Grandma's Gingerbread
A Simply Classic Treat
Classic Gingerbread | Dara O’Brien
By Dara O’Brien
Creative Director, Lake Isle Press
In a past life I may have run a boarding house. Or maybe I was a cook (not a chef, because I’m not skilled or fancy enough for that). Or perhaps I was a homemaker with a large brood in the days when families had meals together and dessert was usually part of the deal — in other words, Trad Wife before it was a choice.
I say this because of the warm, fuzzy feeling that came over me while I baked this gingerbread, and how eager I was to serve it as soon as it cooled. No doubt is has much to do with the fact that it can be made so quickly and it gives off such a lovely smell while it bakes. It was also incredibly easy to pull together and uses mostly pantry ingredients; the only things I had to buy were whole milk and whipping cream (in my boarding house life, I probably had those on hand as well.)
It is also, I suspect, a foolproof recipe. It’s simple and straightforward and doesn’t call for any specialized techniques. It came out perfectly for me, and I think it would for a less experienced baker as well.
The recipe is by Jim Fobel, from his classic book “Jim Fobel’s Old-fashioned Baking Book” published by Lake Isle Press. Jim’s comment on the recipe says it all: “Here is one of those wonderful old recipes that can usually be prepared from ingredients on hand. How many times it was simply thrown together after Sunday supper I can’t even guess.”
I often think how nice it would be to make food and call out “Dinner’s ready!” the way my mom did, and have people I love scramble over to the table. The whole idea of rustling up a cake on the fly and serving it to a waiting crowd seems like bliss.
That may well be because it’s a departure from my everyday. I live alone, and most of the time I cook for myself. When I invite friends to dinner, I try to make everything ahead, as I did when I served this gingerbread cake, so I don’t leave my guests to themselves while I’m trapped in the kitchen. Which means I do a lot of planning, and lose a little sponteneity.
I realize I can always invite people over and explain I won’t be with them much until dinner is served. And I may well do that some time. But for the moment, I’ll stick with planning and preparing in advance as much as I can.
So, although I’ll continue to make cakes like this one, I’ll continue to make them ahead of time. Then I can zap them in the microwave or warm them in the oven before serving to give them that that just-baked taste.
Sometimes it’s just works better to free yourself up during the dinner hour. Even Trad Wives must want to stay out of the kitchen once in a while, am I right?
Grandma’s Gingerbread Recipe
Makes one 11¾-by-7½-inch cake
Click here to print recipe.
INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1½ teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
⅓ cup honey
1 large egg
⅔ cup dark molasses
¾ cup milk
Heavy cream, whipped soft, for topping (optional)
PREPARATION
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Grease an 11¾-by-7½-inch baking dish.
In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt.
In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, cream the butter. Gradually beat in the honey. Add the egg and beat until fluffy. Add the molasses and beat until well blended. With a spoon, stir in the dry ingredients alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Turn batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until the top springs back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted near the center emerges clean. Cool in the pan on a rack for about 15 minutes. Cut into squares and serve warm, with whipped cream if you wish.
“Here is one of those wonderful old recipes that can usually be prepared from ingredients on hand. How many times it was simply thrown together after Sunday supper I can’t even guess. But it’s always a welcome treat, with or without softly whipped cream. ”
—Jim Fobel
Grandma’s Gingerbread
from “JIM FOBEL’S OLD-FASHIONED BAKING BOOK”
by Jim Fobel, Lake Isle Press, 1996
Inspired by his grandmother, mother, and aunts, the late Jim Fobel collected the best of their old-fashioned recipes and re-worked them for today’s cooks. He was a protégé of James Beard and frequent contributor to Family Circle, Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, and a noted food writer.
“Charming nostalgia...mouth-watering, the way fruit pies cooling on the porch should be.”
— THE NEW YORK TIMES
OTHER RECIPES FROM THIS BOOK
Blueberry Muffins Recipe
Cardamom Cookies Recipe
Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
Cinnamon Cake Recipe
Grandma’s Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe
Lemon Bars Recipe
Lemon Layer Cake Recipe
Mystery Cake of 1932 Recipe
New York CheeseCake Recipe
Orange Coffee Cake Recipe