The Tenor Chef

Today’s bake is a unique and delicious cake, and I don’t think I’ve ever had one quite like it: ’s Grandma Gruen’s Molasses Cake!

At first glance, this appears to be a chocolate cake with a chocolate glaze. But there is actually no chocolate in the cake itself! It’s a rich and moist molasses cake (and the molasses flavor is perfectly intense from the blackstrap variety) spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. The fat in the cake batter is vegetable shortening, which is also quite unique! The glaze is pure chocolatey goodness—think the glaze on a chocolate-glazed yeasted donut. It’s the kind of glaze that hardens a little bit as it sets, so nostalgic and yummy! The cake is served with a dollop of orange-scented whipped cream (which truly does make it a little bit extra). Grandma Gruen ate with this one!