Want a delicious, aromatic, unique yet familiar confection to celebrate the holidays? We’ve got a recipe for you to tuck in your back pocket. James Beard Award-winning cookbook author and columnist for The New York Times Magazine, Dorie Greenspan, just authored a new cookbook, Dorie’s Anytime Cakes. Among the gorgeous gateaus is a fragrant, delicious gingerbread that can come together in your cast iron.
To make this gingerbread cake, you’ll need some simple equipment that’s already in your cookware cabinet. “While I love how this cake looks made in a cast-iron skillet,” Greenspan writes, “it will bake nicely in a 9-inch springform pan. Watch the baking time; it will need between 40 and 45 minutes in the oven — start testing at the 40-minute mark.”
Greenspan also offers notes on the ginger itself, which may need just a bit of special treatment: “A word on the crystallized sugar: Like all dried fruit, crystallized ginger can harden, and hard fruit is unpleasant. To soften the ginger if it’s tough, soak it in very hot water for a minute, then drain and pat dry.”
Lastly, Greenspan has some crucial words of wisdom on optional toppings for the dish: “I’m crazy about the crunch you get when you double sugar under Swedish or pearl sugar. It’s a wonderful touch, but an extra one — the cake is fine left plain or dusted with confectioners’ sugar just before serving.” Her advice is a reminder that sometimes the simplest finish — or none at all — lets the cake’s tender charm shine through.
Baked-in-a-Skillet Gingerbread Recipe
Makes about 12 servings
Ingredients
- 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (288 grams) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (68 grams) whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves (or freshly grated nutmeg)
- ⅔ cup (133 grams) sugar
- ⅓ cup (67 grams) brown sugar
- 5 tablespoons (2½ ounces; 70 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) neutral oil
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) unsulfured molasses
- ¾ cup (160 ml) apple butter, plain or spiced
- ¼ cup (60 ml) full-fat buttermilk (well shaken before measuring), at room temperature
- ⅓ cup (45 grams) finely chopped crystallized ginger (see above)
- About 2 tablespoons sanding or turbinado sugar for topping (optional)
- About 3 tablespoons Swedish pearl sugar for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Coat a 10-inch cast-iron skillet with baker’s or cooking spray. If you don’t have a skillet, use a 9-inch springform pan.
- Whisk the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.
- Working in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the granulated and brown sugars together with the butter at medium speed for about 3 minutes — you’ll have a pasty mixture.
- Pour in the oil and beat for another 2 minutes — the batter will thin out and become creamy. (Don’t wash the measuring cup — use it for the molasses. The oily slick that’s left in the cup will help the molasses slide out easily.)
- Scrape the bowl and beater(s) now and again — this is sticky business. Add the egg and beat for a minute.
- With the mixer on low, beat in the molasses, followed by the apple butter and another scraping.
- Add half the flour mixture and mix until it just disappears into the batter.
- Blend in the buttermilk, followed by the remainder of the dry ingredients.
- When they’re almost incorporated, mix in the ginger. You’ll have a thick, fragrant batter — take a beat to enjoy the aroma.
- Scrape it into the pan, nudging it into the corners and smoothing the top.
- Sprinkle over the sanding or turbinado sugar and then top with the pearl sugar, if you’re using these (and I hope you do).
- Bake for 43 to 48 minutes (if you’ve used a springform, start checking after 40 minutes), or until the top of the gingerbread is uniformly puffed all the way to the middle, the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan with a gentle tug and, most important, a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Transfer the skillet to a rack and let the cake cool until it’s just warm or has reached room temperature before cutting.
Recipe from Dorie’s Anytime Cakes by Dorie Greenspan. Copyright 2025 by Dorie Greenspan. Used with permission by Harvest, an imprint of HarperCollins. All rights reserved. Illustrations by Nancy Pappas.
