Gramercy Tavern Guinness Gingerbread Cake

Well this is a little late for the holidays but is there ever really a bad time to bake a cake?

Caroline made this one almost every year for a while.

Our mother reminded me recently about the poached pears Caroline found went well with it.  So I've included a recipe that seems close to what I remember her cooking.

first you need the bundt pan. here it is from William Sonoma  but I bet it can be found cheaper elsewhere. 

Then get some guinness (grab a few extra for yourself) and follow the directions below courtesy epicurious. Here are the pears, again from epicurious.

Enjoy!

gramercy tavern gingerbread

ingredients

• 1 cup oatmeal stout or guinness stout
• 1 cup dark molasses (not blackstrap)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• pinch of ground cardamom
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• confectioners sugar for dusting

special equipment:

• a 10-inch (10- to 12-cup) bundt pan

accompaniment:

• unsweetened whipped cream

preparation

preheat oven to 350°f. generously butter bundt pan and dust with flour, knocking out excess.

bring stout and molasses to a boil in a large saucepan and remove from heat. whisk in baking soda, then cool to room temperature.

sift together flour, baking powder, and spices in a large bowl. whisk together eggs and sugars. whisk in oil, then molasses mixture. add to flour mixture and whisk until just combined.

pour batter into bundt pan and rap pan sharply on counter to eliminate air bubbles. bake in middle of oven until a tester comes out with just a few moist crumbs adhering, about 50 minutes. cool cake in pan on a rack 5 minutes. turn out onto rack and cool completely.

serve cake, dusted with confectioners sugar, with whipped cream.

cooks' notes:

•this recipe was tested with grandma's brand green-label molasses.

•like the chocolate decadence cake, the gingerbread is better if made a day ahead. it will keep 3 days, covered, at room temperature.

pears poached in red wine, cardamom and orange

ingredients

• 1 750-ml bottle dry red wine
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 2 teaspoons grated orange peel
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 firm but ripe pears, peeled, stems left intact

• 1 pint vanilla ice cream
• 1 plain or almond biscotti, crumbled
• orange peel strips (optional)

preparation

combine first 7 ingredients in heavy large saucepan. stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to simmer. add pears and return mixture to simmer. reduce heat and simmer slowly until pears are tender when pierced with knife, about 25 minutes. transfer pears to plate. boil liquid in saucepan until reduced to 3 cups, about 20 minutes. (can be made 1 day ahead. cover and chill pears in poaching liquid. before serving, rewarm over medium-low heat until pears are heated through.)

arrange 1 warm pear and 1 scoop of ice cream on each of 4 plates. drizzle some poaching liquid over. sprinkle with biscotti crumbs. garnish with orange peel strips, if desired, and serve.