Lemon-Kissed Gingerbread Bundt for an Icelandic Christmas Tradition #SundayFunday

This weekend the Sunday Funday bloggers are sharing baked holiday goodies, both sweet and savory. And while I would normally lean savory, I really wanted to share a bundt cake that I made for my annual girls' holiday gathering. One of my best girlfriends declared: This tastes like Christmas!

Stacy of Food Lust People Love, Sue of Palatable Pastime, Rebekah of Making Miracles, and Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm coordinate this low-stress group; we only participate when we are inspired. I was very inspired by Mayuri's prompt. Here's the line-up of holiday baked goods recipes...

• Baked Nevri / Neouri / Nevreos / Sweet Puffs by Sneha's Recipe

• Chocolate Chip Pie by A Day in the Life on the Farm

• Czech Christmas Bread (Vánočka) by Karen's Kitchen Stories

• Holly Jolly Triple Chocolate Cookies by Amy's Cooking Adventures

• Iced Eggnog Chewy Spice Cookies by Faith, Hope, Love & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice

• Lemon-Kissed Gingerbread Bundt by Culinary Cam (you're here)

• Krestkransjes, Dutch Christmas Cookies by Mayuri's Jikoni

• Russian Tea Biscuits (not cookies) by Palatable Pastime

Jólabókaflóð

Jólabókaflóð is an Icelandic tradition that translates to 'Christmas book flood.' Back in 2019, I read about Jólabókaflóð and was immediately enamored. My inner bookworm wiggled with glee and I sent off an email to my girlfriends suggesting that we have one as our annual girls' holiday party. In case you haven't heard of it, Jólabókaflóð is the Icelandic tradition of giving, receiving, and then reading books and eating chocolates on Christmas Eve. I hosted our first one that year - then the pandemic happened - and we didn't get together again for years. Literally years. I think this one, v.2023, is our third edition.

It's a perfect holiday tradition for us book-loving introverts. And I so grateful to have had these ladies in my life since I was thirteen years old. And I always leave with even more book recommendations for the coming weeks. But this post is really about the cake!

Gingerbread and Lemon

Gingerbread + lemon = culinary bliss. At least in my world. And I pair them together a lot. Take a look at my Olive Oil Gingerbread with Lemon-Ginger Curd (pictured above), Bourbon Gingerbread with Lemon Curd, and Mrs. Coughran's Southern Gingerbread with Lemon Sauce that actually launched this little obsession of mine.

For this cake, I decided to included bits of candied ginger and lemon peel and to top it with a cream cheese frosting. Here's how to candy citrus peel.

Lemon-Kissed Gingerbread Bundt

• 1-1/2 cups flour

• 3 Tablespoons organic granulated sugar

• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

• 6 Tablespoons butter, melted

• 1/2 cup molasses

• 3 Tablespoons hot water

• 1 egg

• 2/3 cup sour cream

• 1/3 cup chopped candied ginger

• 1/3 cup chopped candied lemon peel plus more for serving

• Also needed: bundt pan, powdered sugar

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 2/3 cup butter, softened

• 3/4 cup cream cheese

• 1-1/4 cup organic powdered sugar

• juice from one organic lemon (I used a Meyer lemon)

Procedure

Lemon-Kissed Gingerbread Bundt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter bundt pan and set aside.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and spices. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the butter, molasses, hot water, egg, and sour cream until smooth and combined. Add in the dry ingredients and stir until just moistened. Fold in the candied ginger and candied lemon peel.

Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 5 minutes before inverting and letting cool completely on a wire rack.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Place all of the ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Beat until well combined and smooth. Once the cake is completely cool, add a generous pile to the top and smooth it evenly with a butter knife. Before serving, dust with powdered sugar and dot the top with more candied lemon peel.

I sliced this up and brought it for our Jólabókaflóð dessert along with Macadamia Nut Butter Cookies, Soft and Chewy Hachiya Cookies, and a Passionfruit Thumbprint Cookie (that recipe will be coming shortly!).

That's a wrap for my #SundayFunday offering this week. The group will be back next week with recipes from Madagascar with a tie-in to #EattheWorld and #MoviesandMunchies.