Martha Stewart: Gingerbread Snacking Cake

All that soup making made me hungry for gingerbread, so since I was on a roll (read: crazed cooking spree) I baked up a batch.

These days I am craving all things fall. I'm breaking out the sweaters and scarves, drinking hot tea, singing Christmas songs (it's going to be a long fall...), and there are few things that say fall quite like warm gingerbread. Strangely, many gingerbread recipes seem to turn out disappointingly bland, but this one actually tastes like ginger and is spicy with nutmeg. As its name implies, it's great for snacking... the only problem being not to eat the whole pan in one sitting while drinking tea, wearing a sweater and singing, "It Feels Like Christmas."

Gingerbread Snacking Cake
Adapted from The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook

Serves 12
You will need a 9 x 13-inch cake pan.

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
• 1 cup boiling water
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2/3 cup packed dark-brown sugar
• 1 cup unsulfured molasses*
• 2 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
• Powdered sugar for dusting

*I didn't have enough molasses, so I used 3/4 cup molasses and 1/4 cup honey. 


Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with a rack in the center. Butter and flour a 9 x 13-inch cake pan, tapping out excess; set aside. In a bowl, combine the boiling water and baking soda; set aside. In a bowl, sift together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, salt, and baking powder; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter on medium speed until light. Beat in brown sugar until fluffy (about 3 minutes). On low, beat in molasses, baking soda mixture, and flour mixture. Beat in eggs, one at a time.

Pour batter into pan; bake until a toothpick comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Gingerbread often seems to bake unevenly so that you get a burnt crust and an uncooked center - to avoid this I baked the gingerbread for 30 minutes then took a piece of aluminum foil, cut out a rectangle in the center, and placed the remaining foil "frame" over the top of the gingerbread so that the edges were protected from the heat and the uncovered center could continue to cook for 7 more minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Sift light dusting of powdered sugar over the top before serving. Gingerbread will keep at room temperature, covered with plastic wrap, several days.