Gingerbread Mini Bundts

Today, we mainly associate “gingerbread” with intricately decorated cookies, from little people to whole houses. Which is fair, gingerbread cookies are (when they’re made correctly) delicious, whimsical, and have been around for millennia! But that’s not the only form gingerbread takes, traditionally speaking. For centuries now, gingerbread has also been a kind of cake. A flavorful, spicy cake.

I’m a fan of both takes, but sometimes, I just don’t have it in me or straight up don’t have the time to do the cookies. No one can argue against how cutout cookies, regardless of which kind you make, take a long time from start to finish. Especially when the holidays roll around and the workload of parents everywhere triples, it helps to have quick and easy recipes in your back pocket to bring to the table. 

These bundts come together very quickly, and don’t require any specialty equipment. If you don’t have mini bundt pans (fair, that’s definitely not an average piece of bakeware), you can easily bake the batter in regular muffin tins or a loaf pan instead! They’re soft, fragrant, and delicate inside, with a crisp outside that almost feels like a doughnut with the sweet glaze coating every crevice. Plus, your home is going to smell absolutely incredible while they bake. If anything was ever going to make your home smell like the holiday season, these warm spice filled beauties are it. 

FAQs and Science

Can I use a lower fat milk or yogurt? 

I wouldn’t recommend it. Full fat dairy is used both for the flavor and the texture it gives the gingerbread. If you use a lower fat substitute, I can’t guarantee that it will come out as moist and delicious. 

I don’t have plain yogurt, can I substitute with anything? 

If you’ve already got a full fat sour cream or vanilla yogurt, go for it! I’m all about using what you’ve already got if you can.

I only have light brown sugar, can I use that instead? 

Yes, just add an extra Tablespoon of molasses as well to make up for it.

Is molasses measured in a liquid or dry measuring cup? 

Liquid measuring cup.

Is yogurt measured in a liquid or dry measuring cup? 

Dry measuring cup.

I don’t own mini bundt pans, what pan should I use instead? 

I’d recommend either turning these into muffins or baking it off in a loaf pan! The bake time in a muffin tin will be around the same, but if you’re baking in a loaf pan, count on it taking close to 45-60 minutes. You wont get all of the crevices that the mini bundts offer, but they’ll still be delicious.

What You’ll Need

• Mini bundt pans
• Nonstick baking spray
• Medium mixing bowl 
• Large mixing bowl
• Dry measuring cups
• Liquid measuring cup
• Measuring spoons
• Whisk
• Rubber spatula
• Sieve or sifter
• Spoon
• Cooling rack
• Baking sheet with rim

The Process

The Batter

Begin by making the batter. Preheat the oven to 350F, on the convection setting if possible, and prepare the pans. If your mini bundt pans are silicone, there’s no additional prep work needed. If they’re metal, either spray them with a nonstick baking spray or coat them with melted butter then dust them lightly with flour. I find that the more intricate the design in the pan, the better it is to choose the butter and flour method. Set your pans aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and allspice. I realize it’s tempting to skip this step, and to instead just dump the dry goods separately into the wet ingredients when the time comes. It’s crucial that you resist this urge, or you run the great risk of not having all of the dry ingredients evenly distributed. Take the 30 seconds to whisk, I’m begging you. Set this bowl aside.

In a large microwave safe mixing bowl, melt the butter. Whisk in the brown sugar, molasses, egg, milk, yogurt, and vanilla extract, until they’ve come together as a homogeneous mixture.

Dump the dry goods all at once into the wet mixture and, using a rubber spatula, stir the two together until a smooth batter forms. Only mix until all of the flour mixture disappears, though. Over mixing a batter can create too much gluten development, which makes for a tough cake. No one wants a tough cake.

Evenly distribute the batter between the mini bundts, around ¾ full, and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when poked in the center of the gingerbread, on the center rack of the oven. Flip the pans around halfway through baking.

 When they’ve finished baking, allow the mini bundts to rest in the pans for 5-10 minutes, or until they’re ready to come out without struggle. Gently remove them from the pans and transfer over to a cooling rack to finish coming down to room temperature.

The Glaze

Wait until the bundts have completely come down to room temperature, then mix the glaze. This way, the glaze wont completely melt off of the cake as it would with hot cakes. In a medium mixing bowl, sift the powdered sugar and salt together. Whisk in the vanilla and 3 Tablespoons of whole milk. If it feels too thick, add in another drop of milk and whisk the glaze once more. Cautiously repeat this process until the desired consistency is achieved.

Get the gingerbread ready to be glazed. Place the cooling rack the bundts are resting on onto a baking sheet with a rim. This will keep any excess glaze that drips off of the bundts contained, rather than making a widespread mess. Pour spoonfuls of glaze over the top of each bundt, coating as much of each bundt as you can access. 

Allow the glaze to completely set before serving up, and enjoy! Store any leftover bundts in an airtight container on the counter for up to 2 days.

Gingerbread Mini Bundts

Bake Time: 350F for 24 minutes
Servings: 6 mini bundts
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Prep Time: 40 Minutes

Ingredients

Batter:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• ½ teaspoon ground allspice
• 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• ½ cup dark brown sugar
• ½ cup molasses
• 1 large egg
• ½ cup whole milk
• ¼ cup full fat plain yogurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze:

• 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
• Pinch salt
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3-4 Tablespoons whole milk or water

Directions:

Batter:

1. Begin by making the batter. Preheat the oven to 350F, on the convection setting if possible, and prepare the pans. If your mini bundt pans are silicone, there’s no additional prep work needed. If they’re metal, either spray them with a nonstick baking spray or coat them with melted butter then dust them lightly with flour, as shown above. Set your pans aside.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and allspice. Set this bowl aside.
3. In a large microwave safe mixing bowl, melt the butter. Whisk in the brown sugar, molasses, egg, milk, yogurt, and vanilla extract, until they’ve come together as a homogeneous mixture.
4. Dump the dry goods all at once into the wet mixture and, using a rubber spatula, stir the two together until a smooth batter forms. 
5. Evenly distribute the batter between the mini bundts, around ¾ full, and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when poked in the center of the gingerbread, on the center rack of the oven. Flip the pans around halfway through baking.
6. When they’ve finished baking, allow the mini bundts to rest in the pans for 5-10 minutes, or until they’re ready to come out without struggle. Gently remove them from the pans and transfer over to a cooling rack to finish coming down to room temperature.

Glaze:

1. Wait until the bundts have completely come down to room temperature, then mix the glaze. In a medium mixing bowl, sift the powdered sugar and salt together. 
2. Whisk in the vanilla and 3 Tablespoons of whole milk. If it feels too thick (see reference photo above for desired consistency), add in another drop of milk and whisk the glaze once more. Cautiously repeat this process until the desired consistency is achieved.

Assembly:

1. Get the gingerbread ready to be glazed. Place the cooling rack the bundts are resting on onto a baking sheet with a rim. 
2. Pour spoonfuls of glaze over the top of each bundt, coating as much of each bundt as you can access. Allow the glaze to completely set before serving up, and enjoy! Store any leftover bundts in an airtight container on the counter for up to 2 days.

Tips

• If your bundt molds are silicone, place them on a baking sheet before baking in the oven. That will make for easy transference!
• If you don’t have mini bundt molds, instead bake this batter in either muffin tins or a 9×5 loaf pan. The bake time for muffins will be around the same as the mini bundts, but expect the loaf to take around 45-60 minutes. Keep a close eye!
• Use a pastry brush to coat the molds in melted butter. Typically, I’d recommend just rubbing the butter wrapper on the pan for this step, but because of all the crevices in a bundt, I’d strongly recommend melting a Tablespoon of butter in a small dish and brushing it on so you don’t miss anywhere.