The Marrow's Ginger Stout Cake Recipe (2024)

340 grams of flour is way more than 2 cups. Which measurement is correct?

There is no one measurement for grams of flour per cup-- which is why professional bakers have always used wight rather than volume measurements. If you scoop the flour directly into a volume-measuring cup as opposed to spooning it in, you can end up with 30% more flour in the cup by weight. Chances are the two cups here are scooped. Always, always go by weight when baking-- it's 100% consistent from baker to baker, while the way you fill a volume measure varies enormously.

Very similar to a Cook's Illustrated gingerbread recipe. I use a 9x13 pan rather than a Bundt pan, lined with parchment paper, turn it out to cool, and frost this with cream cheese frosting. Cream cheese and gingerbread go very nicely together.

I've made this a few times and definitely recommend it. I suggest adding baking powder to the dry ingredients (1.5 tsp) and also moving the baking soda into the dry ingredients (instead of adding it to the molasses/stout mix).

To my great surprise and delight, the cake came out perfetct, no backing powder needed. Since I'm not used to very sweet taste, I omitted the 200grams of granulated sugar, and it was as sweet as this beauty deserves.

Unsure what the Time would say but, if it helps, I used 340 g and it came out perfectly.

I loved making this cake. It was like a chemistry experiment watching the ingredients transform with the extended mixing. It was also very zen. The patience was well worth the time and effort. I used my own personal gluten-free flour mixture which is a 3 to 1 ratio of chickpea flour to tapioca flour. It was very moist and had a delicious flavor. Making this recipe has influenced how I make other baked goods now.

This cake was so dense and moist and flavorful - and it actually got better each day! I took the advice to leave out the granulated sugar. And, I used a bundt pan with a complex design so I used melted butter dusted with lots of raw sugar - I was worried it would stick but it came out perfectly. Definitely recommend! It would be great with fresh whipped cream and pears.

I've had good luck preparing my heavy but very ornate bundt pan with a pastry brush, and very soft, almost melted unsalted butter, generously coating the pan, then place in freezer until the butter coating is hard. Then, as quickly as possible, applying a second coat, and placing pan in the fridge until just before ready to fill. The double coating of butter seems to do the trick. Once out of the oven, I follow recipe instructions re time to cool before releasing the cake.

I am so disappointed that my cooking idol, Melissa Clark, has not read the questions about the flour measurement in the notes and come to the assistance of her cooking public--unless I missed it in the many notes. I am going with 2 cups, because measured by fluff and spoon, 2 cups are 240 grams, and I am going to assume that the 340 gram measurement is a typo. (Also, the Gramercy Tavern Gingerbread with Stout uses 2 cups in an almost identical recipe.)

This is absolutely delicious but you'll need to a) spray the heck out of the bundt pan with canola baking spray or similar and leave off the dusting with sugar in order to get this cake to come out of the pan cleanly, and b) bake it longer than is called for. (And yes, use the weight of flour given in the recipe, not the volume.) I had to bake this for almost twice as long as the recipe stated in a relatively new oven. It benefits from a day or two on the counter wrapped in foil.

I agree that 240 grams flour produces a thin batter. Added another 100 grams when seeing this result, making a total of 340 grams AP flour. The result was PERFECTION! Other changes: added 1/4 t ground cardamom and only used 1/2 c granulated sugar. Split recipe between 3 aluminum loaf pans. Baked 60 min. Cooled for 15 min as recipe states and they all released perfectly! This recipe is absolutely one of my go-to recipes from now on. Moist, great crumb, nice tooth. Thank you NYTimes Cooking!!

As a follow-on to my earlier note (today). For the first time I used the weight measurement for the flour — 240g (on high tech scale). I thought it was too little, but went through with the recipe. End result: had to bake 30 mins longer for a total of 95 minutes just until skewer came out clean. Crust smelled/tasted burnt. Edible, but texture not as good as previous versions. USE THE 2C MEASUREMENT for flour, NOT 240g. I have made this cake half a dozen times and this was my first fail.

I was looking forward to this, but I have to admit to being a little disappointed. I felt the molasses flavor really overwhelmed everything else. I probably will try it again with half as much molasses, maybe substituting with Maple Syrup, (Vermonter here!) which is less intense. I also found it was too much batter for my Bundt pan. And it took at least 15 minutes longer to bake. I followed directions exactly, including weighing all ingredients.

Made this 2 days ago as written now (240g flour), cooked for 70 minutes then left it in the pan too long and it split through the equator coming out of the pan. Sugar was burnt, but there was also an undercooked area throughout the middle. After combing through the recipe notes and looking at other Bundt recipes, I remade it the next day. The second time I increased flour to 340g, turned my oven temp down to 335 which actually registered 350 on the thermometer. It turned out perfectly.

Have made this multiple times and the entire family loves it but it has stuck to the pan in varying degrees every single time (live at high altitude - 7500 ft). None of the tips for greasing the pan have worked for me. Has anyone tried baking this in a tube pan (non-removable bottom)? I do not want to give up the sugar coating; we love that!

Would not recommend. I made this for a St Patrick's Day dinner party. I'm an experienced baker, weighed my ingredients, followed the recipe exactly. Had to cook it 20 minutes longer than normal as it was still uncooked after an hour and when I finally removed it from the Bundt pan it came out in chunks. It was quite tasty but I could not serve it as intended.

Demerara sugar and bundt pan made a satisfying thin chewy crust. High altitude baking adjustments for 4300 feet: added 4 T flour, 2 T water, reduced sugar to 1/2 C granulated and 1/2 C brown sugar. This made the interior crumb turn out just like the photo. Lovely contrasting textures.

A delicious, moist cake with subtle flavors. I followed the recipe exactly but used a 9x13 pan instead of a Bundt pan. Baked about 45 minutes (I monitored it carefully near the end — it’s so moist that it won’t bounce back as much as other cakes when you touch the top, so use a toothpick). Iced with cream cheese icing, as another cook here suggested — a nice addition. It does seem like a lot of sugar in the batter, but the cake itself was not overly sweet.

I’ve made this cake three times and every time it’s extremely delicious. I usually add a lemon glaze to it. Adds a nice sharpness. The handwringing about the flour is a little silly. Just use two cups flour, 1 cup sugar, etc. Follow the directions as written, and don’t worry about weighing. Butter and sugar the inside of your pan thoroughly. It’ll come out perfect.

Made with 340g flour and 100g white sugar. Turned out great!

Simply splendid.

I was so freaked out about all of the comments about sticking, I almost didn’t make this. But I persevered and made it EXACTLY according to Melissa’s excellent instructions, and it popped right put of my cheap, 30-year-old bundt pan. And it was incredible, and was the hit of our Christmas Eve dinner. Fabulous, perfect recipe. Trust Melissa, not the comments.

This cake is incredible and a household favorite. The changes I made are:1. 1/2 cup of granulated sugar 2. 1/4 tsp of cardamom 3. 1/2 tbsp of vanilla4. 2 heaping cups of flour5. 1/2 tsp of saltI heavily buttered my oddly shaped Bundt pan and added the Demerara sugar to get that yummy sticky toffee flavor. I got very minimal sticking, likely to not being gentle enough!

Made for Christmas dessert- the spices were so warming and perfect for the holiday! I didn’t have Demerara sugar so I went with turbinado, which worked just as well, and is a must to get that caramelized crunch on the outside. Served it with fresh mint leaves as a garnish which worked great as a Christmas decoration and a cool, contrasting flavor to the rich spice.

I was so looking forward to this recipe given its 5 star reviews and the fact that I LOVE gingerbread. I followed the recipe exactly (using the weighted measurements) and it came out horribly, in terms of flavor and texture (burnt on the bottom and uncooked at the top). I saw other notes later that you’re supposed to put 340 not 240 grams of flour?? Perhaps the author needs to adjust the recipe so she doesn’t ruin another Xmas dessert…

Used 350 g flour and grated two tablespoons fresh ginger and 1 tbsp jarred for first try. Used paddle attachment not whisk and was excellent

Nope, this is not a good recipe. Impossible to get out of the pan. Tastes burnt at first and then tastes only like raw ginger, it totally overpowers all the other spices. Texture is nice but it’s not nice enough to redeem this cake. Not interested in trying this again.