Gingerbread Cake with Brandied Apples

Published on December 23, 2020 | By
gingerbread cake

I jazzed up this gingerbread cake with a brandied apple topping to really get you in the spirit of the holidays. Baking gingerbread, either cookies or a cake, will fill your kitchen with the enticing aromas of cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.

Gingerbread is usually sweetened with either honey or molasses. I used blackstrap unsulfured molasses for this gingerbread cake. Unsulfured molasses is made from the unsulfured juice of sun-ripened sugarcane and is extracted from mature sugarcane. The juice from the sugar cane is clarified and concentrated. The molasses combined with the dark brown sugar imparts its deep dark color and rich dense flavors to the gingerbread cake.

I used to make gingerbread houses with the kids when they were young. We made our own gingerbread from scratch and poured it into molds to form each side of the house. The fun part was decorating with the royal icing and colorful candies and of course, tasting along the way.

This is the grown-up version of those gingerbread houses that we enjoyed as children. You will love this adult cake with deep dark spiced flavors and fresh apples glazed with a buttery caramelized sugar sauce laced with brandy. And your friends and family will too!

Check out some of my other favorite holiday recipes here.

    • Prep Time
    • Minutes
    • Cook Time
    • Minutes

Ingredients

  • For the cake: 2 cups of flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 11/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 8 TBSP unsalted butter at room temp
  • 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
  • 2/3 cup of hot water
  • For the brandied apples:
  • 3 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
  • 3 TBSP butter
  • 1/2 cup of dark brown sugar
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 oz of regular or vanilla brandy

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9" square or round baking pan.
  2. Sift the dry ingredients together. Flour, baking soda, salt and spices.
  3. Use a hand held mixer or a kitchen aid standing type mixer to beat softened butter and sugar together at medium to high speed until pale in color and fluffy.
  4. Add eggs one at a time and beat well until incorporated. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture. Next add water and mix for minute until smooth
  5. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean.
  6. While the cake is baking make the brandied apples. Melt the butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Sauté the sliced apples for about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with brown sugar and a little cinnamon. Continue cooking gently stirring the apples to coat with the butter and brown sugar. When the butter and sugar have melted, add the brandy and cook for another minute.
  7. Cool the cake in the pan for about 20 minutes and serve warm. Or, if you bake ahead before serving you can warm the unmolded cake briefly in a 350 degree oven until slightly warm.
  8. Serve the warm gingerbread cake with the brandied apples. A little fresh whipped cream on the side makes it even yummier!
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