Tis the Season...

 

Since it is now officially Christmas Season, kicked off by the
annual stampedes of crazed Walmart Shoppers, I was recently inspired to make my favorite Ginger Stout Cake. I love this cake. It is adult in nature due to the Stout and the dark Blackstrap Molasses, and like many oil based cakes and quick breads, it tastes even better on day 2.

I had this grand idea of ‘spicing’ it up a bit, and I thought how great it would be to add some cranberries, candied ginger, and make it into a cranberry upside-down cake, baked in a bundt style pan.

So, I very generously greased the pan with butter, added a hefty dose of some cinnamon sugar, then I piled the cranberries on top, and I poured in my cake batter. What happened next was no longer in my control, but I had to roll with it. The cranberries which were supposed to remain on the bottom nestled in my sugary buttery mixture, quickly bobbed to the top of the batter….not exactly what I was expecting…

I baked the cake anyway, and when I unmolded it, I was amused to find that the candied ginger, that I had anticipated would be flecked throughout the cake, had made its way to the bottom, nestled in that buttery sugary goodness, while the cranberries stayed suspended at the top.

Umolded and upside-down, the ginger, cinnamon sugar and butter created a nice crunchy chewy texture on the top of the cake, while the cranberries, now pooled at the bottom, created a nice tart contrast to the cakes subtle sweetness.

I think a new cake has been born.