Comments on: Seattlest + Macrina = true love and ginger cake

By: Kristy

Kristy — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:16:49 +0000

hi, molly. made this cake last week and it was very surprising. my cake was not very sweet but dense and moist and earthy. i used plums and pears which frankly i should have waited for a better season. i think this cake really relies on ripe fruit to sweeten it. this cake screams fall, not spring. that said i took it to work and everyone had two pieces.

By: Nicole

Nicole — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 19:00:54 +0000

Aloha Molly! Just received your book from my best friend (another foodie) for my birthday. Love it and love the recipes (still struggling with the bouchons though). BUT THIS CAKE is amazing. First off, I don't bake. Second, I am (currently) obsessed with fresh ginger, and have a lifetime obsession with pears. It's not pear season so I topped this wonderful creation with homemade mango, ginger, mint sorbet. My mouth has never been so happy with anything I baked before! Can't wait for pear season, but this will be on our table for many, many more meals in the future.
Mahalo!

By: Molly

Molly — Sun, 12 Feb 2006 07:21:00 +0000

Hmm, Wren, I’m not sure what to tell you. That <>is<> very strange! My first inclination is to check your oven temperature. Do you have an oven thermometer? If not, you can buy one very cheaply at almost any drugstore or grocery store. Most ovens, when preheated, are not actually the temperature you have set them to be. I always check the thermometer before I put anything in the oven, because more often than not, mine tends to run about 25 degrees too hot. It sounds as though yours may be running on the cool side. If you already have an oven thermometer, though, and your oven was running as set, I hardly know what to say. Hmph! I don’t know of any more complicated or nuanced reason why you should have wound up with a volcanic cake. I hope this helps…

By: Wren

Wren — Sat, 11 Feb 2006 14:22:00 +0000

The taste was divine, the outside perfect, but I don’t think it was supposed to “flow” from the inside like a molten volcano cake. How can I put a cake in an oven for two hours and still have it come out unbaked? Any insight you could provide would be greatly appreciated. Chemistry was never my strong suite.

By: Molly

Molly — Mon, 05 Dec 2005 02:27:00 +0000

Margrocks, your apple version looks delicious, and it sounds as though it tasted pretty darn good too. I tried to leave a comment on your post--too funny, and too sweet, m'dear!--but Blogger was being difficult. <>Grrrr.<>And Anne, I'm so glad that you made and enjoyed the cake. Your photo of it is lovely! You're right--it <>is<> essentially a gingerbread, but the fresh ginger (as opposed to ground) makes it a little more spicy and sophisticated, I think.

By: Anne

Anne — Sun, 04 Dec 2005 05:47:00 +0000

Hi Molly! I made this a little while ago, and it worked out perfectly! Tasted just like gingerbread – but with pears – and that was a big (pleasant!) surprise for me 🙂

By: margrocks

margrocks — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 20:50:00 +0000

thanks, molly. here’s my version of your cake. hope you had a happy thanksgiving! http://sizeate.blogspot.com/2005/12/how-ya-like-them-apples.html

By: Molly

Molly — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 20:42:00 +0000

Ed, thanks so much for giving the cake a go--and for reporting back so favorably! If you want more Macrina, you should look into < HREF="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1570613729/qid=1133383271/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-6466831-7339012?n=507846&s=books&v=glance" REL="nofollow">Leslie Mackie's Macrina Bakery and Cafe Cookbook<>. Pretty luscious stuff...

By: Ed

Ed — Mon, 28 Nov 2005 16:09:00 +0000

another “thank you for posting this recipe”…made this with small Bartletts from the Hollywood Farmer’s Market and brought it to Thanksgiving dinner. It was delicious…a huge hit. That Macrina might be worth a special trip to SF.

By: Molly

Molly — Sat, 26 Nov 2005 22:20:00 +0000

Bess, I'm glad to hear that you've already been brought under the spell of Shirley Corriher. She's fantastic, even if so much information <>does<> complicate things sometimes! I made her Touch of Grace Biscuits for the third Thanksgiving in a row this year, and they blew me away, as always. I hope this Macrina cake did the same for you.And yc, thank <>you<> for trying this cake--and for writing to tell me about your success! I'm honored to know that somewhere in the Bay Area, a Macrina cake was lovingly made and devoured. It's this sort of thing that makes Orangette so rewarding for me, and such a great adventure.