Arbequina Gingerbread Mini Bundt Cake
Colder weather and upcoming holidays always puts me in a baking frame of mind. My first thought for holiday cakes is always gingerbread!
The arbequina olive is small, but highly aromatic fruit. In Europe, it is mostly grown in Catalonia; here, in California, it has recently become the dominant cultivar. I have been using the Arbequina in a lot of my baking because it leans to the delicate side with just a whiff of cinnamon. So, it's perfect for baking.
Ingredients
1/2 cup olive oil (I used Arbequina)
3/4 cup dark molasses
3 cups flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1-1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1" knob of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1/2 cup organic dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1 large egg
1 cup buttermilk
optional: organic powdered sugar for dusting, melted chocolate for drizzling
Procedure
Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Generously grease a mini bundt pan and muffin hollows and set aside. You can also use paper liners for the muffins if you wish.
Place all of the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
Stir with a spatula or wooden spoon until everything is moistened and just combined.
Divide the batter into the mini bundt and muffin pan. Place the pans in the oven.
Bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake until the tops are cracked and the centers set, approximately 16 to 18 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.
Allow to cook in the pans for 10 minutes before inverting the bundt pan and the muffins. You can serve these warm - that's how we like it - or room temperature.
If you are dusting the gingerbread with powdered sugar and/or drizzling with melted chocolate, do that just before serving. But this moist, spiced cake is just as delicious naked!
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