)

Gingerbread Pound Cake

1 ½ cups light brown sugar
1 ½ cups molasses
8 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 teaspoons salt
Zest of one orange
1 pound unsalted butter, melted
3 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a Bundt pan. Combine sugar, molasses, eggs, vanilla, salt, and orange zest in a food processor. Mix until combined. While running, pour butter into the mixture, and continue running until thoroughly combined. Add optional ingredients and pulse until combined. Pour this mixture into a large mixing bowl. Sift dry ingredients into wet ingredients, whisking as you go. Pour batter into the pan. Bake until a tester comes out clean, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Release from pan and brush with glaze. Once cool, cut into 16 slices.

GLAZE:
½ cup sugar
½ cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine ingredients and cook over low heat until sugar dissolves and syrup forms.

P.S. If you want to get wild you can actually juice that orange we zested for the cake and use the juice instead of water to create an orange glaze. It’s quite yummy!