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Gingerbread Coffee Bundt Cake with Espresso Icing
Yesterday my family resumed our 5:00am gym workouts – Christmas vacation must be over.
The tree is still up but it looks naked without presents underneath. I’m not ready to pack away all of the holiday decorations just yet! Like this cute centerpiece my mom made, just a vase with candy canes lining the rim and filled with mini shiny ornaments.
Since we had been so busy all December with traveling and medical stuff, Christmas kind of crept up on us. We didn’t even do our annual baking for friends and neighbors! So I knew I wanted to make something special for Christmas dessert. I found a perfect recipe on Pinterest from Sprinklebakes.com. A homemade Gingerbread Coffee Bundt Cake with Espresso Icing. Sometimes we make exceptions from our healthy diet; Christmas dessert was one of them ;)
Cake from scratch is a million times better than from a box; I added lots of extra ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg because I don’t think you can have too much flavor for a spice cake. And the fact that there is coffee in the cake and icing is perfect…my family certifiably is addicted to coffee. Lately the three of us finish off a full pot of coffee within an hour of being awake. We have turned into two-pots-a-day people. Yikes! Honestly I just love the flavor.
The cake turned out perfect! Dark brown with tons of cinnamon and spice flavors. Next comes the “glaze.” It is just espresso or STRONG coffee (that sounds familiar…) and powdered sugar.
Confession: I struggle with glazing a cake. I have made approximately three cakes (all from Joy the Baker) that involve making a glaze from powdered sugar and some form of liquid and they never turn out like the picture. Instead of resting thick and glossy atop the cake, my glaze gets absorbed into the cake or just runs down the side. If anyone knows the trick to making a real glaze, help me out!
I ended up just about doubling the powdered sugar to make it thick enough to stay on the cake. I also recommend making your espresso/coffee as strong as possible so that you can still taste it over the sugar.
Gingerbread Coffee Bundt Cake with Espresso Icing:
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 heaping tsp ginger
2 heaping tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup STRONGLY brewed coffee
1 1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
3 eggs, plus
2 egg yolks
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and Flour a bundt pan (I recommend this instead of spraying with non-stick spray); set aside.
- Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
- In a separate bowl, stir together molasses and coffee.
- In another large bowl, cream the butter with an electric mixture. Add in the brown sugar and beat for another couple of minutes. Next, beat in the 3 eggs and 2 egg yolk one at a time.
- Alternately add the flour mixture and molasses mixture to the egg mixture; begin and end with the flour.
- Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and use a spatula to smooth over the top.
- Bake for 45 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool in the bundt pan for 20 minutes; then remove from pan and turn it over on a wire rack to cool completely.
Espresso Icing:
3 Tablespoons Espresso (or strong coffee)
1 1/2 – 2 cups powdered sugar
- Whisk together the coffee and sugar until completely smooth. Pour over the cake, let it set for at least an hour before serving.
Despite the not-so-glazey glaze, this cake turned out to be delicious, and got two thumbs up from the family! It’s very much like a more dense spice cake with a sweet topping and should absolutely be enjoyed with a fresh mug of coffee.
Pin this recipe here! 
Missy enjoyed her Christmas too and even found of couple presents for her under the tree!
Butterscotch Pumpkin Granola Bars
This recipe is TOO GOOD not to make. Seriously, if you like the Nature Valley Oat n’ Honey bars, you will fall in love at first bite with these homemade creations that are pretty easy and muy delicioso. The recipe originally came from Heatherchristo.com, which I found on Pinterest.
My mom and I made these bars together for our awesome (and painful) 10 mile hike on Friday. Trail mix always seems like the perfect go-to fuel for long hikes, and these bars are like bringing all the trail mix flavors together for an on-the-go snack. The flavors were fantastic for fall, and the butterscotch is really powerful and sweet! Good combo of nuts, seeds, sweet and salty going on here :)
You will need a large bowl and the following:
- 4 cups rolled oats
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup pure pumpkin
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2 (heaping) tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/3 cup slivered almonds
- 1/2 cup of pepitas (or sunflower seeds)
- 1 (11 oz) bag of butterscotch chips (chocolate or white chocolate would be just fine!)
- Optional: shredded coconut, dried cranberries, cherries, or pineapple
1. First, in a LARGE bowl, combine oats, oil, pumpkin, brown sugar, honey, cinnamon and salt.
2. Throw the pepitas and almonds in to the mix.
3. Add in butterscotch chips and any additional fillings.
4. Line a 9 x 13″ baking sheet with parchment paper; evenly spread the granola mixture onto the parchment paper and use a spatula to flatten it as much as possible.
Best with a warm cup of coffee!
5. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and use spatula again to press down and flatten the sheet of granola. Place back in the oven for an additional 20 minutes.
6. Let cool completely!
7. Slice into bars; make approximately 24.
These bars do go soft after storing in a container or plastic bags, so they are best wrapped individually before storing in an air-tight container.
The oat texture, the bites of almonds and pepitas, the sweet butterscotch chips – it’s ridiculously good. So good that I’ve had two a day since Friday. With coffee of course.
How good would these be just broken up in a bowl with milk, eaten with a spoon? Mmm I think I just found my next breakfast for when I return home over winter break ;)
Don’t forget to pin these here:
Butterscotch Pudding Parfaits
I have a perpetual sweet tooth. Sometimes I squash my nighttime chocolate-cravings with a decaf coffee or a warm bowl of oatmeal. Sometimes I give in. But it’s week one of No Gain November, I have no chocolate in my room and vending machines are off-limits. I concocted this fun dessert for my roommate and I to go with our late night of studying! (Don’t worry, I finished it before 8pm per No Gain November rules ;) )
They are so much more fun to eat out of a mason jar! These jars are definitely two servings each, and I have half of mine left to enjoy tomorrow :) Really there are so many different ways to make a pudding parfait but start with a Sugar-Free Fat-Free pudding mix.
Totally have the salty & sweet concoction going on here! I layered pudding, banana slices, and fat-free Cool Whip, topping it off with cashews and pretzels. The cashews were a little TOO salty and my tongue felt weird afterwards. I think almond slivers would be great next time.
The best part is I made this all in my dorm room, it was so simple. No “cooking” required. Time to brainstorm other semi-healthy parfait toppings…. Obviously berries would be great. Maybe shredded coconut? (I’m visualizing the baking aisles of the grocery store right now :D ) Pecans or walnuts. DARK CHOCOLATE. Mmmm. What else am I forgetting?
Sometimes it’s nice to take the time to make something fun and pretty! The golden and yellow colors from the butterscotch, bananas and cashew were very autumn-y. I think Fernanda the Roommate, approved! :)
Last night I came off 0f a huge running high after completing my first “speed” workout of the season with my cross country team. We did mile repeats on a beautiful trail through the mountain forests. The whole workout was top notch, from a breezy 2 mile warm up to some faster-than-expected mile intervals, some 100 meter sprints thrown in at the end and a lovely 2 mile cool down back to our team vans. Thankful to be able to run again!
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