I’ve been a lover of molasses and gingerbread recipes as long as I can remember. Today’s gluten-free Molasses Pudding Cake is basically a gluten-free molasses cake in “pudding cake” form.
It’s almost gingerbread in its taste but not quite. The molasses flavor actually dominates in this recipe—more so than ginger—and that’s just fine.
This recipe is like so many of my gfe recipes in that it took a while to come to fruition and when I made it, the results were not as I had anticipated. Nope, not at all … they were so much better.
I was aiming for a grain-free version of a more traditional molasses cake and what I got was a Molasses Pudding Cake. And I got it without the usual “fuss” that comes with making a pudding cake. If you like molasses, gingerbread, and pudding cake, you are going to really enjoy this cake!
I Took Great Pleasure in Eating the First Piece Right Out of the Middle!
The Back Story—Gluten-Free Molasses Pudding Cake Inspiration from The Kitchen House
A few years back I listened to The Kitchen House, a historical novel that tells the story of a dysfunctional Southern family and enslaved people. It’s an eye-opening “listen”/”read” about the times, although it’s not a cheerful book by any means.
I’m a big fan of audio books. (Audible is a great source (referral link).) If I’m in the car alone, I’m listening to an audio book. If Mr. GFE is with me and pops into the post office to check for mail in our P.O. box, I don’t just wait for him. I listen to my audio book du jour while I wait. Any time spent in the car with an audio book is time to take a break from the real life and take a little journey so to speak. But I digress.
At the end of her New York Times bestseller The Kitchen House, author Kathleen Grissom said the following about her novel’s main character, Belle, and one of her favorite baked goods. “Whenever Belle baked a molasses cake, I craved a taste. I did try several old recipes that I found, but I was unsatisfied with the results. So, using the old recipes as a baseline, my daughter, Erin, and I created our own version of a simple yet moist and tasty molasses cake. I am happy to share it with the readers.”
As soon as I read their recipe, I knew I wanted to make a gluten-free—and slightly different— version, so I copied the recipe down and tucked it away for later. I came across it again recently when moving furniture around and decluttering before friends arrived from out of state. But as I was quite busy, of course, I set it aside with the thought that I’d make it soon.
Then we visited one of our local historical attractions, Kenmore, with these same friends soon after they arrived. Kenmore was the home of George Washington’s sister, Betty Washington Lewis, and her husband, Fielding Lewis.
View of Kenmore House from Gardens (photo from Kenmore.org)
I’ve toured Kenmore many times. It’s always been a favorite destination of mine. Built in the 1770s, it’s an absolutely gorgeous home with an interesting history. The restoration of the home to the period when the Lewises lived there is incredible. Every visit yields a slightly different view of the home as well as the Lewis and Washington families themselves as Kenmore’s historians are always uncovering more information and restoring (or re-creating) another part—or furnishing—of the home.
When I first started visiting Kenmore many years ago, gingerbread was served in the kitchen. The gingerbread served was made using the recipe of George Washington’s mother, Mary Washington Ball. It emphasized molasses and also included orange juice and orange zest. While Mary Washington’s gingerbread has not been served at Kenmore in a very long time, there is a display in the museum that discusses her well-loved recipe. You can even buy gingerbread mix to make her recipe.
Mount Vernon is another beautiful and fascinating home that figures prominently in the Washington family history. It is the home that George’s father built in 1735. George first leased Mount Vernon from an older brother and then later inherited it. It was slowly transformed from a simple farmhouse to a mansion over the course of his lifetime. Mount Vernon is about an hour north of Fredericksburg, near Alexandria, Virginia.
It’s Mount Vernon’s website that actually shares George’s mother’s gingerbread recipe. Mary is said to have served her recipe to the Marquis de Lafayette when he visited her home in Fredericksburg toward the end of her life. From that point on, it is said that it was called Lafayette Gingerbread in honor of the beloved French general. I’m certain you could easily convert Mary’s original recipe to be gluten free simply by substituting gluten-free flour mix for the all-purpose flour.
Of course, as soon as I saw the mention of Mary’s gingerbread at Kenmore, I knew it was time to make my own version of the Molasses Cake shared in The Kitchen House. My version, Molasses Pudding Cake, is gluten free, grain free, and dairy free, and full of that rich molasses taste with a bit of “gingerbread” flavoring. While there are no steps or ingredients that you would expect to create a “pudding factor,” it’s there!
The very outer edges of this cake offer a bit of delightful chewiness, but the rest of this cake melts in your mouth. The coconut oil plays a large part in that, creating the pudding effect (when combined with the molasses) and, hence, the simple lusciousness of this dessert. Trust me … it’s wonderful! I like mine with a little milk on top, but I wouldn’t turn down a dollop of Honey Whipped Cream either.
You’ll find the recipe at the bottom of this post, but here are:
Some More Gluten-Free Molasses Recipes
~ Big and Soft Paleo Molasses Ginger Cookies from Allergy Free Alaska
~ Molasses Banana Bread from Gluten Free Easily (me)
~ Molasses Bread from Gluten Free Gobsmacked
Gluten-Free Molasses Bread from Gluten-Free Gobsmacked
~ Molasses Spice Cookies from Elana’s Pantry
Gluten-Free Molasses Spice Cookies from Elana’s Pantry
~ Soft Molasses Cookies from Nourishing Meals
Soft Molasses Cookies from Nourishing Meals
Looking for even more molasses, ginger, and gingerbread recipes? Here are 120 Gluten-Free Ginger and Gingerbread Dessert Recipes.
Sampling of Gluten-Free Ginger & Gingerbread Dessert Recipes
Gluten-Free Molasses Pudding Cake Recipe
Follow My Lead and Eat The Piece Right Out of the Middle!
Gluten-Free Molasses Pudding Cake
A gluten-free Molasses Pudding Cake that melts in your mouth. Top with milk or whipped cream if you wish.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup coconut oil (see notes for measurement and substitution info; I use this brand)
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar (or packed brown sugar)
- 1 egg
- ½ cup dairy-free milk (or dairy milk; I used cashew milk)
- 1 cup molasses
- 2 cups blanched almond flour (use Honeyville or a similar finely ground almond flour, not Bob’s Red Mill, which is almond meal)
- 1 tbsp coconut flour, sifted (I use this brand)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch (1/8 tsp) ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Grease an 8 x 8 baking dish.
- In a large bowl, cream the coconut oil and coconut sugar.
- Beat in the egg. Add milk and molasses, stirring well.
- Add the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and sea salt, beating well.
- Pour batter into the greased baking dish.
- Bake for about 40 to 45 minutes. Test for doneness with a toothpick.
- Let cool a bit before spooning into a bowl.
- Top with milk or whipped cream if desired.
Notes
Inspired by Simple Molasses Cake recipe in Kathleen Grissom’s The Kitchen House
My coconut oil was semi-soft when I measured it. Either solidified (but spoonable) or liquefied coconut oil should work fine. You might find that you can cut back on the amount of coconut oil per your own personal preferences. This Molasses Pudding Cake does not taste of coconut at all, but the coconut flavor may be stronger if you use coconut milk as your milk of choice. I don’t think that would be a bad thing though!
Softened butter could be substituted for the coconut oil, but it will likely change the flavor and the texture of this cake some.
I *think* that an egg substitute (such as commercial egg replacer, a flax gel egg, or a chia gel egg) would work in this recipe, but I haven’t yet made it using one.
Jenny Siegal says
I really want to make this but i cant eat nuts, could i sub. 1 c gf flour mix? add xanthum powder or starch? Or baking powder-soda? Any suggestion would be great!
Shirley says
Hi Jenny–Welcome to gfe! 🙂 You can certainly make a nut-free version, I’m just not sure if you’ll get the same pudding cake factor with that version. I think you’ll get a nice molasses cake though and, hopefully, you’ll get it on the first try. I’d recommend replacing the 2 cups of almond flour with 2 cups of gluten-free all-purpose flour. You should not have to add xanthan gum (if you’re going for the pudding cake consistency), any additional starch, or baking powder (or more baking soda). Let us know how that version turns out and I can probably help you tweak it more if needed.
Good luck!
Shirley
Cassidy @ Cassidy's Craveable Creations says
Oh this looks great Shirley! I will have to make this for sure!!!
Shirley says
Hi Cassidy–Thanks, dear! I hope you and your family enjoy it when you make it. 🙂
xo,
Shirley
Nancy says
Wow does this sound yummy! If I hadn’t just pulled a lemon cake out of the oven, I would be whipping this up today! Will definitely be making soon though. I love the deep, mellow sweetness of molasses. Enjoyed “the back story” also.
Shirley says
Hi Nancy–This cake made me very happy, especially with the surprise pudding factor. 😉 Like you, molasses is a favorite ingredient of mine. 🙂 Lemon cake sounds wonderful as well though. Thanks for all the lovely feedback and I really appreciate you sharing my post elsewhere!
Shirley
Ina Gawne says
Ohhh Shirley this sounds scrumptious! I love molasses and anything ginger. It would be great with your honey whipped cream – yumm!
Shirley says
Ina–You gotta love molasses and ginger, right? A match made in heaven. 🙂 And, now I’m truly imagining this cake topped with my honey whipped cream. That would be sooo good!
Thanks for stopping by, dear!
Shirley
Megan Ancheta | Allergy Free Alaska says
This sounds so tempting, Shirley! Love how you took the coveted middle piece! HA! Totally something I would do! Or if it were brownies, I’d eat the entire outside crust and leave the middle to the rest of the fam. 😉 Thanks for sharing my Molasses Ginger cookies!
xoxo,
Megan
Shirley says
Megan–Typically, I’m an outside crust girl myself, but that middle indentation created a perfect sized piece of gooey goodness! 😉 It was my pleasure to share those delightful cookies of yours. That’s one of my very favorite photos of yours because of the pairing of the gorgeous cookies and the beautiful Christmas ornament. 🙂
xoxo,
Shirley
Linda says
I was thrilled to see that this is a grain-free recipe. I know I would enjoy it. I’m not a huge fan of ginger, but I like it occasionally, and I love the flavor of molasses in baked goods.
Shirley says
Linda–In hindsight, I should have labeled this recipe grain free I suppose. 😉 It was definitely my goal to make it grain free and the lack of grains contributed to the pudding factor. I think a version made with gluten-free grain-full flour mix will yield a more traditional cake. I do like ginger quite a bit, but sometimes it can be a bit much. I think the ginger flavor is just right in this recipe. 🙂
Shirley
Linda D. says
“Sorry, middle piece taken” pic is brilliant. Made me howl. And your recipe looks fantastic, Shirley!
Shirley says
Hey Linda–Just clicked over to comments on this post because there was a new one and discovered this comments to which I hadn’t replied. Darn, I hate it when that happens. 🙁
So glad I gave you a good laugh, dear! 😉 Thanks for the kind words on the recipe as well. Just thinking about this cake makes me want to make it again!
Shirley
Vicki Montague - The Free From Fairy says
Oh wow! What can I say? That looks so good to eat I am drooling all over my keyboard! I must go and make some lunch!!!
Shirley says
Hi Vicki–Thanks so much, dear! I have to confess that this cake is definitely droolworthy! 🙂
Shirley
Audrey @ Unconventional Baker says
Beautiful cake, Shirley, and I love a dessert with a good bit of history 🙂 Thank you for sharing.
Shirley says
Thank you, Audrey. My recipes often have a history! 😉
Shirley
April J Harris says
Love food with a history like this! I really enjoyed this post – and your Molasses Pudding Cake looks delicious!
Shirley says
I appreciate your kind words, April, as well as all your sharing! 🙂
Shirley
Kalinda says
A little late here (I was on vacation and not really paying attention to my blogs) but removing that perfect square in the middle was just too funny. Mike and his siblings have been known to cut brownie pieces out of the middle of the pan “to test that it’s fully baked.” I’m sure you were just testing too. 😉
Shirley says
Kalinda–Vacation always trumps commenting on blogs and blogs in general, of course. Hope it was a great one! It seems my “cherry-picking” behavior is cracking up and/or appealing to everyone. 😉 Yes, I’m with your hubby and his siblings on this subject. Hehe!
Shirley
Raia says
Oh, I love molasses. This sounds delicious! Thanks so much for sharing it with us at Savoring Saturdays, Shirley! 🙂 Hope to see you back this weekend!
Shirley says
Thanks, Raia! It’s a tasty treat for sure. I can still “taste it” just thinking about it. 😉 I’m away this weekend, but I’m sure I’ll link up again in the future!
Shirley
April J Harris says
Shirley, I so enjoyed this post! I’m a big history buff, and, not surprisingly, I particularly like the foodie side of history. I loved reading about Mount Vernon and Kenmore House. I’m also a big fan of molasses and ginger so I love your recipe too! Your Pudding Cake looks delicious. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful post with us at Hearth and Soul.