CHOCOLATE-GINGER CAKE WITH BOURBON SAUCE

Chocolate-Ginger Cake with Bourbon Sauce image

Yield Makes one 9-inch bundt cake

Number Of Ingredients 20

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the pan
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, plus more for dusting
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons finely grated peeled fresh ginger
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Bourbon Sauce (recipe follows)
Bourbon Sauce
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 large egg yolks
1 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup good-quality bourbon
(makes 1 1/4 cups)

Steps:

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter a 9-inch Bundt pan. Dust with cocoa powder, and tap out excess; set aside. Put the butter, molasses, brown sugar, and 1/4 cup water in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the butter has melted. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Let cool 5 minutes.
Add the eggs, milk, and grated ginger to the molasses mixture; whisk to combine. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, and cinnamon into a medium bowl.
Gently fold the flour mixture into the molasses mixture until just combined. (There should be lumps remaining.) Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let the cake cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
Invert the cake, and unmold onto a cake stand or a large serving platter. Using a spoon, drizzle the warm bourbon sauce over the cake in a back-and-forth motion. Serve immediately.
Bourbon Sauce
Put the butter, egg yolks, brown sugar, vanilla, and bourbon in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture registers 160°F on a candy thermometer, about 7 minutes.