Armenian Gingerbread Cake Recipe

Armenian Gingerbread Cake

To avoid any confusion there is nothing Armenian about this cake.

In case you are not familiar with Armenian Cake, it is like an upside down crumb cake. The crumbs are at the bottom, giving the cake a crunchy base. It’s not just the crumbs that make this cake unique, actually there’s nothing unique about crumbs. What is unique is the process of making the cake. You make only one batter, use half for the crumbly base and add milk and other ingredients to the other half to get the cakey top. It’s a nice shortcut approach. 

Something else unique about Armenian Cake is that it is not from Armenia, but from Australia. Why it is called Armenian Cake remains a mystery. The story is no different from Afghan Cookies which are from New Zealand, not Afghanistan. And Mars bars is not from Mars. Analogy taken too far I think. 

Armenian Cake is usually made with nutmeg. I replaced nutmeg with ginger and cinnamon to make the gingerbread version. 

Armenian Gingerbread Cake

Recipe adopted from my earlier recipe for Armenian Cake

Ingredients

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

125 g butter

1½ cups brown sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon molasses

¾ cup milk

½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 tablespoons fresh ginger (or 2 teaspoons dried ground ginger)

Directions

1. Mix flour, baking powder, salt, butter and sugar until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Either use your fingers or food processor
2. Press ½ the mixture into a greased 20cm baking tin 
3. In a bowl beat egg. Add milk, molasses, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and ginger and mix well.
4. Add this liquid to second half of the flour mixture.
5. Mix well and pour on top of mixture in the baking tin.
6. Bake at 180°C/360°C until done, about 40-45 minutes

Armenian Gingerbread Cake

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