TWD: Gingerbread Baby Cakes

I have always known that Julia's tastes were much more sophisticated than mine.  I wasn't fooling myself.  But after the last recipe, (the brownies) I started to feel like maybe we weren't that different after all.  Maybe we were kindred spirits.  Maybe I had completely misjudged the situation and we were actually BFFs at heart.  Then this week's recipe smacked me in the face.  And I remembered that there isn't much sophisticated about me and especially not my palate.

I have never made a baby cake before.  I thought that was just a nickname people used.  "C'mere baby cakes."  You know, that kinda thing.  But I guess that nickname came from somewhere, probably these cakes?  Or maybe it's not a nickname and I heard someone say it and thought they were talking to someone else but they were actually talking to a small cake.  It's hard to say.  Of course, I didn't have baby cake pans so I used some ramekins that I had.  I made 1/4 the recipe and it made 2 small cakes.  The only problem, and maybe it's not a problem at all, is that I added the wrong amount of molasses.  I was supposed to add 1/2 cup for 1/4 of the recipe but I guess when I saw molasses, my brain automatically went to tablespoons.  Who would add more than tablespoons of molasses to a cake?  What are we making brown bread?  So I added 1/2 tablespoon instead of 1/2 cup.  Oops.  I realized it after putting the cakes in the oven.  The recipe said to rotate the pans to level batter, but my batter was way too thick to expect a pan rotation would do any good.  After reviewing the recipe a few times, I realized what I had done, but it was too late. (dun, dun, dun)

I wondered if they would still turn out with my error but I think it ended up being a blessing.  I am not a douse-everything-with-molasses kind of girl so I think if I'd added the full amount, the flavor might have been a bit much for me.  At is was, I was surprised how little I hated this cake.  I really expected to hate it.  It didn't have nearly enough chocolate and it seemed like way too much ginger but really it wasn't so bad.  It also has pepper in it.  Yeah, pepper.  I know I have heard of  pepper in a cake before, but I didn't expect I would actually put pepper in a cake (I know I am not sophisticated enough).  All in all, it wasn't so bad.  I ate half of a baby cake and maybe even enjoyed it a little bit.  I probably wouldn't crave these or make them for myself.  But if I knew someone who liked gingerbread and pepper a lot, I would probably make it for them.  

The inside was still a bit gooey when we cut them open but I liked it like that.  I am just glad they worked at all after my mess up! 

On a side note, Calvin thought they tasted good and Hadlee decided to be 'nice' and give Calvin her piece.  She is so selfless.

If you want to see what the other bakers did this week and maybe see what the cakes are supposed to look like, you can go HERE.

If you'd like the recipe, you can buy the book , or stop by the blog of our host for the week, Karen's Kitchen Stories