A crowning glory, this glorious Gingerbread Bundt cake is rich with spices and holds a little marzipan treat in every slice. It's a beloved holiday flavour dressed up for the festivities - a special looking and tasting dessert with very little effort needed.
I love how my kitchen smells at this time of year - fragrant with holiday spices.
Along with batches of our favourite Christmas cookies, panforte, and fruitcake for nibbling, I'm baking this stunning Gingerbread Bundt Cake for one of our holiday menus this year. It's a majestic dessert just as it is, although a scoop of honey vanilla ice cream wouldn't be refused, I'm sure.
And the best part is, any leftover cake that's sitting on the counter tends to disappear in no time as we sneak 'just one slice' every time we pour ourselves a cup of tea or coffee! It's a decidedly delicious snacking cake, too.
A Double Baking Day
Our friends Nicoletta and Loreto, of the blog 'SugarLoveSpices' came over and we had another busy day in the kitchen with our fourth annual Christmas Baking Bonanza! What fun to spend a day baking together, talking and laughing to the strains of Christmas music jingling in the background. The smell of sugar and spices filled the air inside, while snow softly fell outside the windows, turning the world a magical winter-white.
Our first holiday bake-together project three years ago was a spectacular yule log (this German-flavoured Bûche De Noël), then we had fun making decadent and delicious holiday trifles (my gingerbread Lebkuchen Trifle was a hit), and last year we made whimsical Christmas Cookie Wreaths.
This year, we decided to keep it simple with fancy & festive bundt cakes. Nicoletta and Loreto made the beautiful Orange Chocolate Marble Bundt Cake with a luscious chocolate glaze on the left in the photo above (check out the link for their recipe and photos of the bake), and I made the Gingerbread Bundt Cake with a Marzipan Filling on the right. Both cakes were spectacular in their own way - theirs with its shiny chocolate glaze and elegant but rustic decoration of dried oranges, spices, and candied ginger, and mine with its simple dusting of icing sugar snow and fun decoration of sugared cranberries and marzipan holly leaves.
For the Festive Gingerbread Bundt Cake, You'll Need:
Ingredients
- flour - you can use either my preferred homemade gluten-free flour blend (I love it - it works so well in many recipes) or use regular all-purpose flour if you want to make the recipe non-gluten-free
- dark brown sugar - for that hint of molasses
- unsalted butter, room temperature - reduce the salt in the recipe to ¼ teaspoon if using salted butter
- oil - just a bit to keep the cake nice and moist
- eggs - large
- orange marmelade - I used 'Bon Maman' brand, but any kind will do
- pure almond extract - to complement the marzipan filling flavour
- spices - cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and a touch of ground black pepper to amplify the spiciness, like in other German Christmas baking
- baking powder, baking soda - for rise
- almond paste or marzipan - for the secret filling in the center and the decorative holly leaves. I prefer almond paste, as it is generally less sweet than marzipan, but either will work. You can omit the marzipan and still have a delicious Gingerbread Bundt Cake without it.
How to Make the Gingerbread Bundt Cake
First, you'll need to generously butter and flour a Bundt pan. Mix the flour, spices, and leaveners in a bowl. Cream the butter and sugar, then add the eggs one at a time. Beat in the marmalade and almond extract. Add a third of the dry ingredients and beat til smooth, then half the water and beat again. Repeat with another third of the dry ingredients and water, ending with the last third of the dry ingredients.
Scrape the batter into the buttered and floured Bundt pan.
Now bake the Gingerbread Bundt Cake until it's a deep golden brown and a skewer inserted in the center comes out dry with crumbs attached. The marzipan coil will have sunk down into the batter, to be hidden inside the cake.
After cooling down for 10 minutes in the pan, invert the cake onto a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Finishing the Cake
You can devour this luscious Gingerbread Bundt cake just as it is, or cover it with a drift of icing sugar shaken through a sieve.
You can just stop there with a simply stunning cake, or you can go even further and get really festive. Tint a small portion of almond paste or marzipan green with gel food colour, and roll it out dusted with icing sugar. Cut out holly leaves and mark the veins with the blunt side of a paring knife blade. Tint another portion with red colour and make small balls for holly berries. Brush the leaves with milk and sprinkle with coarse sanding sugar, and dip the berries in milk then roll them in the sugar.
You can also use fresh or frozen cranberries instead of making marzipan berries. Let the sugared decorations dry out on a cake rack, then place them decoratively on top of the icing-dusted Gingerbread Bundt Cake.
Now, that is one beautifully festive dessert.
It's Holiday Time in the Kitchen
When you cut the cake, you'll get a waft of gingerbread spices and find a jewel of marzipan treasure hidden in every slice. The cake crumb is tender and light, yet keeps its moisture over several days, stored at room temperature (covered). It's the perfect bite with a cup of coffee or tea - a lovely pick-me-up in the midst of all the holiday preparations or the simple and elegant finish to a festive meal any time of year.
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Guten Appetit!
Gingerbread Bundt Cake with Marzipan Filling
Equipment
- a 10-inch (25 cm) Bundt pan or tube pan with a 9-10 cup (2.2-2.4 litre) capacity
Ingredients
- 2½ cups (340 g) gluten-free flour blend (or regular flour for non-gluten-free)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt (omit if using salted butter)
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 10 tablespoons (142 g) unsalted butter (½ cup + 2 tablespoons)
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 cup (200 g) dark brown sugar, packed
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup (150 g) orange marmalade
- ½ teaspoon pure almond extract
- 1 cup (240 ml) water
- 8 oz (227 g) prepared almond paste or marzipan
for Decoration:
- 1- 2 tablespoons icing sugar/confectioner's sugar for dusting optional
- a few tablespoons of almond paste or marzipan plus green food colour for leaves optional
- a few cranberries (or marzipan and red food colour) to make berries, plus a tablespoon of milk to dip the berries in and clear sanding sugar or granulated sugar for coating the berries and leaves optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ (180℃). Brush the inside of the Bundt pan or tube pan generously with softened butter. Dust it with gluten-free flour (or regular flour for non-gluten-free), and tap out the excess.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and pepper in a bowl and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, oil, and brown sugar until well combined.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Then add the marmalade and almond extract and beat well again.
- Add the flour mixture alternately with the water, beating after each addition (⅓ of the flour, ½ of the water, ⅓ of the flour, ½ of the water, ⅓ of the flour).
- Scrape the batter into the greased and floured baking pan, and smooth the top with a spatula.
- Knead the almond paste or marzipan to a ball, then roll it into a rope that is about 16 inches (40cm) long. Lay the marzipan rope in a circle on top of the batter in the pan. It will sink into the cake as it bakes.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cake center comes out clean and the top springs back when lightly touched.
- Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert the pan onto a cooling rack so the cake releases. Tap the bottom gently if it doesn't come out right away. Let the cake cool completely on the rack.
To Decorate the Cake:
- You can simply dust the cake with powdered sugar/icing sugar shaken over it through a fine-meshed sieve and it's ready to serve.
- Or knead some green gel food colour into a small ball of almond paste/marzipan, then roll it out, and cut out leaves or holly leaves with a knife. For berries, you can use whole, fresh or frozen cranberries, or make marzipan berries (knead a small dot of red gel food colour into a knob of almond paste/marzipan and then roll it into small berry-sized balls).
- Brush the marzipan leaves with milk and sprinkle them with sanding sugar, and dip the marzipan balls (if using them) in milk, then roll them in sanding sugar. If using cranberries, dip them in milk, then roll them in sugar. Let the leaves and berries dry on a cooling rack until they are slightly stiffened, 30-60 minutes or more.
- Place the sugared leaves and berries decoratively on top of the Gingerbread Bundt Cake.
Nicoletta
How much I love our holiday baking day! Lots of fun, laughter, and always good food. Our bundt cakes are different, and both sooo delicious!
Margaret
It really was a joy to bake these cakes together - it put me in the holiday mood! I love the creativity that flows when we get together and can't wait for the next time!