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Dessert

Gingerbread Bundt Cake

A moist gingerbread cake baked in a Bundt pan, finished with a lemon glaze.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 15 ingredients
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Why it works: Ginger and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,380 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Gingerbread Bundt Cake

Oven325°F (165°C)
Time50 to 55 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the batter

  1. Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C) and spray a 10‑cup Bundt pan generously with nonstick baking spray.

  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.

  3. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs well.

  4. Whisk in the oil, then whisk in the granulated sugar followed by the molasses.

  5. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and stir just until combined.

  6. Add the hot water and stir well.

  7. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake and cool

  1. Bake the cake until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes.

  2. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

  3. Flip the cake onto a rack over a baking sheet and let it cool for 5 minutes.

Glaze and serve

  1. Whisk the confectioners’ sugar with the lemon juice until smooth.

  2. Using a long skewer, poke deep holes all over the cake.

  3. Drizzle the glaze over the cake, trying to get some into each hole and brushing the glaze so it covers the entire surface of the cake.

  4. Serve warm or let cool completely.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

779Calories
20 gProtein
20 gFat
130 gCarbs

Counts 9 of 11 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Molasses1 tbsp (20g)58
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Cinnamon1 tsp ground (2.6g)6
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Cakenot in our table0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Ginger + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,380 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Ginger + lemontop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,154 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  3. Cinnamon + lemontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together7,950 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  4. Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,341 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  5. Cinnamon + sugartop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together30,779 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Cinnamon and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

All-purpose flour
Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
Eggs
Bind the batter and add structure and richness to the crumb.
Vegetable oil
Adds moisture and keeps the cake tender after it cools.
Molasses
Adds moisture, deep flavor, and a dark color to the gingerbread.
Baking soda
Reacts with the molasses to lift the batter and help it rise.
Confectioners’ sugar
Forms a sweet glaze that soaks into the holes and sets on the surface.

The step that matters

Poking deep holes and glazing while the cake is still warm. Warm cake is more porous, so the lemon glaze soaks down through the holes and moistens the crumb rather than sitting on top.

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, ginger, cinnamon, egg, sugar, molasses):

  1. Raisinfits better
  2. Vanillafits better
  3. Figfits about as well
  4. Lemonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, ginger, cinnamon, egg, sugar, molasses. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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