I've been talking about making gingerbread for. . . almost a year now, if not longer. Maybe since my birthday last year, since that's when I got Nigella's Feast, which includes her recipe for chocolate gingerbread. There's just something about a dense, gingery cake which is so appealing to me. So finally, I got my molasses/treacle and ginger together and gave it a go.
I didn't make Nigella's chocolate version this time, because I wanted to see what plain ginger-bread would taste like. So it's missing that deep, dark loveliness of hers, but I'm still pleased with it. I baked it in a Fire King pan I got the other week for, like, two dollars. The board came from Sainsbury's (I brought it back with me in my suitcase -- I really like it!).
I'll have to spend more time perfecting the recipe. I'd like more than the 4.5 teaspoons of ginger I used -- maybe candied ginger would be a good addition. But it's pretty tasty, and goes very well with tea. The tea in that photo, by the way, is displaying what I would consider to be inbred-royalty levels of weakness. My milk hand must have slipped.
Gorgeous yummy looking
I will be making your pumpkin bread later. My Mum is here for a few days and has requested it!
I was so sorry to here about Jamal, we lost our beloved family dog Ben a few months ago. It's a horrid thing. At least you got to spend his last few weeks with him.
It's funny to come across your post this morning as I was planning to make gingerbread later today. Here's the recipe that I use. It makes a lovely dark loaf. I very much recommend it though I suspect you would prefer it with more giner than is called for.
Soft Gingerbread from Marion Cunningham's "The Breakfast Book"
1C sugar
1C dark molasses
1C vegetable oil
3 eggs
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2C all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1C boiling water
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and lightly flour the baking pan (I prefer to use three small loaf pans for this recipe).
Put sugar, molasses, oil, and eggs in a mixing bowl and beat until smooth. In another bowl, combine the salt, cloves, ginger, cinnamon, flour, and baking soda and stir with a fork until well mixed. Stir into the first mixture. Add the boiling water and beat briskly until smooth. This batter is thin. Pour into pan(s) and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Hey, really sorry to hear about Jamal. But Minnie is a cutie! Just been using your zipper tutorial again (you'd think after making five bags I might be able to do it without the tute - but no)
There's another good Nigella gingerbread recipe in 'How to Eat' but I think I did double the spices quantities. Plus gingerbread usually tastes better after it has 'matured' for a couple of days?
Your's looks delicious! For a really gingery recipe, which I really like too, look for one with fresh grated ginger in it as well as powdered ginger. Some of the best ginger cookies are called three ginger cookies and have candied, fresh and powdered ginger in them. I know there's a gingerbread out there like this, but I can't remember where!
Hi Anna! I'm glad you're all moved safely. When I saw your gingerbread picture, it made me wonder, have you ever tried those cake pan strips? You can get them from cake specialty stores, or maybe craft stores that sell Wilton. They are metallic insulated strips that you wet and pin around your cake pan (or casserole, whatever) and they keep the edges from getting hard and overcooked, and the cake top will be flat and not peaked. You can use them over and over. They are a marvelous invention!
aw- so sad to hear about jamal-
:(
but lovely to meet new minnie-
I make gingerbread all the time. Really, all the time, because it is so quick and easy and everyone loves it and no one else makes it and ... I wrote all about making it here:
http://thejeffnextdoor.blogspot.com/2006/03/quick-trick-gingerbread.html
My recipe is almost identical to the one Sarah posted above. I would second (thrid? fourth? I didn't count) the motion to use fresh ginger if you want it ginger-ier - Maybe throw 1 or 2 Tablespoons into the wet mix.
Now I'm very curious about Nigella's choco-gingerbread, but... I'm hestitant to mess with such a good thing. I like to eat it with whipped cream or with a small square of solid dark chocolate on the side.
I love your "inbred royalty levels of weakness" re: the milk in your tea. My uncle from Canada drinks his tea black and has a "you're a sissy" inflection when I drink it "like the Brits" with milk and sugar.
I have a good gingerbread recipe ... somewhere. I'll have to look for it! By the way, I finally got my copies of the Crafter's Companion. The box looked like it had traveled around the globe a couple times! Thanks again for all your hard work on it.
Love the Fire King pan! My mom has lovely aqua ones that belonged to my grandmother.
I often add finely chopped candied ginger to gingerbread recipes. Mmmm...
I lost all my cookbooks when my house burnt down recently. In particular, a book called 'Feast without fuss' by Pamela Harlech, which has a fabulous recipe called 'Mrs Mainwaring's Gingerbread'. Can anyone let me have the recipe? Or sell me the book?