Mini Gingerbread Cakes

Ingredients

Prep:

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

For the Dry Mix:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoon Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoons ground ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the Wet Mix:

• 1 1/4 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
• ½ cup white granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup of stout beer (allow the foam to subside so it measures a true 1 cup)
• 1/3 cup un-sulphured molasses
• 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger

For the Glaze:

• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 5 tablespoons whole milk
• Pinch of salt
• Zest from 1 orange

Instructions

1. 1
   Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a mini pound cake pan. If you don’t have one, no worries! This recipe will work great in a 12-cup bundt pan or two 8x4-inch loaf pans.
2. 2
   In a medium bowl, mix together the all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground nutmeg and black pepper.
3. 3
   In a separate large bowl, combine the brown sugar, white granulated sugar, vegetable oil, baking soda, eggs, beer, molasses and freshly grated ginger. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients; mix until thoroughly combined. Pour the batter into the floured mini pound cake pan or bundt pan or loaf pans, and smack it against the counter a few times to eliminate any bubbles.
4. 4
   Transfer to the oven and bake for 15 minutes for mini loaf pans, 45 to 50 minutes for a bundt pan or 25 to 30 minutes for a loaf pan. You’ll know when it’s ready when a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cakes (or cake) in the pan for 10 minutes. Place a wire rack atop the pan and invert the cakes to cool to room temperature, about 2 hours. If they’re not easily coming out, you may need to run a butter knife alongside the outside edge.
5. 5
   Sift the powdered sugar into a bowl. Pour in the whole milk and pinch of salt; whisk until very smooth. When the cake is room temperature, pour the glaze over the cake. Grate the orange zest over the cake. Allow the glaze to set before slicing.