Working on this book has taken us new places, and also back to explore taste memories from the past and from travel. Sometimes we've stumbled on childhood tastes, and sometimes we've gone looking for them.
This dark gingerbread is from scribbled notes I found in an old cookbook of my mother's. I don't know where she got the recipe, but I do know that she made it regularly, especially in winter, when its rich, warm scent would draw us into the kitchen at dinnertime. Serve it as a snack or for dessert.
Recipe information
Yield
Makes one 8-inch square cake with a shiny, dark surface and a tender, aromatic crumb
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to around 365°F (set the dial halfway between 350°F and 375°F). Generously grease an 8-inch square cake pan.
Step 2
Combine the flour, baking powder, and powdered spices in a medium bowl and mix well; set aside. Pour the molasses into a 2-cup (or more) measuring cup, add the boiling water, and stir to dissolve thoroughly. Set aside.
Step 3
Place the brown sugar and butter chunks in a large bowl and cream together with a wooden spoon, or a mixer. Briefly beat the eggs in another bowl, then stir them into the butter-sugar mixture. Add about 1/2 cup of the flour mixture and stir or beat in on low speed, then add about the same amount of warm molasses-water and stir. Continue to add the flour and liquid alternately, stirring or beating briefly each time. After the final addition, beat briefly (the batter will be quite liquid), then pour into the prepared pan.
Step 4
Bake for 25 minutes, then lower the heat to 350°F and bake until done, for 15 to 20 minutes longer, until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
Step 5
Let cool in the pan for 20 minutes or more (to allow the crumb to set) before serving. Serve from the pan.
