Gingersnap Pudding Cake

Sweet warm spices, like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice give this and many other baked goods their unmistakable aroma. I toasted the ground spices in a frying pan for a more complex flavor. I had leftover gingersnaps so I put them to good use by making this Gingersnap Pudding Cake. I used a soufflé dish but you can also use a pudding mold with a cover if you have one, I wish I did. This moist pudding cake looks and tastes like Fall should.

Serves: 8
Prep Time: 20-30 minutes
Bake Time: 1 hour and 30-45 minutes

1 ¼ cups crushed gingersnaps, divided use
1 cup ladyfinger crumbs
6 large eggs
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup confectioners sugar (powdered sugar), sifted
1 lemon, coarsely grated zest
1 orange, coarsely grated zest
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
⅛ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
⅓ cup granulated sugar
½ cup seedless raisins (I used Thompson’s)
Whipped Cream for garnish

Preheat oven to 350° F. Bring a teakettle of water to a boil.

1. In a 2 quart soufflé dish, generously coat with cooking spray and coat with ¼ cup of the crushed gingersnaps. Set the soufflé dish on a kitchen towel in a deep baking pan.
2. In a small bowl, mix the remaining crushed gingersnaps and the ladyfinger crumbs together. Set aside.
3. Separate the eggs. Set aside.
4. In a stand up mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, confectioner’s sugar, lemon zest, orange zest, and spices on medium speed until light in texture and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
5. Add the egg yolk in 2 or 3 additions, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula after each addition and mixing until very smooth, about 2 minutes more.
6.  Add half of the crumb mixture to the butter mixture and blend on low speed until evenly mixed.
7. In a clean bowl of a stand up mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites on low speed until frothy. Increase the speed to medium and gradually add the granulated sugar. Increase the speed to high and continue to whip until medium peaks form when the beater is lifted.
8.  Fold the remaining crumb mixture into the egg whites. Fold the egg white mixture into the butter mixture. Finally, fold in the raisins.
9. Spoon the batter into the prepared dish. Cover the dish with aluminum foil.
10. Place the souffle dish in the baking pan on a pulled-out rack in the oven.  Add enough boiling water to come halfway up the side of the mold, carefully slide in the rack, and bake until the pudding is puffy, the sides have begun to slightly pull away from the dish, and a skewer inserted near the center of the pudding only has a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Bake for about 1 hour and 30-45 minutes.
11. Cool on rack for 10 minutes, invert onto a serving plate.

Serve: warm or at room temperature, garnished with whip cream.

RESOURCE LINKS:

Soufflé Dish:

Vegetable Peeler:

WMF Serving Spoon: 

Gingersnap Pudding Cake