The entire house smells like Christmas while this cake is baking. I was craving the gingerbread flavor without the gingerbread man cookie effort. Gingerbread cake to the rescue! It took me 10.34.05.37 minutes (thank you iPhone stopwatch) to make the batter and get this cake into the oven. That didn’t include wrestling the baking pan out from under it’s stack of smaller baking pans in the cabinet. But it did include melting the butter.
I like full-flavor gingerbread where the spices are assertive. This cake is moist and delicious on it’s own, but even better served with a dollop of whipped cream and a scoop of unsweetened applesauce.
Gingerbread Snacking Cake - Low Carb, Gluten Free, Sugar Free, Dairy Free, Paleo
Serves: 8-10
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons butter, melted (coconut oil for dairy free)
- 8 eggs
- 2 cups almond flour (also called almond meal), preferably Honeyville (which is more finely ground)
- 3/4 cup coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 cup dark molasses (also called "full flavor," not blackstrap)
- 1/4 cup xylitol (or more to taste)
- 1/2 cup whole milk (coconut milk for dairy free)
- 2 tablespoons ground ginger
- 3 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon cloves
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon allspice (optional)
Instructions
- Place rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350°.
- Note: this batter may be mixed by hand, with a hand blender, or in a standing mixer
- Grease a 9"x13" baking pan (I use the Pyrex pan) with butter or oil.
- Melt butter on low heat, if using. While the butter is melting assemble the rest of the ingredients.
- Beat eggs in a large bowl. Add all the other ingredients. Add the melted butter or oil. Stir to combine with a large spatula or on medium speed with a mixer. Taste batter for sweetness and add a little more xylitol if desired.
- Put batter in greased baking pan and put in oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until center of cake feels somewhat firm when touched with your finger, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Do not over bake. A tiny bit under baked is better than over baked.
- Allow to cool a little (may be served warm) and serve with whipped cream (or coconut whipped cream) and unsweetened apple sauce.
I just made this the other day, because OMG who doesn’t love gingerbread or gingerbread CAKE??!! True to description the whole house smelled like Christmas. I know there was some stuff written in the comments below about the carb count, and as someone who limits herself to a seriously low amount of net daily carbs as a rule, I was happy to break it for this cake. But I did also calculate the net carbs per serving (my pan cuts 15 hearty pieces), because molasses does put it pretty high up there per slice. However, I would have to agree and say you would not obtain the same flavor otherwise (though I may experiment with lowering the quantity in future baking).
NOTE: I did use melted butter, but I used coconut milk, instead of whole milk, and I used Truvia (granulated Erythritol) so the carb counts are based on that. Everything was measured according to the recipe and it needs no tweaking in case you’re wondering if it’s any good. Also noted, mine was almost overdone at 26 minutes, so definitely keep an eye on it, because she’s right…you want it to be moist!
Net Carbs for Whole (Unfrosted) Cake: 239.5g
Per Serving: (8) 30g, (10) 24g, (12) 20, (15) 16g
Hi there.
Thank you for supplying the carb count! I know people will find that helpful.
I’m really glad you liked it and thank you for taking the time to let me know and for sharing your substitutions.
Pardon me, but 30g of carbs is not considered low carb. I made the following changes to reduce the carbs for diabetics. Reduce 3/4 c molasses to 1/3 cup, Add 1/2 unsweetened applesauce. Used butter. Replaced xylitol with Just Like Sugar (Brown). Increased the almond flour to 2-3/4 cups omitting the coconut flour. The cake is delicious! For 15 servings the carb count is down to 16g. Baked in a 9 x 15 inch pan – serving size is a 3 x 5 rectangle.
Karin, Would you happen to know the calories for this recipe with your changes in place? My husband was recently diagnosed as being type 2 diabetic and I am trying to keep a good handle on his carb and calorie intake. Thank you for the changes to this recipe, I like it because it uses ingredients that I already have in my pantry. Please respond asap so that I can make these for him for Christmas.
Thank you,
Angie Costello
dreamielife@yahoo.com
Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 245 Calories; 17g Fat (56.9% calories from fat); 10g Protein; 19g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 131mg Cholesterol; 321mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Fruit; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 1 1/2 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.
First, “maybe don’t eat the whole cake and it’s not such a bad treat”=a rude assumption. Wow. Second, low carb and low glycemic are not the same thing. She was right; 30 grams does not fit in well with a low carb plan.
Have you tried molasses extract if the flavor is what is need?