Chocolate-Ginger Cake with Bourbon Sauce

Preparation

1. Step 1

   Preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter a 9-inch Bundt pan. Dust with cocoa powder, and tap out excess; set aside. Put the butter, molasses, brown sugar, and 1/4 cup water in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the butter has melted. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Let cool 5 minutes.

   Step 2

   Add the eggs, milk, and grated ginger to the molasses mixture; whisk to combine. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, and cinnamon into a medium bowl.

   Step 3

   Gently fold the flour mixture into the molasses mixture until just combined. (There should be lumps remaining.) Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let the cake cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.

   Step 4

   Invert the cake, and unmold onto a cake stand or a large serving platter. Using a spoon, drizzle the warm bourbon sauce over the cake in a back-and-forth motion. Serve immediately.

2. Bourbon Sauce

   Step 5

   Put the butter, egg yolks, brown sugar, vanilla, and bourbon in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture registers 160°F on a candy thermometer, about 7 minutes.