This will be a short post because I am trying to get this out while babysitting my nephew, and I’m using the time that he is entranced by his milk as an opportunity to type! Otherwise, he likes to be involved in my internet activity and bang on the keyboard.
My nephew is 15 months old and is soon to be an older brother in October. We just found out that baby #2 is a girl and I’m super excited. I did a gender reveal cake for my sister and she just had this hilarious look of surprised horror on her face. She was certain she would have two boys and was immediately like, “Girls cost so much money!”
My sister is cheap. She also makes cute babies. (Hey, she said she wanted me to write about her!)
Anyway, my nephew’s milk is almost gone and he is yelling and pounding on my arm. I guess I’m supposed to actually pay attention to him or something? Instead, I’m sitting here laughing at him as he attempts to climb onto a chair. Toddlers are stupid.
This ginger Bundt cake was supposed to come out with sugar crystals on the outside, or at least that’s what the original picture looked like. What the demerara sugar actually did was create a pitted look on the outside of the cake, but it did give it a nice crunchy outer crust. Pretty sure those food stylists added some extra sugar at the end, but I didn’t.
I wasn’t sure strawberries would go well with ginger, because I think of strawberries as a spring food and ginger as a winter thing, but it actually works. I liked the cake and the strawberries separately, as well. I used some of the syrup from the strawberries to soak the cake and make it extra moist, but it was truly moist enough on its own.
Ugh, it smells like I have some “responsibilities” to take care of. I think my nephew is getting back at me for laughing at him.
I did recently learn that if I say, “Can I have a kiss?” he’ll put his mouth out and let me kiss him. So that’s totally worth all the, um, “responsibilities” he keeps making for me.
GINGER BUNDT CAKE WITH GINGERED STRAWBERRIES
- Cake Magic, or softened butter
- ½ cup demerara (raw) sugar
- 2¼ cups (270 grams) all purpose flour
- 4 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup (242 grams) sour cream
- 1 cup chopped crystallized ginger (I only had enough for ½ cup, and things turned out fine)
- 1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and very thinly sliced
- ⅔ cup water
- ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 quarts fresh strawberries, hulled and halved (about 4 cups)
- Preheat oven to 350°F and place rack in center of oven. Brush Cake Magic or softened butter on the inside of a Bundt pan, then dump demerara sugar into the pan and shake it around to cover the sides and bottoms, pouring out any excess.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, ground ginger, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat butter until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Add 2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then add egg yolk and vanilla. Scrape down the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, add one-third of the dry ingredients, followed by one-half of the sour cream. Repeat, then end with the remaining flour. Mix in crystallized ginger by hand with a rubber spatula. Spread batter into the prepared Bundt pan, making sure not to remove the sugar coating.
- Bake until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out almost clean (there should be just a few crumbs), about 50-60 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then carefully invert the cake onto the cooling rack and remove pan to cool completely.
- Combine ginger slices, water, ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Turn heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil. Boil for about 4-5 minutes, until syrup is reduced to about 1 cup. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Place berries in a medium bowl. Strain the ginger syrup to remove the ginger slices, and pour the syrup over the berries. Toss to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour to allow the strawberries to become infused with the ginger flavor.
- When ready to serve, scoop strawberries into the center of the Bundt cake, or cut slices of cake first, then top with strawberries and syrup.
