Gingerbread Cakes

When gingerbread cake is mentioned, what is the first thought that comes to mind?

Perhaps a warm, just out of the oven loaf of bread with a little bit of icing drizzled over the top. Or maybe a cookie shaped like a gingerbread man; especially loved during the holidays, adorned with delightful decorations that add to its charm.

If you chose a gingerbread man, raise your hand!

The Gingerbread Man, now a popular treat, was attributed to Queen Elizabeth I, the last monarch of the Tudor house, and the only daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Yet, they differed from what we are accustomed to today.

Today we know them as the fun sidekick of Santa, candy canes, and the little figures living in the gingerbread houses we love to build during Christmas Time.

But then they were crunchy, almost wafer-thin, type cookie/biscuit. It is said that Queen Elizabeth I would have these treats specially crafted into various forms and proudly serve them to foreign dignitaries at her court.

A recipe for Gingerbread Cakes during Queen Elizabeth I’s reign would have looked similar to this:

Take 3 pd of flower

A pd of sugar

A pd of butter rubbd very fine

An ounce of ginger

A grated nutmeg

Mix it with a pd of treacle & a quarter of a pt of cream warmed together to make your bread stiff.

Roul (roll) them out, cut them in little cakes, bake them in a slack oven

(And yes, the spellings and abbreviations above are correct.)

For those more interested in some of the terminology:

Slack oven—is a Sussex term to describe the heat of a brick oven after the bread has been baked and taken out. (Meaning perhaps the Gingerbread Cakes/Biscuits would not have needed such high temperatures to bake properly.)

Treacle—today we know treacle as Molasses.

There are two kinds of molasses: sulphured and unsulphured.

Sulphured Molasses—is made from young, green sugar cane that has not yet reached maturity. It is

treated with sulphur dioxide as a method of preserving the sugar cane until it's ready to process. Because of this, some describe the flavor of sulphured molasses having chemical notes.

Unsulphured Molasses—is made from ripe sugar cane, and doesn't require any sulphur dioxide to preserve it. In general, unsulphured molasses is considered to be the more "pure," cleaner tasting molasses, which is why you'll find most commercial molasses is unsulphured.

Today’s recipes come in a wide range of varieties, from fluffy loaves of bread to deliciously chewy cookies, and even crunchy treats. Personally, I adore gingerbread in any form - whether it’s a cookie, a cake, or even a gingerbread flavored latte. But I would have to say that a simple loaf of gingerbread is my favorite (and my husbands).

Below is a recipe I grew up with!

½ cup unsalted room-temp butter (any kind is fine, but I use European-style butter as it has a higher fat content for a richer cake)
½ cup – firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 cup unsulphured molasses
1 large egg
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
2 ½ cups – All-purpose flour (I do use bread flour sometimes)
1 ½ tsp. – Baking soda
1 tsp. – Ground cinnamon (sometimes I add a little more)
1 tsp. – Ground ginger
½ tsp. – Ground clove
¾ tsp – Salt
1 cup – Boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9x9 glass or metal baking dish or loaf pan, with baking spray and parchment lining the bottom for easy release.
Combine butter and brown sugar in a beat until creamy.
Add molasses and stir until well combined.
Add egg and vanilla extract. Mix well
Mix dry ingredients together in separate bowl (flour, baking soda, salt and spices)
Gradually add dry ingredients into your molasses mixture.
Gradually add your 1 cup of boiling water, and mix well.
Once combined, pour into your baking dish and bake for about 40 min or until toothpick comes out clean.
Let cool before serving. Tastes great with icing drizzle, or by itself!!!