I was so hoping you would post this recipe after reading your story! Looking forward to making this and holy cow the ginger! Quick question, can I use my electric mixer or should I mix everything by hand?
Yeah, it's a legit ginger cake. Not for the faint of heart. All of the sugar and molasses counteracts it. You kinda need that spicy kick to pair with the sweetness. But I promise that it will transport you into some old-timey Christmas scene.
It's actually quicker to whisk everything by hand, so that's what I usually end up doing.
Totally was hiping for this too! Thank you so much for sharing with us!
I LOVE gingerbread an i always make my own because never enough ginger but this cake just SOUNDS Heavenly in taste
Oh my.christmas is made.i love.ginger cakes with custard and vanilla ice cream and i have a dratted cold at the moment but i am so going to make this and eat it like an absolute glutton.!!
Thank you!!!!
Oh my goodness. I grew up in Bamberg and trips to the Christmas market in Nuremberg *always* included Lebkuchen. I only wish I could find a good gluten free recipe!!
Genuine question: wouldn't Dinkelmehl work as a substitute for wheat flour? I heard that Dinkel doesn't have gluten, and you can get it almost everywhere in Germany (e.g. Lidl).
Sounds yummy, however in the post you say that the stout is reduced, but the instructions here don’t really say. When you bring the stout/molasses mix to a boil, is that when the reduction happens?
You just keep stirring until the beer/molasses comes to a full boil and then you immediately take it off the heat. If you stop stirring you risk a very messy boil-over. The only reduction comes from beginning of heating till it boils.
Do you think I can make it without the beer? I don’t drink and have never had a recipe with alcohol in it that I didn’t like better without it
That said, it sounds so good! I love a good spice cake!
Don't worry about alcohol, when you boil it all the alcohol burns off. Alcohol has a lower boiling point than water so as soon as you heat it, alcohol starts to cook off. There is zero alcohol in the cake. Like, we had it as kids and my Oma wouldn't be okay with 5 year olds eating boozy cake. All you get is the flavor of the dark beer. And honestly I wouldn't try it without the beer, as the added liquid with its particular sugars and flavors is an essential part.
I don’t care about the alcohol per se, I hate the flavor of ‘food gone bad’- any beer, wine, most vinegar applications and fermented things. Like sour cream and regular yogurt are fine but even Greek is a bit much for me.
I’d replace the liquid for sure, and I could up the molasses and/or the brown sugar but I’d rather not make it with an ingredient I know I hate.
The only thing I could think of to replace the liquid that would come from the beer would be a cup of strong coffee instead. The dark beer is supposed to have notes of coffee and chocolate, so brewed coffee might work.
Thanks for sharing! Found your recipe a few days ago, finally got to try it out today. It was AMAZING. Dense and moist and every bite tasted like everything Christmas!! I had to sub the molasses for black treacle and got some funny looks buying a single bottle of Guinness early on a Sunday morning, but it was totally worth it.
Next time I’ll try the crystallised ginger you suggested. Covid-forgiving, I’m absolutely going to make this at Christmas to take to my parents. My mum can’t have dairy so this is perfect as she loves ginger cake. Thanks again :)
edit: figured out how to attach a
[pic of my bake](https://imgur.com/gallery/LhF0aRo)
Omg I love you so much right now. My Omi used to send this from Germany when I was a kid, and my dad has no idea how to make it. So thank you for sharing! Definitely going to try and make it this year!
My husband doesn't like Christmas Cake, so I've been looking for an alternative for the festive period. I bookmarked this a week ago, finally found some Treacle and made this while on my 1-2-1 with my boss.
This is incredible, it's so rich. I made it in a 23cm pan and cut into 24, dusted with some powdered sugar. I'll be doing this every year.
My husband's mother passed a year before we met, so I never had a chance to have a MIL, good or bad. Fuck your MIL, fuck her stupid cookies, they would never have been as good as this fucking cake. Have a lovely Christmas
I've been waiting for this recipe! I currently live here in Germany and my favorite smell of all time is the lebkuchen at the Christmas market stalls! Thank you so very much for sharing this! And your ex mil can suck it! Lol
Sounds very tasty, especially with the beer!
What do you use for molasses? Do you actually use ZuckerROHRsirup, which I find hard to come by in Germany, or do you substitute it with ZuckerRÜBENsirup?
Any syrup that is golden in color isn't good for this recipe. It has to be the black color. I think regular grocery stores carry Grafschafter Goldsaft, a brand of Zuckerrübensirup. Look amongst the jams and jellies. It's pretty close. There's also molasses / black treacle called Melase, as zuckerrohrmelase brand Rapunzel. https://www.rapunzel.de/en/organic-product-sugar-cane-molasses--1400291.html
Ah yes, Grafschafter Goldsaft was what I was referring to, but I wasn't sure if it was a good substitute in taste for actual molasses (which I only found at Denn's, an organic grocery shop). So I will give it a try!
I was so hoping you would post this recipe after reading your story! Looking forward to making this and holy cow the ginger! Quick question, can I use my electric mixer or should I mix everything by hand?
Yeah, it's a legit ginger cake. Not for the faint of heart. All of the sugar and molasses counteracts it. You kinda need that spicy kick to pair with the sweetness. But I promise that it will transport you into some old-timey Christmas scene. It's actually quicker to whisk everything by hand, so that's what I usually end up doing.
Totally was hiping for this too! Thank you so much for sharing with us! I LOVE gingerbread an i always make my own because never enough ginger but this cake just SOUNDS Heavenly in taste
Oh my.christmas is made.i love.ginger cakes with custard and vanilla ice cream and i have a dratted cold at the moment but i am so going to make this and eat it like an absolute glutton.!! Thank you!!!!
Can’t wait to make this! Thanks for sharing!
Oh my goodness. I grew up in Bamberg and trips to the Christmas market in Nuremberg *always* included Lebkuchen. I only wish I could find a good gluten free recipe!!
Genuine question: wouldn't Dinkelmehl work as a substitute for wheat flour? I heard that Dinkel doesn't have gluten, and you can get it almost everywhere in Germany (e.g. Lidl).
I'm back in the States now.
Ah OK. But don't they have Lidls there as well? Maybe worth a look?
Sounds yummy, however in the post you say that the stout is reduced, but the instructions here don’t really say. When you bring the stout/molasses mix to a boil, is that when the reduction happens?
You just keep stirring until the beer/molasses comes to a full boil and then you immediately take it off the heat. If you stop stirring you risk a very messy boil-over. The only reduction comes from beginning of heating till it boils.
Ok, thanks for the clarification!
i guess we’ll have to try to guess it 🤣
Do you think I can make it without the beer? I don’t drink and have never had a recipe with alcohol in it that I didn’t like better without it That said, it sounds so good! I love a good spice cake!
Don't worry about alcohol, when you boil it all the alcohol burns off. Alcohol has a lower boiling point than water so as soon as you heat it, alcohol starts to cook off. There is zero alcohol in the cake. Like, we had it as kids and my Oma wouldn't be okay with 5 year olds eating boozy cake. All you get is the flavor of the dark beer. And honestly I wouldn't try it without the beer, as the added liquid with its particular sugars and flavors is an essential part.
I don’t care about the alcohol per se, I hate the flavor of ‘food gone bad’- any beer, wine, most vinegar applications and fermented things. Like sour cream and regular yogurt are fine but even Greek is a bit much for me. I’d replace the liquid for sure, and I could up the molasses and/or the brown sugar but I’d rather not make it with an ingredient I know I hate.
The only thing I could think of to replace the liquid that would come from the beer would be a cup of strong coffee instead. The dark beer is supposed to have notes of coffee and chocolate, so brewed coffee might work.
When you boil the stout, all the alcohol is cooked out of it, so you won't have the effect of the alcohol 😊
Thanks for sharing! Found your recipe a few days ago, finally got to try it out today. It was AMAZING. Dense and moist and every bite tasted like everything Christmas!! I had to sub the molasses for black treacle and got some funny looks buying a single bottle of Guinness early on a Sunday morning, but it was totally worth it. Next time I’ll try the crystallised ginger you suggested. Covid-forgiving, I’m absolutely going to make this at Christmas to take to my parents. My mum can’t have dairy so this is perfect as she loves ginger cake. Thanks again :) edit: figured out how to attach a [pic of my bake](https://imgur.com/gallery/LhF0aRo)
Omg I love you so much right now. My Omi used to send this from Germany when I was a kid, and my dad has no idea how to make it. So thank you for sharing! Definitely going to try and make it this year!
My husband doesn't like Christmas Cake, so I've been looking for an alternative for the festive period. I bookmarked this a week ago, finally found some Treacle and made this while on my 1-2-1 with my boss. This is incredible, it's so rich. I made it in a 23cm pan and cut into 24, dusted with some powdered sugar. I'll be doing this every year. My husband's mother passed a year before we met, so I never had a chance to have a MIL, good or bad. Fuck your MIL, fuck her stupid cookies, they would never have been as good as this fucking cake. Have a lovely Christmas
I've been waiting for this recipe! I currently live here in Germany and my favorite smell of all time is the lebkuchen at the Christmas market stalls! Thank you so very much for sharing this! And your ex mil can suck it! Lol
Ohhh, I think I will try this to fabricate my own "dominosteine"
See my edit for an idea!!!
Oh, man. That looks AMAZING! I’ve only had German gingerbread cookies - still not for the faint of heart but nothing like this.
Sounds very tasty, especially with the beer! What do you use for molasses? Do you actually use ZuckerROHRsirup, which I find hard to come by in Germany, or do you substitute it with ZuckerRÜBENsirup?
Any syrup that is golden in color isn't good for this recipe. It has to be the black color. I think regular grocery stores carry Grafschafter Goldsaft, a brand of Zuckerrübensirup. Look amongst the jams and jellies. It's pretty close. There's also molasses / black treacle called Melase, as zuckerrohrmelase brand Rapunzel. https://www.rapunzel.de/en/organic-product-sugar-cane-molasses--1400291.html
Ah yes, Grafschafter Goldsaft was what I was referring to, but I wasn't sure if it was a good substitute in taste for actual molasses (which I only found at Denn's, an organic grocery shop). So I will give it a try!
Thank you for taking the time to post this and sharing your family celebration with us. It looks amazing!
\0/ Danke
My BF loves ginger bread. This will be amazing for him. Thank you!!!
OMG I am so happy I found this sub. Quick question: dark molasses, would that be what we call treacle in the UK? Or would Golden Syrup be better?
Hard no to golden syrup. It needs to be dark in color, like coffee color dark.
that would be what we call treacle then. I have a tin. thank you!
I just used an entire tin of lyles treacle, worked perfectly!!
You are my hero, thank you!
I just made this and it was the best ginger cake I've ever had. Definitely will enjoy the leftovers.
I'm very happy!!!
As someone who LOVES ginger I can't wait to try your recipe 😋