The Best Molasses Cake

The best molasses cake that combines black coffee, pumpkin and molasses! ☕️

With the arrival of November I’m sharing our molasses cake recipe because there is one particular ingredient that I embrace…molasses. I love its rich flavor baked into my gingerbread cookie recipe or in more subtle ways like homemade barbecue sauce on our favorite fall pizza. Molasses is created from the boiling down of sugar cane or beet juice. The result is a flavorful syrup, dark in color and full with nutrients like calcium and iron. Sometimes the molasses is added back into the sugar to make what we know as brown sugar while other times, it is canned. You will start seeing jars of molasses lining the aisles of your grocer in preparation for the holidays and I couldn’t be more excited!

I’d like to introduce to you what I think is the best molasses cake that combines black coffee, pumpkin and molasses. Our family tops it with real whipped cream and savors it with hot drinks. Its outrageously moist, it’s dense and it has the perfect blend of sweet and spice. I think my eyes involuntarily close each time I eat it – It is that good. What I love most about this cake is that it is made with coconut oil and ground flax seed in place of eggs. Over the years I have altered the ingredients to fit into a larger 13×9 pan for family gatherings, but it never lasts long enough so my next goal is to figure out a way to make it even bigger 😉

Are you ready to make delicious molasses cake with me?

Come on in to my kitchen!

Instead of chicken eggs, this recipe includes flax eggs which serve as our binder. Flax eggs are super simple to make and give a yummy nutty flavor to the cake. For the equivalency of three eggs, combine 3 Tablespoons of ground flax seed and 1/3 cup water. Allow the mixture to set up for about five minutes while you preheat your oven to 350 degrees and move on to the next step.

In a medium size bowl, combine 3/4 cup brewed coffee (leftover coffee in the morning pot works great!) with 3/4 cup melted coconut oil and 3/4 cup molasses. Here I am using “Grandma’s” brand of unsulfured molasses, most commonly found in your grocery store. If you have any blackstrap molasses on hand, feel free to use that instead because it will give the cake an even more bold flavor! Next, stir in 1 1/4 cup dark brown sugar and set the bowl aside.

In a larger bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, 1 1/2 cups white flour, 3 teaspoons baking soda, 3 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 Tablespoon ground ginger and 3/4 teaspoon salt.

Pour your wet molasses mixture into your flour mixture and whisk until a batter forms. This cake is so easy to put together, isn’t it? Now it’s time to use those flax eggs that we set aside!

Into the batter, stir in your flax seed mixture and 3/4 cup pumpkin puree (canned or fresh) Thought I would capture a picture of the marble affect before it’s all combined. How appropriate for the colors of fall!

Pour the finished batter into a greased 13×9 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

The coconut oil in this cake will create a nice crust on top of the baked cake. Mine has a small dip in the center because I kept opening my oven to check the cake! The 8×8 version only took 25 minutes, but I knew this one would take longer.

I’m telling you, this homemade molasses cake is the best! Serve it warm or chilled with whipped cream, vanilla or cinnamon ice cream, chopped nuts, etc. and  serve with your favorite hot drink.

Welcome November and thank you molasses cake!

Enjoy!

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