On the 1st day of Christmas the Recipe Diva cooked for me...

Gingerbread Espresso Cake

Despite my lack of skills in the baking department, the cake turned out moist, flavorful, and DELICIOUS!!!  It was a big hit and the leftovers will make a great snack or a decadent breakfast treat along with some holiday flavored coffee!

I found this recipe the recipe in Fine Cooking magazine's 'Parties' edition.  I made some modifications, but didn't stray too far.  You can find my modified version below:

Ingredients

1/2 cup dark molasses

1/2 cup espresso
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour; more for the pan
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp table salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tbsp instant espresso powder
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg (I chose to use freshly grated but pre-ground will work just fine!)
1/8 tsp ground cloves
10 oz (1 ¼ cups) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature; more for the pan
1 ¼ cups packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature

For the espresso glaze (indicated as optional in the original recipe, but NOT optional in my version!):
1 ½ cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon dark rum
1-1/2 tablespoons brewed espresso

Directions
1. Pre-heat the oven to 350ºF. Butter and flour a bundt pan tapping out excess flour.

2. In a liquid measuring cup, whisk the molasses with the espresso. Sift the flour with the baking powder, salt, baking soda, espresso powder, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves into separate bowl.

3. Cream the butter in a large bowl on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs and yolks one at a time, stopping to scrape the bowl after each addition. 

4. With the mixer on low speed, alternate adding the flour and coffee mixtures, beginning and ending with the flour. Stop the mixer at least one last time to scrape the bowl and then beat at medium speed until the batter is smooth, about 20 seconds.

5. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan spreading it evenly. Bake about 40 minutes until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool for 15 minutes. Invert the cake onto platter and let cool to room temperature.

6. For the glaze, whisk together the confectioners' sugar, rum, and espresso. Drizzle the glaze over the top.

The final step was key... the espresso glaze.  In hindsight, I would have let the cake cool a bit longer before adding the glaze more for the presentation than anything (I made this modification in the recipe).

I loved this recipe but I don't see why you couldn't spice up your favorite gingerbread recipe with an espresso kick!

Check back tomorrow for The Recipe Diva's 2nd Day of Christmas recipe!