Gingerbread Cake With Caramel Sauce

Gingerbread flavours are ones I love no matter what form they come in - this cake is no exception. This is definitely my kind of cake. It’s a simple bowl and whisk kind of cake, sweetened with honey and molasses, and spiced with my favourite warming spices. The rich molasses and spice flavour of this dessert is complemented with a buttery caramel sauce and I love mine with dollops of fluffy plain whip.

I used my partner Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour. It always makes it easy to transform traditional recipes to gluten free without any special additions needed. This special blend of gluten free flours and starches includes xanthan gum and is ideal for food all your baked goods. I use it as a direct replacement for all purpose baking flour and it has yet to disappoint. Like all Bob’s Red Mill products it’s certified Kosher and made with ingredients grown from non-GMO seeds.

I always love to try something new when it comes to gingerbread flavours. This year I thought instead of doing a spin on gingerbread I would keep it as simple as possible with a classic one bowl cake that is abundant in all the classic flavours of gingerbread. The only spin on it is that it’s refined sugar free and gluten free. It still has all the classic flavours and is the perfect quick bake up that makes for a great dessert for all the gingerbread lovers out there like me. I love unsweetened whip on mine and warm caramel sauce drizzled over it - there is something about the cake with the cream and the warm sweet caramel sauce in each bite that is just heavenly. You are going to love it!

I have partnered up with Bob’s Red Mill to bring you this fabulous recipe, but all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting Olive & Mango.

Recipe

Ingredients

For the cake

• 1 ⅔ cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 large egg
• ⅓ cup honey
• ⅓ cup molasses
• ½ cup milk
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter, melted 
• Unsweetened (or sweetened) whip cream for serving

For the caramel sauce

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 cup cold water
• ¼ cup butter, cubed
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a 9-inch round or square baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt, cloves, nutmeg and baking soda. 
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg until lightly beaten. Add the honey, vanilla and molasses and whisk until combined, then whisk in the milk and melted butter. 
4. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix just until combined. Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for about 21 to 25 minutes, until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
5. Place the cake on a cooling rack and let it cool completely.
6. For caramel sauce, in a small saucepan, combine brown sugar and cornstarch. Stir in water until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in butter and vanilla until smooth. Serve warm over cake topped with whipped cream if desired.