Moosehead Gingerbread

Gingerbread is one of the classic comfort foods of the English-speaking world, and the stuff of nostalgia, real and imagined. There are endless variations, and I've never tried one I'd reject completely. Ruminations by John Thorne on the subject feature a version which actually included, if I'm remembering correctly, beef drippings. There is a lovely Laurie Colwin essay with two very nice recipes, one of which uses Lyle's Golden Syrup. Nika Hazelton's American Home Cooking has a serviceable, simple one, and I definitely intend to try the Chocolate Gingerbread in Dorie Greenspan's newest book; it looks gorgeous.

These, of course, are all soft, cake type gingerbreads. The gingerbread for cookie-cutter cookies (and gingerbread houses and the like as well) is a different animal entirely. I have favorite old standby recipes for both types. As to the soft kind, I use Maida Heatter's Moosehead Gingerbread, from her Great Desserts. That's the sort I made for dessert, to warm me up.

Gingerbread does nicely in my earthenware 9" square baking pan. I think that it keeps the outside edges from crisping up. Normally, I'm a sucker for food with crispy bits; I make gratins in very low pans, for maximum top, and love the corners of my jam bars. But I like my gingerbread soft all over, with as little hard, dark edge as possible. Using this sweet little Emile Henry number allows me to get that, without (eech) undercooking the gingerbread. The original recipe didn't call for this kind of pan, and of course you can make it in a regular metal one.

My brown pan is from the Emile Henry Artisan Series, which purports to be a reproduction of their original 19th century ware. Emile Henry stuff, in case you are not familiar with it, is made from some sort of special Burgundian clay, which causes it to be much less sensitive to temperature changes than most pottery. You can put it straight into the oven from the freezer, and even cook in it over a gas burner, with a flame tamer in between, and a careful eye. Unlike the other, more colorful EH lines, the Artisan items resemble el cheapo pottery outlet type bakeware. Perhaps this is why they seems to be often on sale, and hence more affordable. I kind of like the "fool the eye" effect myself, and all the EH things work wonderfully.

Maida Heatter's gingerbread, minimally adapted here, came from an "old time fishing guide in Maine." I can't remember which of the John Thorne books his essay came from, but I think he actually went in search of M. H.'s fishing guide. (Well, he did live in Maine then, but still.) It invariably cracks on top, but I don't mind a bit. To make it you need:

All purpose flour 2 1/2 cups
Baking soda 2 tsps
salt 1/2 tsp
cinnamon 1 tsp
powdered ginger 1 1/2 tsps
ground cloves 1/2 tsp
ground mustard 1/2 tsp
black pepper 1/2 tsp
butter 1/4 lb.
dark brown sugar 1/2 cup
eggs 2
molasses 1 cup
strong hot coffee 1 cup

Preheat oven to 375F.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, mix butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, and mix in one at a time. Now, beat in the molasses.

Sift dry ingredients together and add to the bowl, alternately with the hot coffee, ending with the dry mix. Pour into a 9" square baking pan, which has been buttered and dusted with dry breadcrumbs. Bake about 45 minutes, until done. Cool 10 minutes. Invert on another rack, and then back again, top up. It When fully cooled, cut into 9 squares. Consume, preferably topped with a dollop of whipped cream, or in a bowl with some runny custard poured over.

There's definitely a touch of heat in this gingerbread, what with the mustard and pepper. All to the good IMHO. As to the other kingd of gingerbread, we'll go there one day soon.

The Moosehead Lodge sign comes from the Adirondack Country Store, where they sell these wooden reproduction signs for home decor use.

Comments

[Tanna]

I really need to try this recipe. I just did an espresso gingerbread and would like to compare.
I would love one of those EH pans! So pretty.
Have you ever seen something called Magi-cake strips? I've had mine for a while and really enjoy them. I think the principle is to turn a pan into something of a water bath. You soak them in water and then wrap it around the pan. It keeps my cakes from bumping in the middle and I think it might prevent some cracking also. I have them pictured in my gadget section.

[littlebouffe]

Oh, I don't know about mustard (given the wide world of gingerbreads, would you make this one again?), but your post reminds me that I now possess a jar of molasses and can make gingerbread. Perhaps right now.

[Kavey]

Oooh this looks fantastic. Have bookmarked it (and your blog) for future reference. Always a fan of recipes with appetising supporting photographs!

[lindy]

Tanna-My daughter, a/k/ the redfox of the hungry tiger www.stuttercut.org/hungry got some of those magic strips. I can't remember her verdict on them, however. Maybe she will weigh in on this.
little bouffe- It's the one I make all the time, and the mustard does not appear as mustard, per se, in the final taste blend. Maida Heatter things are never weird, really!
Kavey- thanks. Do come back.

[Amanda Olsen]

I love gingerbread, but haven't yet found a recipe that suits me. I can't wait to try this one-- it sounds like perfection!

[Lynn D.]

My grandmother had the cutest, simplest and delicious gingerbread recipe. This is how she wrote it down for me: "Break egg in a cup and fill cup with molasses and 1tsp each of ginger and cinnamon. Put 1/2 cup butter in a cup and add fill cup with hot water and 1 tsp. soda. Combine both mixtures and add 1 1/2 cups sifted flour. Bake in pan or makes 12 small muffins." (I'd be willing to substitue coffee for the hot water but that's it!) We had it with lemon sauce or lemon curd and whipped cream. In the college cooking coop I lived in we served it with a delicious hot sauce of equal parts orange juice concentrate and honey. Today I like to make a pear upside down cake with gingerbread batter.

[Heath]

Yum. Yum to Lindy and yum to Lynn D. (Hey! Homonymic names!)

I must now go make gingerbread and eat it with lemon curd.

[Brilynn]

I don't think I've ever made the soft, gingerbread cake, just gingerbread men and houses. I've seen Dorie's recipe too and I think I'm going to give it a try!

[Rebecca]

Yum, what a great-sounding gingerbread! I posted about gingerbread recently and remarked that I think it's gone out of style; everyone loves chocolate and when they see something brown they are disappointed to find out that it's not chocolate. I'm guessing the pepper and mustard just give this cake a spicy bite, without really tasting like what they are.

You are so right about underbaked gingerbread; unlike brownies or even chocolate cake, which can be eaten on the fudgey side, underbaked gingerbread is just disgusting!

I'm definitely bookmarking this recipe to try the next time I get a craving for something spicy and molasses-y...Thanks!

[Stephanie]

I, too, am a gingerbread nut, and I love both John Thorne's and Laurie C's essays about it. If you want to be really authentic, you'd use bacon drippings in lieu of the butter in this recipe. The idea being that those Maine guides would have drippings around (but not butter), and so developed a very spicy gingerbread (hence the mustard and black pepper) to work with/mask the meaty flavor of the fat. I've also had good luck with Claudia Fleming's Stout/Guinness Gingerbread, from The Last Course...in fact, a panful of it is sitting in my kitchen right now. Thanks!

[Haley]

This cake looks delicious! Gingerbread is my favorite seasoning during the winter. It has such a warming aroma.

I would love to include your recipe in our pre-loaded Demy, the first and only digital recipe reader. Please email haleyglasco@gmail.com if you're interested.

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Thanks!